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Mutant gum disease bacteria offers clue to Alzheimer’s treatment
27th May 2010
Professoir Ann Progulske-Fox
A defective, mutant strain of the bacterium that causes gum disease may provide a clue to treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and a number of other diseases.
US researchers were reporting their findings at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
Autophagy, or ‘self-eating' is an essential component of cellular survival and defence against invading organisms.
It's the method by which the cell degrades and recycles material into amino acids that can be reused.
Several neurological disorders, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, are associated with the build up of polypeptides within neurons.
Current evidence suggests that if the affected cells could break down these plaque build-ups it would greatly increase the patient's chances of recovery.
The ability to activate autophagy within these cells could prove invaluable in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
Researcher Ann Progulske-Fox, Professor of Oral Biology at the University of Florida College, says: ‘Although we do not yet completely understand how these diseases develop, we do know that the proteins clump together and form a plaque build-up in affected patients' neurons.
'If we can direct the cell's own ability to break down waste products against the plaques, we could keep them from forming and potentially intercept the development of these and other diseases.'
‘Understanding how P. gingivalis turns on autophagy in host cells could lead to novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders as well as advancements in the general understanding of the autophagic pathway.
'Study of the mutant will facilitate this understanding and the development of new potential strategies for the treatment of multiple diseases.'
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