The tau proteins are a group of six highly soluble protein isoforms produced by alternative splicing from the gene MAPT. They have roles primarily in maintaining the stability of microtubules in axons and are abundant in the neurons of the central nervous system (CNS), where the cerebral cortex has the highest abundance. They are less common elsewhere but are also expressed at very low levels in CNS astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau protein that are most commonly known as a primary biomarker of Alzheimer's disease. Their presence is also found in numerous other diseases known as tauopathies. Little is known about their exact relationship to the different pathologies.
Major prion protein(PrP), is encoded in the human by the PRNP gene also known as CD230 (cluster of differentiation 230). Expression of the protein is most predominant in the nervous system but occurs in many other tissues throughout the body.
A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple system atrophy, and prion diseases. Neurodegeneration can be found in the brain at many different levels of neuronal circuitry, ranging from molecular to systemic. Because there is no known way to reverse the progressive degeneration of neurons, these diseases are considered to be incurable; however research has shown that the two major contributing factors to neurodegeneration are oxidative stress and inflammation. Biomedical research has revealed many similarities between these diseases at the subcellular level, including atypical protein assemblies and induced cell death. These similarities suggest that therapeutic advances against one neurodegenerative disease might ameliorate other diseases as well.
Gastric hydrogen potassium ATPase, also known as H+/K+ ATPase, is an enzyme which functions to acidify the stomach. It is a member of the P-type ATPases, also known as E1-E2 ATPases due to its two states.
Protein kinase RNA-activated also known as protein kinase R (PKR), interferon-induced, double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase, or eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha kinase 2 (EIF2AK2) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the EIF2AK2 gene on chromosome 2. PKR is a serine/tyrosine kinase that is 551 amino acids long.
Karen K. Hsiao Ashe is a professor at the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Medical School, where she holds the Edmund Wallace and Anne Marie Tulloch Chairs in Neurology and Neuroscience. She is the founding director of the N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care, and her specific research interest is memory loss resulting from Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Her research has included the development of an animal model of Alzheimer's.
Sir John Anthony Hardy is a human geneticist and molecular biologist at the Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies at University College London with research interests in neurological diseases.
The GDNF family of ligands (GFL) consists of four neurotrophic factors: glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin (NRTN), artemin (ARTN), and persephin (PSPN). GFLs have been shown to play a role in a number of biological processes including cell survival, neurite outgrowth, cell differentiation and cell migration. In particular signalling by GDNF promotes the survival of dopaminergic neurons.
Bart De Strooper is a Belgian molecular biologist and professor at Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie and KU Leuven and the UK Dementia Research Institute and University College London, UK. His research interests are in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Microtubule-associated protein 2 is a protein in humans that is encoded by the MAP2 gene.
Potassium-chloride transporter member 5 is a neuron-specific chloride potassium symporter responsible for establishing the chloride ion gradient in neurons through the maintenance of low intracellular chloride concentrations. It is a critical mediator of synaptic inhibition, cellular protection against excitotoxicity and may also act as a modulator of neuroplasticity. Potassium-chloride transporter member 5 is also known by the names: KCC2 for its ionic substrates, and SLC12A5 for its genetic origin from the SLC12A5 gene in humans.
Quinolinic acid, also known as pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid, is a dicarboxylic acid with a pyridine backbone. It is a colorless solid. It is the biosynthetic precursor to niacin.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation, mood swings, loss of motivation, self-neglect, and behavioral issues. As a person's condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Although the speed of progression can vary, the typical life expectancy following diagnosis is three to nine years.
The Alzheimer's disease biomarkers are neurochemical indicators used to assess the risk or presence of the disease. The biomarkers can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a very early stage, but they also provide objective and reliable measures of disease progress. It is imperative to diagnose AD disease as soon as possible, because neuropathologic changes of AD precede the symptoms by years. It is well known that amyloid beta (Aβ) is a good indicator of AD disease, which has facilitated doctors to accurately pre-diagnose cases of AD. When Aβ peptide is released by proteolytic cleavage of amyloid-beta precursor protein, some Aβ peptides that are solubilized are detected in CSF and blood plasma which makes AB peptides a promising candidate for biological markers. It has been shown that the amyloid beta biomarker shows 80% or above sensitivity and specificity, in distinguishing AD from dementia. It is believed that amyloid beta as a biomarker will provide a future for diagnosis of AD and eventually treatment of AD.
Mathias Jucker is a Swiss neuroscientist, Professor, and a Director at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research of the University of Tübingen. He is also a group leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Tübingen. Jucker is known for his research on the basic biologic mechanisms underlying brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
David M. Holtzman is an American physician-scientist known for his work exploring the biological mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, with a focus on Alzheimer's disease. Holtzman is former Chair of the Department of Neurology, Scientific Director of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, and associate director of the Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Holtzman's lab is known for examining how apoE4 contributes to Alzheimer's disease as well as how sleep modulates amyloid beta in the brain. His work has also examined the contributions of microglia to AD pathology.
Experimental models of Alzheimer's disease are organism or cellular models used in research to investigate biological questions about Alzheimer's disease as well as develop and test novel therapeutic treatments. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with aging, which occurs both sporadically or due to familial passed mutations in genes associated with Alzheimer's pathology. Common symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease include: memory loss, confusion, and mood changes.
Gerard David Schellenberg is an academic neuropathologist who specializes in the research of Alzheimer's disease. He is the director of Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center as well as a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a leading contributor to Alzheimer's disease research.
Li Gan is a neuroscientist and professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is known for her discovery of pathogenic tau protein acetylation in tauopathies and mechanisms of microglia dysfunction in neurodegeneration.
