Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurological disorder responsible for dementia in the elderly population. While research efforts over the past decade have increased our knowledge about the pathogenesis of AD, we still do not have a simple test to identify the disease. The goal of this project is to determine whether we can detect a serum protein profile that is predictive of AD using raw serum and/or the serum albumin fraction. Clinical proteomics is an emerging field that promises to provide unique clinical tools that may dramatically revolutionize the way human diseases are detected, treated, and clinically managed. Proteins present in the serum are now believed to reflect the status of the various tissues perfused by the blood. We have collected serum samples taken from patients clinically diagnosed with AD, and age-matched normal control subjects. Both groups have been examined with MRI and divided into groups according to the degree of white matter damage (from severe to none), with 30 AD and 41 controls. Using a new technique called SELDI-MS (surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry), minute amounts of human serum can be analyzed for the measurement of thousands of proteins at the same time. Three types of instruments will be employed in this study: SELDI time-of-flight (TOF), SELDI-qTOF, and MALDI-TOF. The protein pattern can then be evaluated with special computer algorithms. Bioinfomatic software will be used to analyze the protein profiles that have proven useful for the serum diagnosis of human cancers. Using raw serum and the serum albumin fraction from human blood we have detected hundreds of protein/peptide peaks for each sample using Ciphergen chips (CM10 and IMAC). Once a bio-signature has been developed, we will validate the biomarkers in blinded studies and then enrich/purify and sequence them, to potentially shed light on the pathophysiology of AD. The identification of a bio-signature for AD will enable the early detection and possible early treatment of the disease before significant neurodegeneration
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institution: The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Spectroscopy
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1997249468