BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: Potassium channel Kv4.2 (KCND2)

May 14, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse studies suggest inhibiting KCND2 degradation in the hippocampus could help treat AD. In a mouse model of AD, hippocampal neuron dendrite excitability was higher and levels of KCND2, which regulates dendrite excitability, were lower than in other brain regions in the AD models or in the brains of normal mice. Also in the model, KCND2 knockout increased hyperreactivity and behavioral deficits compared with unmodified KCND2 expression. In the model, inhibition of KCND2 degradation with levetiracetam or knockout of microtubule-associated protein τ (tau; MAPT; FTDP-17) decreased dendrite hyperreactivity compared with vehicle or normal tau expression, respectively. Next steps could include testing the effects of inhibiting KCND2 degradation on behavioral deficits in models of AD models...