STOCKHOLM (Dispatches) -- Researchers at Uppsala University have developed new antibodies that might provide more effective treatment methods for Alzheimer’s disease.
The antibodies bind even to the smaller aggregates, or clumps, of the amyloid-beta protein,so that it may be possible to check the progress of the disease.
In Alzheimer’s disease, the amyloid-beta protein begins to form clumps. This process is called aggregation, and the clumps created are called aggregates. The research group has previously shown that treatment with the peptide somatostatin causes the body to begin breaking down building blocks of the aggregate. In the new study, the researchers use an antibody that can bind to the toxic aggregates to stop them from harming cells. They have developed an antibody format that can bind to both large and small clumps of amyloid-beta. Antibodies use the avidity effect to bind strongly to their targets. This requires the binding of both arms of the antibody to the same target at the same time.
The effects of the antibodies were also tested in a cell culture experiment, which showed that the new antibody format could save cells from death caused by amyloid-beta aggregates.