R01AG075862

Cell Specific Perturbations of the Proteome in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the leading cause of aging-related cognitive decline, affecting more than 5 million Americans over 65 years old, and the number of patients is expected to climb to 13 million as baby boomers age. Our ability to learn and remember declines with age due to progressive changes in synaptic connectivity and function. Synaptic abnormalities also commonly precede neuronal loss during early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. However, we are only beginning to understand the full spectrum of these abnormalities, their contributions to cognitive decline, and the underlying mechanisms. This challenge is largely attributed to the complexity of the brain and etiologies of aging and neurodegeneration.

Hallmarks of advanced Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) include accumulations of extracellular amyloid peptides and intracellular hyperphosphorylated tau protein as well as chronic neuroinflammation. While genes for familial AD have been identified, which shed substantial light on the etiology of the disease, the mechanisms behind sporadic onset AD still remain a mystery.

While studies of transcriptional dynamics in the brain have been transformative, transcriptional dynamics do not correlate well with protein dynamics because protein synthesis, turnover, and subcellular localization are more tightly regulated spatially and temporally than transcription. Studies have suggested that proteostasis declines with age, impairing cells from managing the inevitable misfolding of proteins.

Our team will study protein dynamics in animal models based on bio-orthogonal non-canonical amino acid (BONCAT) protein labeling. These methods allow us to measure dynamics in protein synthesis and degradation in specific brain cell types relevant to AD. These measurements will provide new information about the disruption of normal cellular processes.

The overarching goal of our collaborative proposal is to bridge critical gaps in knowledge by leveraging the state-of-the-art methods for bio-orthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) and quantitative mass spectrometry (MS) to identify brain cell-type contributions to synaptic and neuronal decline associated with AD.

Scripps Research Institute

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]

La Jolla, California 920371000 United States

Single Zip Code

Regulation of Brain Regional and Cell Type Specific Proteome Dynamics in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-AG-21-033)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 402% from $1,317,961 to $6,610,744.