HTS to identify compounds that increase NAD+ levels in neurons and muscle cells

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Project Summary Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a redox cofactor required by enzymes essential to energy production and numerous other cellular processes. NAD also serves as a co-substrate for several classes of signaling enzymes, each of which cleaves the molecule to release nicotinamide. Cellular NAD is derived from dietary tryptophan (de novo synthesis), nicotinic acid (the Preiss-Handler pathway) or recycled from nicotinamide via the NAD salvage pathway. NAD deficiency can be triggered by a variety of cellular stresses, including DNA damage, and is thought to contribute to pathophysiology in a number of metabolic, neurological, and muscular diseases: conversely, increasing NAD+ has been suggested as a promising therapeutic strategy. Here, researchers will collaborate to develop and utilize a cellular High Throughput Screening (HTS) assay to discover and validate small molecules that increase intracellular NAD+ levels. These studies should identify novel small molecules with great therapeutic potential for a myriad of neurological and muscular including brain ischemia, Wallerian nerve degeneration, misfolded prion protein toxicity, Alzheimer's disease (AD), mitochondrial myopathy (MM), age related sarcopenia and Duchenne's muscular dystrophy(DMD).