[2019 Fall Life Sciences & IBB Seminar]

 

▶Subject: MAOistsjoin BAPtistsand TAUists in Alzheimer research

▶Speaker: ChangjoonJustin Lee (Center for Cognition and Sociality, IBS)
 

▶Date: 4:30PM/Dec.6(Fri.)/2019

 

▶Place: Auditorium(1F), POSTECH Biotech Center

 

​▶Abctract
In the field of Alzheimer research there have been competing ideas and findings. Because the two major features of Alzheimer disease (AD) involve two distinct proteins, tau in the case of the neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid b-protein in the case of amyloid plaques, the amusing aphorism has been established to describe the field as a kind of religious contention between “BAPtists” and “TAUists.” After the repeated failures of clinical trials based on the amyloid b-protein targeted approaches, the focus of the research has been shifted to tau proteins. Nevertheless, the precise cause of AD still remains elusive. Meanwhile, the strong inhibitory action of monoamine oxidase B (MAOB)-dependent aberrant GABA production and release in reactive astrocytes has been proposed as an alternative hypothesis to explain the learning and memory impairment in AD. We have further discovered that newly developed selective and reversible MAO-B inhibitors are highly effective in alleviating AD symptoms as well as neurodegeneration. In particular, we have demonstrated that MAOB-dependent excessive H2O2 production is the main cause of neurodegeneration. These findings raise MAOB as an effective therapeutic target for AD, thus foreboding the emergence of “MAOists” in the field of Alzheimer research.

 

▶Inquiry: Prof. Sang Ki Park (279-2349)