P01AG084497

Mechanisms underlying heterogeneity of cognitive outcomes in synucleinopathy - Overall abstract/summary

The mission of this Penn PO1 Center on “Mechanisms underlying heterogeneity of cognitive outcome in synucleinopathy” is to understand why the same underlying core pathology – inclusions of alpha-synuclein (ASYN) – varies so widely in the pace and pattern of spread within the brain, resulting in dramatically divergent clinical trajectories.

The Lewy body disorders (LBD) – namely, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Alzheimer’s disease with Lewy bodies (LBD+AD) – share the core feature of neuronal ASYN inclusions.

However, patients manifest very differently from one another, with differences in cognition playing a vital role with respect to patient quality of life and cost to the healthcare system.

Because the LBD affect so many, with no FDA-approved disease-modifying therapies, they constitute one of the most important Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (ADRD) affecting the world today.

This PO1 Center hypothesizes that several key features play fundamental roles in determining whether a given LBD individual might develop dementia from the outset, after a few years, after many decades, or not at all.

These features are: (1) the interplay of ASYN with β-amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles, (2) the conformation of ASYN, (3) host genomics and proteomics, and (4) the locus/entry point of early pathology.

We test this hypothesis in four synergistic research projects.

Project I investigates the role of concomitant β-amyloid and tau pathology in governing patterns of ASYN spread in human postmortem brain.

Project II characterizes human brain-derived ASYN strains with cryo-ET and cell biological techniques.

Project III leverages genomic and biomarker data to derive candidate molecular players, then manipulates these genes/proteins in neurons to understand their role in the uptake of fibrillar ASYN, development of ASYN pathology, and cell-to-cell transmission of ASYN pathology.

Project IV extends our investigations of host factors to mouse models, testing the role of genetic background, route of ASYN exposure, and type of ASYN strain in modulating in vivo pathological ASYN spread.

All four research projects focus on mechanisms, grounded in human data, and they are supported by four cores that (1) serve administrative functions, (2) recruit clinical patients, (3) provide biosample resources to research projects and to external investigators, and (4) manage data for research projects and sharing to external investigators.

Thus, the Penn PO1 Center seeks to discover and develop new therapeutic strategies to delay or prevent dementia in the LBD.

Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania

TO ENCOURAGE BIOMEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING DIRECTED TOWARD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGING PROCESS AND THE DISEASES, SPECIAL PROBLEMS, AND NEEDS OF PEOPLE AS THEY AGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS. THE DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF AGING. THE DIVISION OF GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL GERONTOLOGY SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE ABILITIES OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS TO RESPOND TO THE DISEASES AND OTHER CLINICAL PROBLEMS OF OLDER PEOPLE. THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF GROWING OLD AND THE PLACE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE FOSTERS RESEARCH CONCERNED WITH THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE RELATED SENSORY, PERCEPTUAL, AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND HAS A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.866 - Aging Research

National Institute on Aging (NIA) [HHS - NIH]

Pennsylvania United States

State-Wide

NIA Program Project Applications (P01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-22-130)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 96% from $3,852,175 to $7,552,148.