NSF Award
9222061
WPC? 2 B P Z Courier 10cpi #| p Sj x 6 X @ 8 ; X @ HP DeskJet 500 HPDES500.PRS x @ x X , , 0 FX @CG Times 12pt 2 V @ Z 8 p C < , W X p P rk ; X P HP DeskJet 500 HPDES500.PRS X p P rk ; x X , , 0 FX P " m o 8 ; ^<D\dd DDDd DDDDddddddddddDD X | |x DL | t l| DDDddDXdXdXDdd88d8 ddddHL8dd ddXXdXd d ddDDddd D d d d X X X X X X|X|X|X|XD8D8D8D8 d d d d d d d d d d X d d d d dtd X X X X X X X d|X|X|X|X d d d d d d d dD D D8D L d|8|8|8|8|8 d t d d d d H H HlLlLlLlL|8|8|8 d d d d d d d X X X d|8 d HlL|8 d d d d d D/ N d ddDXPPdd ddd dHdddd H d x H d h 1D DD x dp d x d x X L p x xdx X x x xL xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxLLLLLLL x #| p 2 = 9222061 Andreadis The symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are progressive neural degeneration with accompanying loss of mental function. Connected to the phenomenon of neuronal abnormality is a protein molecule named tau. In normal brain tau stabilizes microtubules and probably contributes to the organization and maintenance of neuron shape (and therefore function). In the brain of Alzhemer's patients tau appears in characteristic diagnostic assemblages of dead and dying neurons, the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). The tau gene produces a number of variant protein forms by a process called splicing, which is strictly regulated. The tau protein found within the NFTs is a v ariant abnormal with respect to both its cellular location and its particular form; the implication is that in AD the regulation of tau may have gone awry and may directly or indirectly affect neurons. The goal of this research proposal is to understand how tau splicing is regulated, in the hope of getting closer to discovering the molecular cause of AD and/or developing useful probes for its early stages. ***
