A new study at the University of Michigan may have discovered a new pathway to prevent the formation of plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease, reports Medical Xpress.
Researchers may have a breakthrough in targeting the plaque formation linked to Alzheimer's disease. The misfolding of metal-associated amyloids aggregates that are linked to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions can be prevented by using green tea extracts, says the study.
U-M Life Sciences Institute faculty member Mi Hee Lim and an interdisciplinary team of researchers conducted an experiment in the laboratory using the green tea extract to prevent the formation of metal-associated amyloids aggregates. The team discovered a molecule, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, also known as EGCG, which played a vital role in preventing the formation of aggregates and also separated the metals like copper, zinc and iron found in the existing aggregates formed in the proteins.
"A lot of people are very excited about this molecule," Lim said about the discovery. "We used a multidisciplinary approach. This is the first example of structure-centric, multidisciplinary investigations by three principal investigators with three different areas of expertise."
EGCG is used in the healing process of several disorders including cancer and works as a strong antioxidant.
Lim and her team including chemists, biochemists and biophysicists, worked at her lab at the Life Sciences Institute where Lim is a research assistant professor.
Lim said due to the complexity of the brain, researchers from various fields are working together to get satisfactory results.
"We want to modify them for the brain, specifically to interfere with the plaques associated with Alzheimer's," Lim said. She further plans to test the EGCG molecule on fruit flies and see if any plaque formation occurs.
The findings are published recently in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
