BiologyJuly 22, 2024

A nasal spray reduces tau protein in mice with dementia

A single dose improved memory in old mice, according to a UTMB study.

Texas researchers tested an antibody nasal spray that reaches the brain and reduces a key Alzheimer's protein, in mice for now.

Story illustration: A nasal spray reduces tau protein in mice with dementia

A team from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) published in Science Translational Medicine an experimental treatment against the buildup of tau, a protein that forms toxic aggregates in Alzheimer's and other dementias.

They used an antibody called TTCM2, which recognizes toxic forms of tau, encapsulated in micelles, tiny particles that help it reach the brain through the nose. Inside neurons, the antibody works with the protein TRIM21, which tags tau for removal.

With a single nasal dose in old mice with tauopathy, tau levels dropped and memory improved in tests such as the Y-maze and novel object recognition. It is a promising advance, but results in mice are not always repeated in people.

TTCM2 is an antibody that recognizes the shape of toxic tau aggregates and distinguishes them from the normal protein. According to the study, it binds to those aggregates in human tissue from Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy bodies and progressive supranuclear palsy, and prevents them from spreading. In treated mice, besides clearing tau inside neurons and at synapses, synaptic proteins important for communication between neurons increased.