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Struktur
protein baru dapat membantu mengobati Alzheimer
Bioengineers
telah rancang struktur peptida yang dapat menghentikan perubahan berbahaya
tubuh normal protein menjadi yang telah dikaitkan dengan penyakit-penyakit yang
luas seperti Alzheimer, Parkinson, penyakit jantung, diabetes Type 2 dan Lou Gehrig's disease
New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer's, related diseases
Date:
July 28,
2014
Source:
University of Washington
Summary:
Bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that
can stop the harmful changes of the body's normal proteins into a state that's
linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease,
Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease
................
There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of
dementia, but the research community is one step closer to finding treatment.
University
of Washington bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that can stop
the harmful changes of the body's normal proteins into a state that's linked to
widespread diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease, Type 2
diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease. The synthetic molecule blocks these proteins
as they shift from their normal state into an abnormally folded form by
targeting a toxic intermediate phase.
The
discovery of a protein blocker could lead to ways to diagnose and even treat a
large swath of diseases that are hard to pin down and rarely have a cure.
"If you
can truly catch and neutralize the toxic version of these proteins, then you
hopefully never get any further damage in the body," said senior author
Valerie Daggett, a UW professor of bioengineering. "What's critical with
this and what has never been done before is that a single peptide sequence will
work against the toxic versions of a number of different amyloid proteins and
peptides, regardless of their amino acid sequence or the normal 3-D
structures."
The findings
were published online this month in the journal eLife.
More than 40
illnesses known as amyloid diseases -- Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and rheumatoid
arthritis are a few -- are linked to the buildup of proteins after they have
transformed from their normally folded, biologically active forms to abnormally
folded, grouped deposits called fibrils or plaques. This happens naturally as
we age, to a certain extent -- our bodies don't break down proteins as quickly
as they should, causing higher concentrations in some parts of the body.
Each amyloid
disease has a unique, abnormally folded protein or peptide structure, but often
such diseases are misdiagnosed because symptoms can be similar and pinpointing
which protein is present usually isn't done until after death, in an autopsy.
As a result,
many dementias are broadly diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease without definitive
proof, and other diseases can go undiagnosed and untreated.
The molecular
structure of an amyloid protein can be only slightly different from a normal
protein and can transform to a toxic state fairly easily, which is why amyloid
diseases are so prevalent. The researchers built a protein structure, called
"alpha sheet," that complements the toxic structure of amyloid
proteins that they discovered in computer simulations. The alpha sheet
effectively attacks the toxic middle state the protein goes through as it
transitions from normal to abnormal.
The
structures could be tailored even further to bind specifically with the
proteins in certain diseases, which could be useful for specific therapies.
The
researchers hope their designed compounds could be used as diagnostics for
amyloid diseases and as drugs to treat the diseases or at least slow
progression.
"For
example, patients could have a broad first-pass test done to see if they have
an amyloid disease and then drill down further to determine which proteins are
present to identify the specific disease," Daggett said.
The research
team includes Gene Hopping, Jackson Kellock and James Bryers of UW
bioengineering; Gabriele Varani and Ravi Pratap Barnwal of UW chemistry; Peter
Law, a former UW graduate student; and Byron Caughey of the National Institutes
of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratories.
Working with
the UW's Center for Commercialization, they have a patent on one compound and
have submitted an application to patent the entire class of related compounds.
This
research began a decade ago in Daggett's lab when a former graduate student,
Roger Armen, first discovered this new secondary structure through computer
simulations. Daggett's team was able to prove its validity in recent years by
designing stable compounds and testing their ability to bind toxic versions of
different amyloid proteins in the lab.
The research
was funded by the National Institutes of Health (General Medicine Sciences),
the National Science Foundation, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and Coins
for Alzheimer's Research Trust.
Story
Source:
The above
story is based on materials provided by University of Washington. The original article was written
by Michelle Ma. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.