Tiny Cell Messengers in Obese Individuals Accelerate Alzheimer’s-linked Plaque Buildup in the Brain

The study, “Decoding Adipose–Brain Crosstalk: Distinct Lipid Cargo in Human Adipose-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Modulates Amyloid Aggregation in Alzheimer’s Disease,” published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, the link between obesity, which affects about 40% of the U.S population. This dreaded neurodegenerative disease affects more than 7 million people in the U.S.

The researchers found that the lipid cargo of these cell messengers differs between people with obesity and lean individuals, and that the presence and levels of specific lipids that differed between the groups changed how quickly amyloid-β clumped together in laboratory models. Using mouse models and patient body fat samples, the researchers examined the vesicles, which are tiny, membrane-bound particles that travel throughout the body and act as messengers involved in cell-to-cell communication. These minuscule communicators are also capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. Targeting these tiny cell messengers and disrupting their communication, which leads to plaque formation, may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in people with obesity. The researchers said future work should focus on how drug therapy could stop or slow the build-up of Alzheimer’s-related toxic proteins, such as amyloid-β, in at-risk individuals.