๐ง Hidden Skeleton Inside Brain Cells Acts as an Alzheimer's Gatekeeper
Penn State researchers found a protein lattice just beneath neuron surfaces โ the membrane-associated periodic skeleton (MPS) โ that controls what brain cells absorb. When this structure weakens, neurons rapidly take in amyloid-beta proteins, the toxic fragment tied to Alzheimer's disease. The finding, published in Science Advances, suggests that stabilizing the MPS could become a new drug target to slow neurodegeneration. Could this hidden scaffold finally give Alzheimer's researchers the foothold they've been looking for?