Using proteomics to explore the disease mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease

Speaker: Dr Eleanor Drummond
University of Sydney
NSW

Title: Using proteomics to explore the disease mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract: Despite decades of intensive research, the disease mechanisms that cause Alzheimer’s disease remain unclear. In our recent work, we have focused on systematically mapping all the protein changes present in human Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue using mass spectrometry-based proteomics to identify early disease drivers. To do this, we have developed new proteomics approaches to study the localized proteome of neuropathological lesions and the interactome of known neuropathology-associated proteins such as phosphorylated tau. Using these approaches, we have identified hundreds of proteins that are significantly enriched in neuropathological features in Alzheimer’s disease. To place our neuropathology-focused results in context, we recently generated a new atlas of protein changes in human Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue, which details Alzheimer’s disease-associated protein changes across thirteen brain regions and three disease stages (preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, advanced Alzheimer’s disease). We have leveraged these new data to identify proteins that we hypothesize to be early Alzheimer’s disease drivers, for which we are currently examining the mechanistic role in Alzheimer’s disease using cell culture models and in vitro interaction studies.