Regulation of amyloid beta metabolism
In Alzheimer's disease (AD), progressive brain atrophy and dementia appear because of neuronal cell death and synaptic dysfunction in brains. Amyloid beta plays a central toxic role in AD pathogenesis. Combination of the direct suppression of neuronal death and removal of amyloid beta is a promising strategy for disease-modifying AD therapy. Recently, we found that a novel neuroprotective factor, Humanin, which was originally identified as an anti-neuronal death factor, lowered the level of amyloid beta in AD model mice. In this project, we will investigate mechanisms underlying amyloid beta-lowering activity of Humanin.