Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease which are characterized by abnormal accumulation of protein plexuses/clusters have attracted neuroscientists to delve into the pathogenesis of other brain diseases and markers their protein disturbances.
“Each of these diseases has its own protein plexus, or fibril, associated with it. Disease-related proteins have their shape and behavior.” Anthony Fitzpatrick, PhD, principal investigator at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute and also an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a member of the Taub Research Institute of Columbia on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.
“We discovered that a protein called TMEM106B can form filaments, and this behavior was not previously known. This protein is a core component of lysosomes and endothelium, which are cells organ responsible for cleaning up the garbage that builds up in our cells as we age.” Xinyu Xiang, formerly a member of the Fitzpatrick lab at the Zuckerman Institute and now a PhD student in the Department of Structural Biology of Stanford University said.
This disease helps to explore more treatment options for various neurodegenerative diseases.
Source: Medindia
