A future therapy for Alzheimer's? The CNRS is advancing a promising avenue using dromedaries

Little by little, research is uncovering new weapons in the fight against Alzheimer's disease . A team of CNRS researchers presents the latest promising avenue in an article published on May 12 in the scientific journal Nature Communications .

These French researchers studied the effects of small antibodies, called nanobodies, capable of attacking the Tau protein, one of the causes of this neurodegenerative disorder. Alzheimer's disease, which currently has no treatment , manifests itself in two broad phases within the brain.

A31, Z70 and H3-2, new allies?

First, the appearance of a protein, amyloid, which spreads between the neurons. Then the hyperphosphorization, or abnormal accumulation, of another protein, the tau protein. It is this second mechanism that subsequently leads to the death of neurons, the moment when dementia manifests.

It is therefore on this second part, the harmful accumulation of Tau protein, that the researchers discovered a potential new mode of action, which could prevent its harmful aggregation.

As the CNRS explains in a video dedicated to this discovery, the scientists turned "to solutions derived from the immune systems of camelids, animals such as dromedaries and llamas."

Why? Because of their unique ability to "produce nanobodies, which bind to targets like any antibody, but are much simpler and so small that they are capable of acting within cells themselves."

The nanobodies, called A31, Z70, and H3-2, have demonstrated their effectiveness in tests on mouse neuronal cell cultures. Their advantage lies in their size, as biologist Clément Danis explains:

"It's ten times smaller than a traditional antibody. We'll be able to work with them more easily to modify them and adapt them to what we want to do in the lab."

However, as the CNRS notes, several clinical trials of anti-tau immunotherapies have been interrupted "due to a lack of target engagement or efficacy."

Researchers emphasize the need for support for basic research to develop biotherapy processes, treatments based on elements derived from living organisms.

While this discovery is promising, it will need to be reinforced by further research, which will take many years before potential clinical application.

A treatment that acts on the first phase of the disease, Leqembi, has just been authorized by European authorities after a long regulatory process. Its effectiveness in slowing the disease has been demonstrated, but its use has been cautiously restricted to limit potential adverse effects .