One of the key players in the progressive brain disorder of Alzheimer’s disease is a type of brain immune cell called microglia. In healthy brains, microglia protect nerve cells, but in Alzheimer’s disease, they can become overactive and contribute to damaging inflammation. Our research has identified genes in microglia that appear to drive this harmful activity, highlighting potential targets for new treatments.
Gene therapy offers a powerful way to adjust or correct disease-causing genes, but existing delivery systems have a major limitation: they do not efficiently reach microglia in the brain. As a result, current gene therapies for Alzheimer’s disease involving genes specifically active in microglia are not effective.
This project aims to develop a safe and efficient gene delivery system that specifically targets microglia. Once established, we will test this system in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease to see whether modifying microglial genes can reduce inflammation and other hallmarks of the disease. Ultimately, this research could pave the way for microglia-based gene therapies that slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
