Alzheimer's Disease Protein Links Plaques to Cell Death in Mice

A RIKEN mouse study published in Nature Communications discovered a new protein involved in Alzheimer's, which may enable linkage between amyloid plaques and tau pathology, reports ScienceDaily . The CAPON protein binds to tau, and the implication that CAPON forms this connection is suspected because of its known risk for other psychiatric disorders. Examination of one type of mouse with Alzheimer's uncovered CAPON deposition in the hippocampus, with this accrual even greater when amyloid-ß pathology was present. The insertion of CAPON DNA within the brain of another type of mouse with Alzheimer's caused CAPON overexpression, with specimens exhibiting significant neurodegeneration, elevated tau, and hippocampal contraction. "Although cell death resulting from CAPON can occur through many different pathways, we definitely think this protein is a facilitator between neuroinflammation and tau pathology," said RIKEN's Shoko Hashimoto.