Protein May Play Key Role in Development of Alzheimer’s

A newly identified protein believed to be essential to early development of the brain may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease late in life. “It’s rather poetic, really--what makes you in the first place sort of does you in,” said Peter St. George-Hyslop of the University of Toronto, who reports the finding in today’s Nature. The protein, named nicastrin, binds itself to another protein, called presenilin, which is suspected of triggering the formation of deadly plaques in brain cells--a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

Nicastrin may also play a role in early fetal development by helping to determine how cells develop into many specialized forms, such as muscle, skin and brain cells. Blocking the binding of nicastrin to presenilin might provide a new way to prevent Alzheimer’s.

--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II