Chemical method could help advance Alzheimer's treatment
Scientists from the carbohydrate chemistry team and the University of Liverpool have developed a new chemical approach to help harness the natural ability of complex sugars to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The team has used a new chemical method to produce a library of sugars, called heparan sulfates, which are known to control the formation of proteins in the brain that cause memory loss.
Heparan sulfates are found in nearly every cell of the body and are similar to the natural blood-thinning drug, heparin. The scientists have now discovered how to produce them chemically in the lab and found that some of these sugars can inhibit an enzyme that creates small proteins in the brain.
These proteins, called amyloids, disrupt the normal function of cells, leading to the progressive memory loss that is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Jerry Turnbull from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Integrative Biology says, “We are targeting an enzyme, called BACE, which is responsible for creating the amyloid protein. The amyloid builds up in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease and causes damage."
BACE has proved to be a difficult enzyme to block, despite lots of effort by drug companies. “We are using a new approach, harnessing the natural ability of sugars, based on the blood-thinning drug heparin, to block the action of BACE.”
Dr Peter Tyler from the carbohydrate chemistry team, says the group has developed new chemical methods that have allowed them to make the largest set of these sugars produced to date.
“These new compounds will now be tested to identify those with the best activity and fewest possible side effects, as these have potential for development into a drug treatment that targets the underlying cause of this disease.”
More than 800,000 people in the United Kingdom and 50,000 in New Zealand live with dementia—over half of these have Alzheimer’s.
The estimated cost of treating Alzheimer’s disease in New Zealand in 2011 was $954 million, with deaths from the disease increasing by 346% from 1990 to 2010. Current treatments for dementia can help with symptoms, but no drugs are available to slow or stop the underlying disease.
This research, published in Chemistry A European Journal, was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Research UK and New Zealand government research grants.