Researchers Identify Sugar Molecule Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

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00:00Researchers identify sugar molecule linked to Alzheimer's disease.

00:05Johns Hopkins researchers discovered a sugar molecule, glycan,

00:09possibly crucial in Alzheimer's development, from the brain tissues of deceased patients.

00:14Identifying glycan as an early diagnostic test target is essential for creating treatments

00:19and preventative measures for this common dementia form.

00:22Alzheimer's disease progressively results from brain nerve cell death,

00:29caused by harmful protein buildup like tau and amyloid.

00:33Microglia, the brain's immune cells, clean these proteins.

00:37The disease develops when microglia's cleanup fails due to excess CD33 receptors.

00:45The study led by Ronald Schnarr found that receptors need connectors

00:49to block microglia from clearing toxic proteins.

00:53These connectors are sugars called glycans, transported by proteins to receptors,

00:58forming a glycoprotein, crucial in Alzheimer's disease research.

01:04Glycans consist of unique sugar components influencing molecular interactions.

01:10The team used chemical techniques to systematically deconstruct the glycan,

01:14identifying it as the allylated keratin sulfate.

01:16They pinpointed the protein component using mass spectroscopy to detect its building blocks.

01:25The team identified the glycoprotein as receptor tyrosine phosphatase zeta,

01:31naming it RPTP-zeta-S3L.

01:37Researchers found that Alzheimer's brains had over twice the amount of RPTP-zeta-S3L,

01:43which may over-activate CD33 receptors and impair toxic protein clearance.

01:49Studying its structure could lead to new treatments or early diagnostic tools.