AB Science announces that a new independent publication confirms the role of masitinib as a potential therapy in neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's Disease

 

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NEW INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES CONFIRMS THE ROLE OF MASITINIB AS A POTENTIAL THERAPY IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS INCLUDING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Paris, 08 March 2021, 8am CET

AB Science SA (NYSE Euronext - FR0010557264 - AB) today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article in which the authors state that blocking hemichannels on mast cells with masitinib represents a promising novel strategy for slowing the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Hemichannels allow cell communication with the extracellular environment and have diverse physiological and pathophysiological roles in the nervous system.

Entitled ‘Mast Cell and Astrocyte Hemichannels and Their Role in Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, and Harmful Stress Conditions’, this publication [1] is freely accessible online from the International Journal of Molecular Sciences website https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22041924.

This review article [1] examines hemichannels and their contribution to mast cell degranulation in Alzheimer’s disease. Of particular interest are data from the authors in vitro and in vivo (APPswe/PS1dE9 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease) experiments that show increased mast cell hemichannel activity after treatment with amyloid peptide (Ab_25–35), with subsequent degranulation response and enhanced histamine release [2]. The number of mast cells in hippocampal and cortical areas increased drastically even before amyloid plaque deposits became evident, suggesting that mast cells are one of the first brain cells to recognize and respond to amyloid peptides, and thus may play a critical role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment with masitinib was shown to totally prevent the amyloid-induced hemichannel-dependent mast cell activity in bone marrow-derived mast cells and brain mast cells. The authors concluded that hemichannel expressed by mast cells might serve as a molecular target with which to develop therapeutic treatments that could delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.