What is the role of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in Alzheimer's disease pathology?
There is growing evidence that amyloid toxicity induces significant neurodegeneration, and that the level of soluble amyloid correlates with memory deficit and disease severity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). So far research into AD has primarily investigated the consequence of amyloid toxicity on neuronal health and function. However recent experimental evidence indicates that glial cells are also affected. Here we test the hypothesis that early oligodendrocyte and/or myelin damage may contribute directly to AD induced neuronal loss, and accelerate the disease progression. We will also determine the extent to which oligodendrocyte progenitor cell-mediated repair can delay the degeneration.
This project is a research collaboration with Prof David Small (Menzies Research Institute Tasmania).
Research Groups
Staff
Team Leaders
- Dr Kaylene Young