Promising research from the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering at Loyola Marymount University may open the door to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
LMU biochemistry Assistant Professor David Moffet, his team of undergraduate students and Luiza Nogaj, a professor at Mount St. Mary’s College, have discovered a protein that tears apart the toxic aggregates in the brain that are believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer’s, which afflicts more than 5.3 million people in the United States.
Scientists agree that a brain protein known as amyloid-beta 42, or AB42, appears to be the central player in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Moffet and his team have discovered a way to successfully attack AB42 using a small protein they named peptide 2. In test-tube experiments, students tested thousands of substances to ultimately find peptide 2. The students went on to show that peptide 2 dissolves AB42 aggregates. “No one has ever done this before, the students tested thousands of small proteins to get these results,” said Moffet.
Members of the research team hope that peptide 2 will have the same effect on AB42 in humans and can be used to develop treatments that would stop the progression of Alzheimer’s in patients. “The research shows we know how to destroy AB42 with peptide 2,” said Moffet. “But we don’t know how a living organism will react to the peptide 2.” That is Moffet’s next step.
This fall, the team will collaborate with LMU biology Professor Cathy McElwain to begin testing peptide 2 on fruit flies engineered to display Alzheimer’s symptoms.
“Through these collaborations, students have the opportunity to apply what they have learned in chemistry, biochemistry and biology to this multidisciplinary research project,” Moffett said.
The research is being conducted using an atomic force microscope purchased last May with the help of Rep. Maxine Waters (D–Calif.) and Rep. John Murtha (D–Pa.).