Supriya Chakraborty might have been studying insects in a lab had it not been for an immunology college instructor in India who taught him about the superheroes inside him—immune cells that wage a battle against bacteria, parasites, and a host of other adversaries that invade our bodies.
"That really fascinated me," Chakraborty recalled. "My focus shifted from entomology to wanting to solve illnesses that affect humans, specifically neurodegenerative disorders."
Zeynab Tabrizi would take quite a different path to studying conditions that damage and destroy parts the human nervous system. She had long been a student of immunology and neuroscience in her native Iran, conducting research that explored the causes of disorders like schizophrenia and autism. "I had some experience working in industry," she said, "but my heart was in academia."
Now, their paths have intersected at the University of Miami. As Ph.D. students in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology, Chakraborty and Tabrizi conduct research that could help blaze a trail to more effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease, perhaps even leading to a cure for the memory-robbing disorder that affects more than 7 million older adults in the U.S.
In a new collaborative study that used a mouse model with Alzheimer's, the two researchers discovered that activating Piezo1—a mechanosensitive ion channel that is functionally expressed in blood vessels—improved microvascular flow and neurovascular coupling in a mouse model with Alzheimer's.
"Reduced blood flow and impaired vascular responses in the brain are early features of Alzheimer's and contribute to the disease's progression," Tabrizi said. "While our study was able to improve and actually restore such functions in a mouse model with the disease, we believe such a method may hold great promise as a therapeutic strategy for humans."
In their study, the researchers also employed the pharmacological activation of Piezo1 to improve functional hyperemia—the localized increase in blood flow to a specific tissue or organ, such as the brain or muscles, in response to increased metabolic activity or functional demand.
The study, which also involved researchers from the University of Vermont and is funded by the National Institutes of Health, a Provost's Award from the University of Miami, and other sources, is published in a recent issue of the peer-reviewed Alzheimer's and Dementia journal.
"It's another major steppingstone in the race to solve the mystery of Alzheimer's," Chakraborty said of their research. "But further investigation is needed, which is our goal."
For Tabrizi, the study comes on the heels of other dementia-related research she has conducted at the University. Working with former Department of Biology neuroscientist Oliver Bracko, she has investigated how the immune system may be a factor in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
In that research, Tabrizi focused on white blood cells called neutrophils, which in previous studies she conducted have been shown to block blood vessels and contribute to the reduction of blood flow to the brain in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.
"Alzheimer's is a disease that not only affects the patient but also family members, who are often the ones who end up caregiving for a loved one with the disorder," she said. "So our work will aid people on all fronts of battling the disease."
