On Thursday, August 1st, 2024, he show “Take Your Time” with Prokopis Agelopoulos featured the distinguished scientist Manolis Kellis, Professor of Computer Science and Genomics at MIT, to discuss MIT’s research on Alzheimer’s disease. The recently published MIT study in Nature highlights key findings from single-cell transcriptomics. The MIT researchers, led by Li-Huei Tsai and Manolis Kellis, analyzed the transcriptomes of 1.3 million cells from six brain regions in 48 individuals, including 26 with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The aim of the study was to understand how Alzheimer’s disease affects different brain regions, especially those progressively impacted by tau tangles. The researchers isolated nuclei from six brain regions affected at different stages of the disease and identified 76 cell types.
The conclusion from this research is that single-cell transcriptomics advances our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease by highlighting regional and cellular changes at the molecular level. Additionally, the study emphasizes the neuroprotective role of astrocytes through the synthesis of polyamines and choline, offering new pathways for understanding cognitive resilience and therapeutic targets.