Circadian immune dysfunction in prodromal stages of Alzheimer‘s disease (C02)

• Subject Area: Molecular and Cellular Neurology and Neuropathology ; Biological Psychiatry
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541063275

Psychiatrist and neurologist Josef Priller and chronobiologist Achim Kramer investigate the mechanistic basis of the link between neurodegenerative Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and disruptions of daily rhythms. They hypothesize that circadian disruption contributes to neurodegeneration in AD and can be measured in circulating innate immune cells. This is plausible because microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, are associated with the neurodegenerative process and show a high degree of circadian regulation. A combination of AD mouse models (with and without functional clocks) and studies in humans with earliest prodromal stages of AD will test this hypothesis. Moreover, an intervention study aiming at strengthening the circadian system will quantify effects on rhythmicity as well as on cognitive function and sleep.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 418: Foundations of Circadian Medicine
• Applicant Institution: shared FU Berlin and HU Berlin through:; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Achim Kramer; Professor Dr. Josef Priller