New Compounds For The Treatment Of Diseases Related To Protein Misfolding
Applicable to broad range of protein misfolding diseasesPrevents formation of new aggregatesBreaks pre-formed aggregates
Therapeutic in Alzheimer’s diseaseTherapeutic in Parkinson’s diseaseTherapeutic for protein misfolding disease
UCLA researchers have developed novel compounds based on the β-sheet rich structure adopted by the proteins in the aggregated state. The small molecules bind the β-sheet structure and suppress their formation. They also disassemble pre-formed aggregates robustly. The small molecules have shown to be neuro-protective against amyloid-β induced aggregation and toxicity in cultured cells.
Background Protein misfolding is the underlying cause of a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) as well systemic diseases such as Type-2 diabetes and prion diseases. In each of these diseases, a protein adopts an altered conformation composed of β-sheets and is found in large deposits that are toxic to cells. For example, AD patients are known to have large β-sheet rich deposits composed of the protein, amyloid-β. Currently, these diseases have no therapeutics and with a global aging population present a huge financial burden. Related Materials Additional Technologies by these Inventors Tech ID/UC Case 27261/2012-615-0 Related Cases 2012-615-0
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