CAMBRIDGE, MA — Bolstering disintegrating neural connections may help boost brainpower in Alzheimer’s disease patients, MIT researchers and colleagues will report in the Nov. 8 issue of Neuron. The researchers zeroed in on the enzymes that manipulate a key scaffolding protein for synapses, the connections through which brain cells communicate. Synapses are weakened and lost in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. ‘We identified a major underlying mechanism through which synapses are strengthened and maintained,’ said Morgan H. Sheng, Menicon Professor of Neuroscience at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. ‘The enzymes involved could be good targets for potential drug treatments.’ A protein called postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) is a key building block of synapses. Like the steel girders in a building, it acts as a scaffold around which other components are assembled. ‘The more PSD-95 molecules, the bigger and stronger the synapse,’ said co-author Myung Jong Kim, a Picower research scientist. Previous research had shown that mice genetically altered to have less PSD-95 experienced learning and memory problems. In the current study, the researchers identified for the first time the enzymes that work behind the scenes on PSD-95, adding a phosphate group […]