Jellyfish protein could treat Alzheimer’s

With support from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the researchers found that jellyfish-based compound aequorin has yielded promising results. The scientists subjected brain cells to the “lab” equivalent of a stroke, and more than half treated with aequorin survived without residual toxicity.

Diseases like Alzheimer’s are associated with a loss of “calcium-binding” proteins that protect nerve cells. Calcium is necessary for communication between neurons in the brain, and learning and memory are not possible without it. But too much of it leads to neuron death, interfering with memory and contributing to neurodegenerative diseases.

Researcher James Moyer Jr, an assistant professor at UW-Milwaukee, said: “There are ways in which cells control the influx of calcium, such as sequestering it by binding it with certain proteins. If it weren’t for these proteins, the high level of calcium would overwhelm the neuron and trigger a cascade of events ultimately leading to cell death.”

Calcium-binding proteins decline with age, however, limiting the brain’s ability to control or handle the amount of calcium “allowed in.” Aequorin, the jellyfish protein, appears to be a viable substitute.

Aequorin was discovered in the 1960s and has been used in research for a long time as an indicator of calcium. But the protein has never been tried as a treatment to control calcium levels. Quincy Bioscience is about at the 12-year mark in the typical 15-year cycle for a new drug to be developed, the company said.