Immune cells that remove amyloid-beta – a crucial protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers – work according to daily circadian rhythms, finds new study.

Immune cells that sweep away a crucial protein that builds up in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers act according to daily circadian cycles, according to researchers.

The finding, reported by Jennifer Hurley of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and colleagues in a recent study published today in the journal PLOS Genetics, offers a possible explanation for the association between Alzheimer’s disease and sleep disruptions.

Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to disturbances in circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycle that regulates many aspects of human behavior and physiology.

Sleep disturbances, for example, start years before Alzheimer’s disease symptoms arise and are connected to more severe symptoms and a higher risk of acquiring the disease.

The team monitored the activity of immune cells that clean away substances called amyloid-beta that build up as plaques in Alzheimer’s disease patients’ brains. They revealed that immune cells remove amyloid-beta on an oscillating daily cycle governed by circadian rhythms using lab-grown cultures of these cells.

The daily cycle, on the other hand, vanished when cells lost their regularity. They also discovered that fluctuations in the quantity of molecules of a protein called heparan on the cell’s surface were the root cause of the oscillation.

The protein they found reacts to circadian rhythms and has previously been linked to the clearance of amyloid-beta proteins.

The new research reveals a mechanism that relates circadian rhythm disruption to Alzheimer’s disease. The importance of immune cells in this interaction is also highlighted in the study.

While additional research is needed, the current findings suggest that if the daily removal of amyloid-beta proteins by this mechanism can be maintained, patients may be less likely to acquire Alzheimer’s disease and have milder symptoms.

Hurley says, “Understanding how our circadian rhythms can regulate cell-surface heparan levels to control the build-up of amyloid-beta may lead to the development of chronotherapeutics that alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease as well as other inflammatory diseases.”

Source: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009994

Image Credit: Getty

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