Professor Joon-Kyung Seong (Department of Biomedical Engineering) and Doctor Whajin Lee (Department of Biomedical Engineering) have published a novel model to explain the relationship between β-amyloid and tau proteins, the two important biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. The thesis, “Regional Aβ-tau interactions promote onset and acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease tau spreading,” was issued in the renowned scientific journal Cell Neutron on April 19.

It is known that abnormal aggregation of β-amyloid and tau proteins near neurons lead to Alzheimer’s disease; however, the exact mechanism of interaction between these two proteins is yet to be clarified. The new model has found that during the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, β-amyloid proteins remotely affect tau protein aggregation in specific regions of the brain, leading to its transmission to surrounding areas. Another key finding is that the rapid propagation of tau protein aggregation is boosted by interaction with β-amyloid proteins in certain regions, which may be an essential knowledge in developing cure for the disease.

The study was conducted in joint research with a team led by Professor William Seeley (University of California at San Francisco Memory and Aging Center). Professor Seong explains that “with the utilization of brain imaging technology that can help create personalized treatment, precision medicine as a solution to population aging may become viable.”