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Important subside pour mieux comprendre la maladie d'Alzheimer

Aurélien Lathuilière, a neurologist at the and research associate in the Departments of Cell Physiology and Metabolism and of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine, has been awarded a major research grant from . This 3-year grant will enable him to explore the cellular interactions of two proteins that are important in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease: Tau and Apolipoprotein E (ApoE).

ApoE is a key genetic risk factor for certain forms of Alzheimer's disease, whose 3 variants (E2, E3, E4) influence the progression of the disease in different ways. People carrying the E4 allele have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, while those carrying the E2 allele are protected. For reasons as yet unknown, carriers of the E4 allele have an increased brain burden of tau aggregates. This project aims to explore how ApoE variants affect the behaviour and accumulation of Tau protein, focusing on the role of astrocytes, brain cells essential for maintaining brain health.

Aurélien Lathuilière is a clinical neurologist and neuroscientist with a special interest in neurodegenerative diseases. He holds an MD-PhD and spent two years at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, where he worked on the pathophysiology of the tau protein. Since 2021, he has been a neurologist at the HUG's Centre de la Mémoire and has held an SNSF Ambizione grant since 2022. His dual clinical and scientific background enables him to develop translational research projects, particularly on the mechanisms of physiological and pathological cellular propagation of the tau protein in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. He is also involved in the clinical development of encapsulated cell technology for the administration of therapeutic proteins. He is the author of patents in this field and collaborates with several biotechnology companies.

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