Protein Aggregation News and Research

RSS

New synthetic genetic tool measures and manipulates protein aggregation in live cells

A common thread ties seemingly unlinked disorders like Alzheimer's disease and type II diabetes together. This thread is known as protein aggregation and happens when proteins clump together. These complexes are a hallmark of many diseases but have recently been linked to beneficial functions as well.

20 Oct 2017

Fluence Analytics launches new patented protein and polymer stability monitoring product

Fluence Analytics, a manufacturer of realtime, industrial and laboratory monitoring systems, today announced the launch of ARGEN, a patented protein and polymer stability monitoring product. By utilizing continuous light scattering measurements, ARGEN yields a unique information stream which reduces discovery and formulation and development times.

16 Oct 2017

NIH awards $1.5 million grant to support education in Alzheimer's disease at RPI

We know Alzheimer's as a brutal disease that dismantles our loved ones and condemns them to death. But science and engineering researchers look inside the disease to identify early warning signs and develop the imaging techniques to see them, to unravel the biochemical puzzle that creates a toxic clump of misfolded proteins, and to develop and test new drugs and therapies that chip away at cognitive decline.

28 Sep 2017

Researchers demystify interdomain communication pathway in Hsp70 protein

Using a combination of computational and experimental techniques, a research team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst led by molecular biologist Lila Gierasch has demystified the pathway of interdomain communication in a family of proteins known as Hsp70s - a top target of dozens of research laboratories trying to develop new anti-cancer drugs, antibiotics and treatments for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

30 Aug 2017

Scientists stop formation of protein clumps linked to ALS and frontotemporal dementia

Scientists report in a new study that by imitating a natural process of cells, they prevented the formation of protein clumps associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia.

8 Aug 2017

Researchers develop set of tools to trace path of proteins linked to Parkinson's disease

As neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease progress, misfolded proteins clump together in neurons, recruiting normal proteins in the cell to also misfold and aggregate.

4 Aug 2017

New method for evaluating drug safety can detect stress on cells at earlier stages

A new technique for evaluating drug safety can detect stress on cells at earlier stages than conventional methods, which mostly rely on detecting cell death.

4 Aug 2017

Rhodanine-based compounds show inhibitory activity to prevent aggregation of Tau proteins

The design of tailored peptide-polymer conjugates as drug-specific formulation additives offers access to next generation precision additives that can render problematic small organic drugs water-soluble and improve bioavailability.

30 Jun 2017

Researchers discover how tau disrupts functioning of nerve cells even before forming tangles

Tau proteins are involved in more than twenty neurodegenerative diseases, including various forms of dementia.

19 May 2017

Researchers discover how protein aggregation triggers aging

Not only does our way of life determine how long we live but so too does our genetic material. Of particular importance here is a genetic program that is controlled by the insulin receptor. A team of researchers from the Universities of Cologne and Bonn has now discovered how protein aggregation affects this genetic program and thus triggers aging.

21 Apr 2017

SLU researchers make advances in understanding plaque-causing protein in neurological disorders

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry Yuna Ayala, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, and her research team made advances in understanding how a protein causes damaging plaques to build up in neurodegenerative illnesses like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a form of dementia called frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

19 Apr 2017

Scientists identify new toxic pathway for protein aggregates in ALS and FTLD

Led by professor Ludo Van Den Bosch, scientists from Belgium, the UK and the US have identified new processes that form protein "clumps" that are characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

17 Mar 2017

SBP scientists identify autophagy linked to beneficial effects of enduring temporary stress

Biologists have known for decades that enduring a short period of mild stress makes simple organisms and human cells better able to survive additional stress later in life.

15 Feb 2017

Spatial structure of amyloid fibrils linked to Parkinson's disease highly dependent on salt concentration

By combining two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, Amsterdam researchers have established that the spatial structure of amyloid fibrils related to Parkinson's disease is highly dependent on salt concentration during protein aggregation.

6 Feb 2017

Protein aggregation may trigger inflammatory response linked to neurodegenerative diseases

A recent review article published online in The FASEB Journal points to the "trigger" for the inflammatory response, caused by the immune system, that precedes Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions.

11 Jan 2017

New tool explains how proteins assemble into different liquid and gel-like solid states

A tool that uses light to manipulate matter inside living cells has begun to explain how proteins assemble into different liquid and gel-like solid states, a key to understanding many critical cellular operations.

30 Dec 2016

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy sheds light on brain’s molecular mechanism

Advances in microscopy techniques have often triggered important discoveries in the field of neuroscience, enabling vital insights in understanding the brain and promising new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

29 Dec 2016

Understanding nucleation process could be critical for treating Alzheimer's disease or Type 2 diabetes

Whether it is clouds or champagne bubbles forming, or the early onset of Alzheimer's disease or Type 2 diabetes, a common mechanism is at work: nucleation processes.

24 Nov 2016

Distinct structures of tau protein aggregates may help determine type of dementia, study shows

The distinct structures of toxic protein aggregates that form in degenerating brains determine which type of dementia will occur, which regions of brain will be affected, and how quickly the disease will spread, according to a study from the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.

31 Oct 2016

FMP initiates new project for early detection of Parkinson's disease with magnetized xenon gas

A new project for the early detection of Parkinson's disease with strongly magnetized xenon gas has been initiated at FMP. The team led by physicist Leif Schröder has received a three-year grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

20 Oct 2016