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Cancer Hacks Neurodegeneration: Cystatin-C as a Bridge for Microglial Amyloid Clearance via TREM2
Yuanhao Zhang1,2, Conglei Li1,2,3, Chenzhong Li4
1Institute of Precision and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Biomedical Health Sciences, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Abstract:
Historically, epidemiological studies have consistently highlighted an inverse correlation between cancer and Alzheimer's disease, yet the molecular link between these 2 distinct pathologies remained elusive. In a recent breakthrough published in Cell, Li et al. provide a compelling answer by revealing that peripheral tumors secrete cystatin-C, which binds to preexisting amyloid oligomers and activates triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) in microglia, leading to the clearance of preexisting amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease mice.
