Alzheimer’s disease research is going through a paradigm shift. Unlike the dogma that the characteristic plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients are derived from a type of brain cell called neurons,  UConn School of Medicine researchers provide compelling evidence that the field should carefully look at an entirely different kind of cell: oligodendrocytes.

Oligodendrocytes are a group of cells found throughout the central nervous system. They are often thought of as providing insulation to the nerves that wire the nervous system. But oligodendrocytes have many other functions that are less well understood. They are recognized as critical in multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain troubles, but are hardly studied in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.

But there are clues that oligodendrocytes are involved in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s, before symptoms become obvious. Paying attention to how oligodendrocytes interact with brain cells known to be vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease could reveal key points in the disease process, and potentially lead to new, more effective, therapies.

UConn School of Medicine professor and chair of neuroscience Riqiang Yan, associate professor of neuroscience Xiangyou Hu, and their colleagues suggest a big data approach. Collecting data on oligodendrocytes in systems biology research—those studies that look at large numbers of cells and try to piece together the relationships between genes, proteins, and the health of the overall system—could be a valuable direction for identifying new gene targets for understanding Alzheimer’s pathogenesis and therapy.

“ Including oligodendrocytes in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research, particularly in ongoing big data efforts, is essential for a comprehensive understanding of how Alzheimer’s and related diseases are developing in patients’ brains,” Yan says.