BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1)

September 3, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse and human sample studies suggest inhibiting SCD1 could help treat AD. Numbers of triglyceride-containing lipid droplets were higher in the forebrain subventricular zones of AD patients than in healthy individuals, and levels of oleic acid-enriched triglycerides were higher and numbers of neuronal stem cells were lower in the forebrain subventricular zones of a transgenic mouse model of AD than in wild-type mice. In the transgenic model, intracerebroventricular infusion of an SCD1 inhibitor decreased levels of oleic acid-enriched triglycerides and increased numbers of neuronal stem cells in the forebrain subventricular zone compared with vehicle. Next steps include evaluating the effects of inhibiting lipid metabolism in the brain on cognitive deficits in AD animal models. (See "Low-fat Brain", page 6)...