'Brain Inflammation Protein' as a Clue for Dementia Treatment

Role of Neuroinflammatory Protein C8-Gamma Identified
Expected Applications for Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuroinflammation and Dementia

C8-gamma is generally known to form a C8 complex in the blood, playing a role in immune responses that protect the host. However, the research team discovered that C8-gamma is also found in the brain and, in particular, its expression is specifically increased in astrocytes during neuroinflammatory conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, exhibiting anti-inflammatory functions. Astrocytes (red), C8-gamma (black).

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] A study has revealed the function of the biomarker protein C8-gamma, which increases in brain inflammation?a phenomenon observed in dementia?and suggested that regulating it could enhance the potential for treating dementia and other degenerative brain diseases.

The National Research Foundation of Korea announced on the 6th that the research results by the team led by Seok Kyungho and Kim Jongheon from the College of Medicine at Kyungpook National University were published in the international academic journal Brain.

First, the research team observed that the concentration of the C8-gamma protein was higher in the brains of dementia animal models and dementia patients with accompanying brain inflammation compared to normal groups. The protein's concentration was also elevated in cerebrospinal fluid and blood compared to normal groups. Subsequently, using acute brain inflammation and Alzheimer's disease animal models, the team confirmed that acute brain inflammation stimulates astrocytes to induce C8-gamma expression, which was also verified in brain tissues of actual Alzheimer's patients. C8-gamma is a protein that forms part of the C8 complex, which assists inflammatory responses. However, this study confirmed that unlike other components of the C8 complex (such as C8-alpha and C8-beta), the expression of C8-gamma increases specifically in the brains of dementia patients.

Additionally, the research team demonstrated that C8-gamma competitively inhibits the interaction between sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2), thereby suppressing excessive activation of microglia. S1P is a protein that promotes inflammatory activity by binding to S1PR2, which enhances the inflammatory activity of microglia.

The research team stated, "The increased concentration of C8-gamma in dementia patients could be utilized as a clue for dementia diagnosis," and added, "The role of C8-gamma in alleviating inflammation by inhibiting microglial activation is expected to provide a foundation for developing therapeutic agents."

C8-gamma of Overactivated Astrocytes in Brain Tissue of Alzheimer’s Disease Patients

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