NMR studies of ganglioside and AB peptide interactions
Principal Investigator
Project Summary
Amyloid plaques and tangled bundles of fiber (neurofibrillary tangles or NFTs) are thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Scientists have found that the amyloid plaques are associated with a type of molecule called gangliosides in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. There are five main gangliosides in the human brain, and research shows that some gangliosides increase while others decrease with aging. Dr. Mandal has already demonstrated through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies that one ganglioside is capable of preventing the toxic precipitant in an experimental environment. His current goal is to understand the role of these “good” and “bad” gangliosides in the formation of toxic amyloid plaques. This research could lead to the design of new drugs that could slow or halt the symptoms of AD and could also contribute to the development of a noninvasive way to test for Alzheimer's disease using magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Publications
Mandal, P. K., McClure, R.J., Pettegrew, J.W. (2004) Interactions of Abeta(1-40) with glycerophosphocholine and intact erythrocyte membranes: fluorescence and circular dichroism studies. Neurochemical Research. 29(12):2273-2279. 
Mandal, P.K. and Pettegrew, J.W. (2004) Alzheimer's disease: soluble oligomeric Abeta(1-40) peptide in membrane mimic environment from solution NMR and circular dichroism studies. Neurochemical Research. 29(12):2267-2272.
Mandal, P.K., McClure, R.J., Panchalingam, K., and Pettegrew, J.W. (2004)Ganglioside and amyloid peptide interaction studies in PBS medium. Biophysical Journal. 86:340. [PMID:nd][link not available]
Mandal, P.K. and Pettegrew, J.W. (2004) Alzheimer's disease: soluble oligomeric AB (1-40) peptide in membrane mimic environment from solution NMR and circular dichroism studies. Platform Presentation. Society for Neuroscience, San Diego. [conference abstract]
Pettegrew, J.W., Mandal, P.K., McClure, R.J., Panchalingam, K. (2004) Structure and dynamics studies of AB (1-40) peptide in different environments from solution NMR. Platform Presentation. Society for Neuroscience, San Diego [conference abstract]
Mandal, P.K. and Pettegrew, J.W. (2004) Alzheimer's disease: soluble oligo circular dichroism studies. Platform Presentation. International Conference on AD. (Hot Topic Category).[conference abstract]
First published on: June 11, 2008
Last modified on: May 16, 2024