MIP Professors find potential for new treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Professors of Molecular and Integrative Biology Yang (Kevin) Xiang, Charles Cox and their colleagues found a potential new drug target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists have known for decades that a protein fragment called amyloid-beta is a key to the riddle of Alzheimer’s disease. When amyloid-beta binds to a neuron, the AMPA receptor opens a channel that lets calcium or sodium ions into the cell.

For the new study, the researchers focused on the beta-2 adrenergic receptor, a protein that – like the AMPA receptor – resides in the cell membrane.