Viruses may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease

Analysis of large data sets from post-mortem brain samples of people with and without Alzheimer’s disease has revealed new evidence that viral species, particularly herpesviruses, may have a role in Alzheimer’s disease biology.

Histological slide of the human herpes virus-6 showing infected cells, with inclusion bodies in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Image credit: NIH

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out simple tasks. More evidence is accumulating to indicate that this loss of cognitive functioning is a mix of many different disease processes in the brain, rather than just one, such as buildup of amyloid or tau proteins.

Identifying links to viruses may help researchers learn more about the complicated biological interactions involved in Alzheimer’s, and potentially lead to new treatment strategies.

The research group, which included experts from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, and Arizona State University, Phoenix, originally set out to find whether drugs used to treat other diseases can be repurposed for treating Alzheimer’s.

They designed their study to map and compare biological networks underlying Alzheimer’s disease. What they found is that Alzheimer’s biology is likely impacted by a complex constellation of viral and host genetic factors, adding that they identified specific testable pathways and biological networks.

Through the application of sophisticated computational modeling the researchers made several key findings, including:
— Human herpesvirus 6A and 7 were more abundant in Alzheimer’s disease samples than non-Alzheimer’s.
— There are multiple points of overlap between virus-host interactions and genes associated with Alzheimer’s risk.
— Multiple viruses impact the biology of Alzheimer’s disease across domains such as DNA, RNA and proteins.

Important roles for microbes and viruses in Alzheimer’s disease have been suggested and studied for decades, the authors noted. Since the 1980s, hundreds of reports have associated Alzheimer’s with bacteria and viruses. These studies combined suggest a viral contribution but have not explained how the connection works. (National Institutes of Health)

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