{"id":46961,"date":"2025-04-24T15:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T15:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/46961\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T15:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T15:44:08","slug":"experimental-alzheimers-vaccine-shows-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/46961\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental Alzheimer\u2019s Vaccine Shows Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Summary: <\/strong>Researchers have developed a tau-targeting vaccine that could help prevent the progression of Alzheimer\u2019s disease by generating a strong immune response against abnormal tau proteins. The vaccine showed effectiveness in mice and non-human primates, prompting researchers to pursue human clinical trials.<\/p>\n<p>It targets a specific region of the tau protein, pT181, linked to Alzheimer\u2019s-related brain damage and cognitive decline. If successful in humans, this approach could complement or even surpass current therapies that only modestly impact disease progression by targeting amyloid beta.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tau-Targeting Vaccine:<\/strong> Generates antibodies against pT181, a hallmark of Alzheimer\u2019s pathology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strong Immune Response:<\/strong> Proven effective in mice and macaques, with long-lasting immunity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clinical Trials Ahead:<\/strong> Researchers are preparing for Phase 1 human trials pending funding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong>University of New Mexico<\/p>\n<p><strong>University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers hope to launch human clinical trials in their quest for a vaccine to prevent the buildup of pathological tau \u2013 a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer\u2019s dementia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a new paper published in\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, a team led by Kiran Bhaskar, PhD, professor in the\u00a0Department of Molecular Genetics &amp; Microbiology\u00a0in the UNM School of Medicine, found that the experimental vaccine generated a robust immune response in both mice and non-human primates, building on earlier research.<\/p>\n<p>  <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Alzheimers-vaccine-neuroscience.jpg\" alt=\"This shows a brain.\"  \/> The vaccine elicited a strong immune response in two other strains of mice bred to develop tau-related disease \u2013 one of which had a human tau gene inserted in its genome. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we\u2019ve shown efficacy in the non-human primate, I think that is suggesting to us it\u2019s much closer to a clinical trial,\u201d Bhaskar said, adding that he and his colleagues are seeking funding from venture capitalists and the Alzheimer\u2019s Association to launch a Phase 1 trial in humans.<\/p>\n<p>Tau is a naturally occurring protein that helps stabilize neurons, but when it undergoes a process called phosphorylation, it deforms and is ejected from neurons into the extracellular space, creating the tangles that are characteristic of Alzheimer\u2019s and other neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n<p>There are several new FDA-approved treatments for drugs that reduce levels of amyloid beta, another protein implicated in Alzheimer\u2019s pathology, but they have only a modest effect on the progression of the disease, leading many to wonder whether targeting tau might be a better bet.<\/p>\n<p>The active immunotherapy developed at UNM generates antibodies that bind to pT181, a region of the altered tau protein that has been identified as an Alzheimer\u2019s biomarker.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2019 paper published in\u00a0NPJ Vaccines, Bhaskar and his colleagues reported that when the vaccine was given to mice bred to express pathological tau they generated antibodies, reduced the extent of the tangles in key brain structures and improved their performance on tests to gauge their cognitive disability.<\/p>\n<p>The new paper expands on those findings. The vaccine elicited a strong immune response in two other strains of mice bred to develop tau-related disease \u2013 one of which had a human tau gene inserted in its genome.<\/p>\n<p>In a collaboration with the University of California, Davis, and the\u00a0California National Primate Research Center\u00a0\u00a0the vaccine was also administered to macaques, primates whose immune systems and brains are closer to humans. They also showed a strong and durable immune response.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers also tested antibodies in the serum from the immunized monkeys on samples of blood plasma drawn from people with mild cognitive impairment, often a precursor to full-blown Alzheimer\u2019s dementia, as well as the sera in brain tissue from people who had died from Alzheimer\u2019s, and found that they bound to the human version of the tau protein.<\/p>\n<p>The vaccine was developed using a virus-like particle (VLP) platform developed by Bryce Chackerian and David Peabody, Bhaskar\u2019s colleagues in Molecular Genetics &amp; Microbiology.<\/p>\n<p>VLPs are essentially viruses whose DNA has been removed, rendering them harmless. Snippets of proteins \u2013 in this case pT181 \u2013 can be attached to their surface, rendering them visible to immune cells on the lookout for invaders.<\/p>\n<p>VLP-based vaccines have been shown to create durable immunity, with one primary inoculation and two booster shots, Bhaskar said.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t require adjuvants \u2013 substances (such as aluminum) administered with a vaccine to enhance the immune response. And, they have been shown to be safe in humans.<\/p>\n<p>Nicole Maphis, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the UNM Department of Neurosciences, was the first author on both of the vaccine papers. She said the collaboration with UC Davis was critical for validating the vaccine\u2019s efficacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was important because it extends our work in an animal model that is more similar to humans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMice don\u2019t have a human immune response, but these non-human primates, their immune response is much more similar to humans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>About this Alzheimer\u2019s disease research news<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Author: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#1d7e737a7c6f7e747c5d6e7c7168793368737033787968\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chris Ramirez<\/a><br \/><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/unm.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of New Mexico<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact: <\/strong>Chris Ramirez \u2013 University of New Mexico<br \/><strong>Image: <\/strong>The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Original Research: <\/strong>Open access.<br \/>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/alz.70101\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Targeting of phosphorylated tau at threonine 181 by a Q\u03b2 virus-like particle vaccine is safe, highly immunogenic, and reduces disease severity in mice and rhesus macaques<\/a>\u201d by Kiran Bhaskar et al. Alzheimer\u2019s &amp; Dementia<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Targeting of phosphorylated tau at threonine 181 by a Q\u03b2 virus-like particle vaccine is safe, highly immunogenic, and reduces disease severity in mice and rhesus macaques<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n<p>Pathological accumulation of tau (pTau) contributes to various tauopathies, including Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD), and correlates with cognitive decline. A rapid surge in tau-targeted approaches via anti-sense oligonucleotides, active\/passive immunotherapies suggests that targeting p-Tau is a viable strategy against tauopathies.<\/p>\n<p>METHOD<\/p>\n<p>We describe a multi-species validation of our previously described Q\u00df virus-like particle (VLP)\u2013based vaccine technology targeting phosphorylated tau on threonine 181 (pT181-Q\u00df).<\/p>\n<p>RESULTS<\/p>\n<p>Two vaccine doses of pT181-Q\u00df, without any adjuvants, elicited robust antibody responses in two different mouse models of tauopathy (PS19 and hTau) and rhesus macaques. In mouse models, vaccination reduced AT180+ hyperphosphorylated, Sarkosyl insoluble, Gallyas silver positive tau, inflammasomes\/neuroinflammation, and improved recognition memory and motor function without inducing adverse T-cell activation. Anti-pT181 antibodies are reactive to pTau in human AD brains, engage pT181+ tau in human brain lysates, and are central nervous system bioavailable.<\/p>\n<p>DISCUSSION<\/p>\n<p>Our results suggest the translational utility of pT181-Q\u00df against tauopathies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary: Researchers have developed a tau-targeting vaccine that could help prevent the progression of Alzheimer\u2019s disease by generating&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[231,25775,215,105,219,233,220,16,15,25776],"class_list":{"0":"post-46961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-alzheimers-disease","9":"tag-alzheimers-vaccine","10":"tag-brain-research","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-neurobiology","13":"tag-neurology","14":"tag-neuroscience","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-university-of-new-mexico"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114393714824098009","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}