Cited by 162Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Targeting Fyn Kinase in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Nygaard, Haakon B.·2018·Biological Psychiatry

Abstract

The past decade has brought tremendous progress in unraveling the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While increasingly sophisticated immunotherapy targeting soluble and aggregated brain amyloid-beta (Aβ) continues to dominate clinical research in AD, a deeper understanding of Aβ physiology has led to the recognition of distinct neuronal signaling pathways linking Aβ to synaptotoxicity and neurodegeneration and to new targets for therapeutic intervention. Identifying specific signaling pathways involving Aβ has allowed for the development of more precise therapeutic interventions targeting the most relevant molecular mechanisms leading to AD. In this review, I highlight the discovery of cellular prion protein as a high-affinity receptor for Aβ oligomers, and the downstream signaling pathway elucidated to date, converging on nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Fyn. I discuss preclinical studies targeting Fyn as a therapeutic intervention in AD and our recent experience with the safety, tolerability, and cerebrospinal fluid penetration of the Src family kinase inhibitor saracatinib in patients with AD. Fyn is an attractive target for AD therapeutics, not only based on its activation by Aβ via cellular prion protein but also due to its known interaction with tau, uniquely linking the two key pathologies in AD. Fyn is also a challenging target, with broad expression throughout the body and significant homology with other members of the Src family kinases, which may lead to unintended off-target effects. A phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial in patients with AD is currently under way, providing critical first data on the potential effectiveness of targeting Fyn in AD.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.06.004

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [55]Kaufman AC Salazar SV Haas LT Yang J Kostylev MA Jeng AT 2015 Fyn inhibition rescues established memory and synapse loss in Alzheimer mice Annals of neurology PMC4447598 25707991
  2. [90]Sperber BR McMorris FA 2001 Fyn tyrosine kinase regulates oligodendroglial cell development but is not required for morphological differentiation of oligodendrocytes Journal of neuroscience research 63 303 312 11170180

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Authors
Nygaard, H. B.
Affiliations
University of British Columbia (CA)
Corresponding author
Nygaard, Haakon B.
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-02
Volume
83
Issue
4
Pages
369-376
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2625356606
Cited by
162
References
98
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 2
FWCI
1.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (UH3TR000967)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, Fyn, Src family kinases, saracatinib, cellular prion protein, amyloid-beta oligomers, tau protein, synaptotoxicity, neurodegeneration, kinase inhibitors, cerebrospinal fluid penetration, off-target effects
MeSH terms
Prion Proteins, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Enzyme Inhibitors, Humans, Quinazolines, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fyn, Benzodioxoles

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