Sechenov University announced the development of the basis for a cure for Alzheimer’s
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Life expectancy is increasing around the world. And along with this, the number of age-related diseases is growing, mainly neurodegenerative, that is, associated with the loss of cognitive and memory functions, which negatively affect the functioning of the brain and nervous connections. First of all, we are talking about Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Today, all these diseases are incurable.
But around the world, scientists study the mechanisms of development of these diseases and look for how they can be affected. This type of work is also carried out in Russia. For example, at the Department of Human Anatomy and Histology of the First Moscow State Medical University named after him. THEM. Sechenov, from the Russian Ministry of Health, is investigating the mechanisms of participation of heat shock proteins (chaperones) in the fight against neurodegeneration.
Chaperones are a class of proteins whose main function is to restore the correct structure of damaged proteins. Chaperns also have protective functions: they can be “shields” for proteins in which mutations occur under external influences, including age. That is, with the right direction, these proteins can be both protective and restorative.
In 2023, a group of researchers from Sechenov University led by Gennady Pyavchenko received a grant from the Russian Science Foundation to conduct research to study the neuroimmunological effects of chaperones on neurodegenerative brain damage in mice.
“In our laboratory we have transgenic lines of mice that actively produce heat shock proteins,” says Gennady Pyavchenko, associate professor at the Department of Human Anatomy and Histology at Sechenov University. “We crossed these transgenic mice with two other strains that develop conditions that model the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Their offspring will carry both genes: both for increased production of heat shock proteins and for diseases.
Theoretically, with increased regular production of heat shock proteins, the development of neurodegenetic diseases slows down or practically does not exist. Now the mice have begun to give birth. By the end of this year, scientists’ work should confirm or refute theoretical assumptions.
The authors have already published reviews and experimental studies describing the absence of negative effects of proteins on the body. When the scientific research is completed, the development will be presented to pharmacists.
“Next comes the area of responsibility of pharmaceutical companies, that is, the work on creating new drugs,” says Gennady Pyavchenko. – Something, of course, can be transformed into a medicine that helps people cope with currently incurable diseases.
