There are myriad hypotheses on the mechanisms at work in Alzheimer's disease, posing significant challenges for investigators. In this article in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Taconic Biosciences' Dr. Moriah Jacobson explores the complex mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease, the disease-specific mouse models currently available, and how they must evolve to better model sporadic disease, which accounts for about 95 percent of cases. Dr. Jacobson discusses strategies such as enhancing existing models by crossing them with humanized or knock-in APOE4 and/or TREM2, designing models on diverse genetic backgrounds, and incorporating multiple models that each lend different insights:
"Since no single model of Alzheimer's disease is able to fully recapitulate the many facets of this condition, the most effective approach to improving translatability from preclinical research to the human patient is likely to be the incorporation of multiple models, each contributing different insights. Both genetically engineered models of the disease and aged models that allow the study of age-related phenotype progression are likely to play a role."
Read the complete article at: genengnews.com