Brain HealthBrain Cells Donate Mitochondria to Rescue Cognition in Alzheimer's Mice
Scientists discovered that immune cells in the brain called microglia can package healthy mitochondria into tiny vesicles and donate them to neighboring support cells called astrocytes. This transfer is guided by a protein called GPNMB and is triggered by abnormal tau fragments inside microglia. In mice modeling Alzheimer's tau pathology, this mitochondrial transfer restored astrocyte function and dramatically reduced cognitive impairment. When GPNMB was genetically removed from microglia, the transfer stopped, astrocyte health declined, and cognitive deficits worsened. Injecting GPNMB-enriched vesicles from diseased mice into other diseased mice also relieved disease signs, suggesting this natural rescue pathway could be harnessed as a new therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease.
