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By Melissa Fleur Afshar
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A chemical that forms when car tires break down on the road may interact with the brain in ways that raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study that used machine learning to map its effects on brain cells.
The compound, known as 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-Q), is created when tiny particles shed from tires and react with ozone in the air. It has already been found in water, soil and human biological samples, meaning people are regularly exposed to it through everyday traffic pollution.
"This study is intriguing because it proposes a plausible molecular mechanism linking a common traffic pollutant, 6PPD-quinone, to pathways that are already known to play a role in Alzheimer's disease, including oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruptions in communication between brain cells," Laura Bojarskaite, a neuroscientist and sleep researcher at the University of Oslo in Norway, told Newsweek.
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"These are not obscure mechanisms—they are central features of many neurodegenerative disorders."
How the Chemical May Affect the Brain
The research is the first to systematically explore the link between 6PPD-Q and Alzheimer's using data-driven computational methods.
Lead authors Chun Zhang and Jingqi Zhang, of Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College and Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, had the study published in Open Medicine.
The scientists used advanced machine learning tools to examine how the chemical interacts with the genes, proteins and signals that control the brain's cellular functions.
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They identified five key genes linked to Alzheimer's disease risk and found that 6PPD-Q binds strongly to three of them. This binding can trigger oxidative stress, a form of cellular wear and tear, along with inflammation and breakdowns in communication between brain cells—all processes known to set the stage for Alzheimer's disease.
Previous research has already shown that 6PPD-Q is toxic to fish and other aquatic life and can cross into the brains of mice, raising concern that it could affect human brain health as well.
A Warning, Not Proof
But Bojarskaite cautions against reading too much into the findings, at least, until laboratory studies in human cells and animal models are run to confirm that these molecular interactions actually occur in living systems.
She said that, for now, the researchers have identified theoretical pathways through which the chemical could contribute to disease-related processes—a far cry from proving that exposure actually raises a person's risk of dementia without a doubt.
Still, Bojarskaite said the study fits a pattern seen elsewhere in neuroscience.
"Air pollution, for example, is now increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to cognitive decline and dementia," she said. "This new study adds tire-derived chemicals to the growing list of environmental exposures that deserve closer attention."
She added that the findings help broaden the scope of Alzheimer's research, which has traditionally focused on genetics and aging.
"The disease likely arises from a complex interaction between genes, lifestyle, vascular health, sleep, and environmental exposures accumulated across the life span," Bojarskaite said.
Newsweek reached out to the study's authors for more information via their press contact.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and James Debens
Reference
Zhang, C. and J. (2026). 6PPD-quinone exposure and Alzheimer’s disease: insights from integrative network pharmacology, transcriptomics, machine learning, and molecular docking. Open Medicine. 6PPD-quinone exposure and Alzheimer's disease: insights from integrative network pharmacology, transcriptomics, machine learning, and molecular docking.
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