Lawrence Rajendran’s remarkable work notably deals with the genes that predispose people to develop Alzheimer’s disease. For neurodegenerative diseases it is often impossible to isolate one responsible gene, which was previously the case for Alzheimer’s disease. However, the emergence of functional genomics methods and computational tools has led to advances in the understanding of the complex molecular networks underlying the disease.

Lawrence Rajendran’s work also deals with the link between food and the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Consuming too much protein, which is found for example in red meat, incites the brain to use this source of energy instead of consuming the proteins present in its own cells. This overconsumption encourages an accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain’s cells. These amyloid proteins formed in the brain play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Aside from nutritional recommendations, Lawrence Rajendran’s work opens the way to possible medical developments, with the use of medication that encourages the brain to refuse this external source of protein and focus instead on its own resources. 

Lawrence Rajendran receiving the 3rd SCOR Prize for Young European Researcher for Alzheimer disease

The SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science is proud to support the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation for the third consecutive year through this SCOR Young European Researcher Prize. Extending and reinforcing a partnership initiated by SCOR in 2008, the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science teamed up with the research programme of the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, signing a sponsorship agreement on 12 June 2013 that commits the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science to the payment of EUR 1 million over five years. As well as creating an annual award for young European researchers, the agreement notably enables the Research Foundation to continue to observe a cohort of patients as part of a long-term study of Alzheimer’s sufferers, and to promote cooperation with foreign scientists in the field of research into this disease.
 

Lawrence Rajendran on the French Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (Fondation Recherche Alzheimer) website.

Publications by Lawrence Rajendran

• Microglia-Mediated Synapse Loss in Alzheimer's Disease.
  Rajendran L, Paolicelli RC.
  J Neurosci. 2018 Mar 21;38(12):2911-2919. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1136-17.2017. PMID: 29563239
• The Alzheimer's Disease γ-Secretase Generates Higher 42:40 Ratios for β-Amyloid Than for p3 Peptides.
  Siegel G, Gerber H, Koch P, Bruestle O, Fraering PC, Rajendran L.
  Cell Rep. 2017 Jun 6;19(10):1967-1976. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.05.034. PMID: 28591569
• Retromers in Alzheimer's disease.
  Siegenthaler BM, Rajendran L.
  Neurodegener Dis. 2012;10(1-4):116-21. doi: 10.1159/000335910. Epub 2012 Mar 3. PMID: 22398391
• Membrane trafficking pathways in Alzheimer's disease.
  Rajendran L, Annaert W.
  Traffic. 2012 Jun;13(6):759-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2012.01332.x. Epub 2012 Feb 17. PMID: 22269004
• Specific Inhibition of β-Secretase Processing of the Alzheimer Disease Amyloid Precursor Protein.
  Ben Halima S, Mishra S, Raja KMP, Willem M, Baici A, Simons K, Brüstle O, Koch P, Haass C, Caflisch A, Rajendran L.
  Cell Rep. 2016 Mar 8;14(9):2127-2141. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.01.076. Epub 2016 Feb 25. PMID: 26923602
• Exploration of Plasma Lipids in Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's Disease.
  Bergland AK, Proitsi P, Kirsebom BE, Soennesyn H, Hye A, Larsen AI, Xu J, Legido-Quigley C, Rajendran L, Fladby T, Aarsland D.
  J Alzheimers Dis. 2020;77(3):1117-1127. doi: 10.3233/JAD-200441. PMID: 32804144
• miR-186 in Alzheimer's disease: a big hope for a small RNA?
  Ben Halima S, Siegel G, Rajendran L.
  J Neurochem. 2016 May;137(3):308-11. doi: 10.1111/jnc.13573. Epub 2016 Mar 30. PMID: 27029568
• Why does the Aβ peptide of Alzheimer share structural similarity with antimicrobial peptides?
  Pastore A, Raimondi F, Rajendran L, Temussi PA.
  Commun Biol. 2020 Mar 19;3(1):135. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-0865-9. PMID: 32193491
• Cellular basis of Alzheimer's disease.
  Bali J, Halima SB, Felmy B, Goodger Z, Zurbriggen S, Rajendran L.
  Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2010 Dec;13(Suppl 2):S89-93. doi: 10.4103/0972-2327.74251. PMID: 21369424
• Membrane anchored and lipid raft targeted β-secretase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease therapy.
  Ben Halima S, Rajendran L.
  J Alzheimers Dis. 2011;24 Suppl 2:143-52. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2011-110269. PMID: 21460437

More publications by Lawrence Rajendran are available on the National Library of Medicine website.