Center On Alpha-synuclein Strains In Alzheimer Disease & Related Dementias

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National Institute on Aging (NIA) Penn U19 “Center On Alpha-synuclein Strains In Alzheimer Disease & Related Dementias”. Principal Investigator: John Q. Trojanowski Center Summary/Abstract: This U19 Center pursues research priorities in the “Recommendations of the Alzheimer's disease-related dementias conference”.13 It especially focuses on priorities that address Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) in topic areas of multiple etiology dementias, Lewy body (LB) dementias (LBD), including dementia with LBs (DLB) and Parkinson's disease without (PD) and with dementia (PDD), new guidelines on the biological definition of AD14-17 and reflects recommendations from a recent NIA meeting on “Neurodegenerative Disease Transmissibility: Current Science and Recommendations for Future Research” (Frosch M et al, in preparation, 2018). Among ADRD, AD with abundant LB co-pathology is the most common subtype of AD. We hypothesize that accumulations of pathological aSyn lead to neuron dysfunction and death due to misfolding and transmission of different strains of pathological aSyn to form LBs and LNs and that aSyn and AD pathology interact to modify the distribution of each other and contribute to behavioral impairments. To accomplish these goals, Projects I and II complement each other and Projects III and IV by seeking to elucidate aSyn strains underlying AD+aSyn/LBD compared to PD, Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is studied as a control because it is characterized by aSyn glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) that are comprised of a distinct aSyn strain which is more potent than LBD or AD+aSyn strains of pathological aSyn. In parallel, Project III analyzes regional AD/LBD neuropathology with novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to correlate these data with diverse cognitive difficulties and structural imaging. A 2X2 design is used that contrasts clinical AD phenotypes and primary AD pathologies. This is complemented by Project IV which measures cognition, blood and cerebrospinal (CSF) biomarkers, including aSyn, as well as SNP arrays, to better understand, diagnose and manage diverse clinical manifestations of AD/LBD in order to advance towards a precision medicine approach for care and disease management. The landmark discoveries of aSyn gene (SNCA) alterations pathogenic for LBD and that pathological aSyn is the disease protein in synucleinopathies, in addition to the cell-to-cell spread of aSyn strains, places aSyn at center stage for understanding mechanisms of AD+aSyn and LBD. This Penn U19 Center addresses these key issues in four Projects supported by four Cores. Moreover, this Center also will work with NIA to provide biofluids, DNA/RNA, autopsy tissue and data collected from ADRD patients over the past 20 years at Penn in addition to aSyn strains to qualified investigators. By addressing the hypothesis that distinct aSyn strains underlie AD+aSyn/LBD, we will clarify the molecular basis of heterogeneity in AD+aSyn/LBD while opening up new targets for drug discovery and biomarker development in at the Penn U19 Center in collaboration with NIA program.