Ruoslahti Lab, SBP

Biomarker May Predict Early Alzheimer's Disease

ArticlePress release
Current Medical News
Contributed byMaulik P. Purohit MD MPHNov 12, 2017

Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified a peptide that could lead to the early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The discovery, published in Nature Communications, may also provide a means of homing drugs to diseased areas of the brain to treat AD, Parkinson's disease, as well as glioblastoma, brain injuries and stroke.

"Our goal was to find a new biomarker for AD," says Aman Mann, Ph.D., research assistant professor at SBP who shares the lead authorship of the study with Pablo Scodeller, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at SBP. "We have identified a peptide (DAG) that recognizes a protein that is elevated in the brain blood vessels of AD mice and human patients. The DAG target, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) appears in the AD brain before amyloid plaques, the pathological hallmark of AD."

"CTGF is a protein that is made in the brain in response to inflammation and tissue repair," explains Mann. "Our finding that connects elevated levels of CTGF with AD is consistent with the growing body of evidence suggesting that inflammation plays an important role in the development of AD."

The research team identified the DAG peptide using in vivo phage display screening at different stages of AD development in a mouse model. In young AD mice, DAG detected the earliest stage of the disease. If the early appearance of the DAG target holds true in humans, it would mean that DAG could be used as a tool to identify patients at early, pre-symptomatic stages of the disease when treatments already available may still be effective.

"Importantly, we showed that DAG binds to cells and brain from AD human patients in a CTGF-dependent manner" says Mann. "This is consistent with an earlier report of high CTGF expression in the brains of AD patients."

"Our findings show that endothelial cells, the cells that form the inner lining of blood vessels, bind our DAG peptide in the parts of the mouse brain affected by the disease," says Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., distinguished professor at SBP and senior author of the paper. "This is very significant because the endothelial cells are readily accessible for probes injected into the blood stream, whereas other types of cells in the brain are behind a protective wall called the blood-brain barrier. The change in AD blood vessels gives us an opportunity to create a diagnostic method that can detect AD at the earliest stage possible.

"But first we need to develop an imaging platform for the technology, using MRI or PET scans to differentiate live AD mice from normal mice. Once that's done successfully, we can focus on humans," adds Ruoslahti.

"As our research progresses we also foresee CTGF as a potential therapeutic target that is unrelated to amyloid beta (A?), the toxic protein that creates brain plaques," says Ruoslahti. "Given the number of failed clinical studies that have sought to treat AD patients by targeting A?, it's clear that treatments will need to be given earlier -- before amyloid plaques appear -- or have to target entirely different pathways.

"DAG has the potential to fill both roles -- identifying at risk individuals prior to overt signs of AD and targeted delivery of drugs to diseased areas of the brain. Perhaps CTGF itself can be a drug target in AD and other brain disorders linked to inflammation. We'll just have to learn more about its role in these diseases."


Materials provided by Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery InstituteNote: Content may be edited for style and length.

Disclaimer: DoveMed is not responsible for the accuracy of the adapted version of news releases posted to DoveMed by contributing universities and institutions.

References:

Aman P. Mann, Pablo Scodeller, Sazid Hussain, Gary B. Braun, Tarmo Mölder, Kadri Toome, Rajesh Ambasudhan, Tambet Teesalu, Stuart A. Lipton, Erkki Ruoslahti. (2017). Identification of a peptide recognizing cerebrovascular changes in mouse models of Alzheimer’s diseaseNature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01096-0

Was this article helpful

On the Article

Maulik P. Purohit MD MPH picture
Approved by

Maulik P. Purohit MD MPH

Assistant Medical Director, Medical Editorial Board, DoveMed Team

0 Comments

Please log in to post a comment.

Related Articles

Test Your Knowledge

Asked by users

Related Centers

Loading

Related Specialties

Loading card

Related Physicians

Related Procedures

Related Resources

Join DoveHubs

and connect with fellow professionals

Related Directories

Who we are

At DoveMed, our utmost priority is your well-being. We are an online medical resource dedicated to providing you with accurate and up-to-date information on a wide range of medical topics. But we're more than just an information hub - we genuinely care about your health journey. That's why we offer a variety of products tailored for both healthcare consumers and professionals, because we believe in empowering everyone involved in the care process.
Our mission is to create a user-friendly healthcare technology portal that helps you make better decisions about your overall health and well-being. We understand that navigating the complexities of healthcare can be overwhelming, so we strive to be a reliable and compassionate companion on your path to wellness.
As an impartial and trusted online resource, we connect healthcare seekers, physicians, and hospitals in a marketplace that promotes a higher quality, easy-to-use healthcare experience. You can trust that our content is unbiased and impartial, as it is trusted by physicians, researchers, and university professors around the globe. Importantly, we are not influenced or owned by any pharmaceutical, medical, or media companies. At DoveMed, we are a group of passionate individuals who deeply care about improving health and wellness for people everywhere. Your well-being is at the heart of everything we do.

© 2023 DoveMed. All rights reserved. It is not the intention of DoveMed to provide specific medical advice. DoveMed urges its users to consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and answers to their personal medical questions. Always call 911 (or your local emergency number) if you have a medical emergency!