We are pleased to share that ATM Early Career Researcher Dr. Khaled Abdelrahman’s project was amongst the 5 winning projects receiving funding through the 2023 Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health Alzheimer Disease Research Grant.
The project, led by Dr. Abdelrahman and Dr. Brian MacVicar, is titled The contribution of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) to impaired neurovascular coupling in Alzheimer disease, described below:
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is a type of protein found in the brain that plays an important role in controlling how brain cells communicate and form memories. In Alzheimer disease, amyloid-beta (Aβ42) builds up in the brain and causes damage, disrupting the normal functioning of mGluR5 in astrocytes, which are brain cells that play a key role in cerebral blood flow.
The research team has shown that when they block or reduce the activity of mGluR5, it can lead to improvements in memory and brain pathology in mice with Alzheimer disease. This suggests that targeting mGluR5 could be a promising approach to reverse some of the harmful effects triggered by Aβ42 in the brains of people with Alzheimer disease.
The goal of this project is to understand how Aβ42 affects mGluR5 signaling in astrocytes of male and female mice. The research team aims to find out if the changes in mGluR5 signaling contribute to problems with blood flow in the brain and cognitive function in both male and female mice with Alzheimer disease, and whether this is regulated by sex hormones.
We look forward to sharing the promising findings of this project with the ATM community, alongside the findings of the other winning projects.