Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have used a new drug compound to successfully reverse brain deficits caused by Alzheimer's in animal models. The compound, TC-2153, inhibits the negative effects of a protein called STtriatal-Enriched tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP)--a process that scientists found is key to restoring functions in learning and memory.
The researchers examined thousands of molecules in order to identify which would inhibit the STEP protein. The inhibiting molecules were then tested to see how effective they were, and the most promising compound was tested in a mouse model with Alzheimer's. Researchers found the TC-2153 compound to reverse deficits in the animals' cognitive functions when testing their memory on previously seen objects.
"Decreasing STEP levels reversed the effects of Alzheimer's disease in mice," lead author Dr. Paul Lombroso, a professor in the Yale Child Study Center and in the departments of Neurobiology and Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, said in a release.
High levels of STEP, conversely, inhibit people's ability to turn short-term memories into long-term memories. The disruption of elevated STEP levels in the brain can result in not only Alzheimer's disease but also a number of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.
"The small molecule inhibitor is the result of a 5-year collaborative effort to search for STEP inhibitors," Lombroso said. "A single dose of the drug results in improved cognitive function in mice. Animals treated with TC compound were indistinguishable from a control group in several cognitive tasks."
The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology on Aug. 5. The scientists at Yale are now conducting tests on rats and nonhuman primates with cognitive deficits.
- here's the release
- and here's the study