Our newest publication is in Cell!
We are excited to share that “Cholesterol and matrisome pathways dysregulated in astrocytes and microglia” is published in Molecular Cell. Here, we used hiPSCs, post-mortem human brain and mouse models to study about the strongest AD risk factor, APOE4. Using these models, Dr. TCW and colleagues found that there are more than just APOE4 mutation, which is APOE nearby genetic region called haplotype to increase disease risk, and the mechanistic defects due to APOE4 are unique to human cells. Furthermore, human glial cell types including astrocytes and microglia have human-specific dysregulation in lipid metabolism that is not observed in mouse models and induce enriched matrix and inflammation when astrocytes communicated with neurons.
Read the paper. And also, check out the interview with Boston 25 News and the article on ScienceMag, WCVB, and Medical Press about the paper.