Study Details Molecular Roots of Alzheimer's (IMAGE)

WashU Medicine

Study Details Molecular Roots of Alzheimer's

Caption

A new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis details the structure of TREM2, a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Researchers found that mutations associated with Alzheimer's alter the surface of the protein, while mutations linked to another brain disorder disrupt the protein's interior. Such alterations may impair TREM2's normal role in cleaning up cellular waste via a process called phagocytosis.

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Daniel L. Kober

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