Scientists at the Center for Molecular Biology “Severo Ochoa” have developed one new cell phone model This makes it possible to examine the connections between herpes simplex virus 1 infections (HSV-1), caused Lesions in the oral mucosaand Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. The results were presented in the journal microorganisms.
The suggestion of a possible involvement of the virus in the development of this neurodegenerative disease is formulated in the infection hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease, which states that infection by certain pathogens could contribute in various ways to the neurodegeneration typical of the disease.
In this context, HSV-1 is one of the most studied candidates due to its high prevalence in the population and its ability to establish itself in the population in the long term cells of the nervous system.
The results, published in the journal microorganismsare signed by the group leading the Center for Molecular Biology “Severo Ochoa” (CBMSO, CSIC-UAM). Dr. Maria Jesus BullidoProfessor at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).
Herpes and neurodegeneration
There are numerous studies supporting a possible link between the HSV-1 virus and Alzheimer’s-type neurodegeneration, confirmation of which could lead to the search new prevention strategies and therapeutics against such a serious disease.
Recently, Dr. Bullido’s laboratory, which has been studying the effects of HSV-1 infection on Alzheimer’s for years, switched its research to work with the ReNcell VM cell line.
ReN cells are human neuronal precursorsCells capable of dividing and specializing under certain conditions and producing different types of cells through a process called cell differentiation found in the human central nervous system.
The authors initiated the differentiation of these cells, creating heterogeneous cultures consisting not only of neurons but also of glial cells that serve as carriers and play a role. a key role in the progression of the disease Alzheimer.
“This property of ReN cells makes them particularly interesting for the development of new models of infection and neurodegeneration, as it allows us to study the effects of HSV-1 while taking the i into accountInteractions that arise between different cell types present in the human nervous system,” explain the researchers.
Related changes
The researchers’ main goal was to determine the utility of these cells in studying the links between HSV-1 and Alzheimer’s disease. After confirming that the ReN cell cultures, whether differentiated or not, could be infected with the virus, they proceeded to reproduce some of the experiments previously done with other cell lines.
They observed various changes associated with Alzheimer’s, such as: intracellular accumulation of beta-amyloid peptide and the hyperphosphorylated tau protein, hallmark features of this disease and alterations in the “cell recycling” mechanisms known as the autophagy-lysosomal pathway, which are also closely linked to Alzheimer’s pathology.
Taken together, their results support the use of this cell line in the development of new platforms to further investigate the links between HSV-1 infection and Alzheimer’s-type neurodegeneration.
The team’s future prospects include: Characterization of other infection-related changessuch as changes in cholesterol metabolism or neuroinflammation, as well as the development of more complex three-dimensional models.