Dementia affects millions globally and remains hard to treat. Scientists have found a potential new target for future treatments. They slowed dementia in mice using this discovery.
The target is an enzyme called G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), important for cell health. GRK2 helps cells handle stress. Researchers found a faulty version of GRK2 that may relate to dementia.
This inactive GRK2 gathers around mitochondria, which are vital cell parts often linked to Alzheimer’s disease. A team at ETH Zurich in Switzerland studied the connection between GRK2 and dementia.
They found a lot of inactive GRK2 in the brain cells of both mice and humans with Alzheimer’s. In mice, it also increased amyloid-beta protein, associated with this disease.
Inactive GRK2 builds up like amyloid beta and harms mitochondria, causing stress in brain cells. This creates a harmful cycle, worsening the problem.
The researchers developed a compound called Compound 10. It stops inactive GRK2 from clumping, helping mitochondria work better and reducing amyloid beta. In mice, this slowed dementia’s progress.
While more research is needed, including on human samples, results are promising. GRK2 was not deeply studied in Alzheimer’s before. Researchers say GRK2 could offer new ways to address the complex disease. The study was published in Cell Reports Medicine.
