image: This is an artist's rendering of β-amyloid oligomers (red) and receptor LilrB2 or PirB (green) in neuronal synapses of Alzheimer's brains. Inhibitory immune receptors LilrB2 in human brain and its murine ortholog PirB were discovered to act as neuronal receptors for β-amyloid oligomers, which contribute to synaptic dysfunction and memory defects in Alzheimer's disease. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the 20 Sept., 2013, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Taeho Kim at Stanford University in Stanford, CA, and colleagues was titled, "Human LilrB2 Is a β-Amyloid Receptor and Its Murine Homolog PirB Regulates Synaptic Plasticity in an Alzheimer's Model." view more
Credit: [Image courtesy of Eric Smith, Carla Shatz, and Taeho Kim]