Translational Medicine and Physiology Seminar Series

Aβ42: A Jack of Many Troublesome Trades in Alzheimer’s Disease

March 11, 2025
12:10–1:00 P.M. PST
SAC 347 or via Zoom
Meeting ID: 913 6848 3019
Passcode: 804433

Speaker: Annalisa Scimemi, PhD
Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at SUNY Albany

Synapses are critical targets of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a highly prevalent neurodegenerative disease associated with accumulation of extracellular amyloid-β peptides. Although amyloidosis and aggregation of the 42-amino acid amyloid-β (Aβ42) have long been considered pathogenic triggers for AD, clinical evidence linking high levels of soluble Aβ42 with normal cognition challenges this hypothesis. To resolve this conundrum on the role of Aβ42 in regulating synaptic activity, we used a viral approach to trigger extracellular accumulation of Aβ42 and spatial memory impairment. We will discuss the effects that this peptide exerts on synaptic function in the mouse hippocampus.