Unfolding Alzheimer's Tau Therapies: Near- and Long-Term Approaches

Project Summary

Several naturally occurring compounds from plants have been highlighted as possibly deconstructing tangles of tau-like proteins. In this study, Paul Seidler, PhD, and his team will investigate how well a commercially available dietary supplement, formulated to be highly accessible to the body, slows accumulation of these tangles. The researchers will work with lab models of tau protein accumulation to determine which features of this supplement formulation drive any effects on tau tangling.

Using this information, Dr. Seidler and his group will then synthesize small molecules that bear these effective features and test how well they prevent tau accumulation in tissue samples from Alzheimer's disease brains. The most effective small molecules will undergo further testing to analyze how their structure influences their activity against tau misfolding.  

The overall goal is to identify affordable candidates for dietary supplements or pharmaceuticals that are accessible to the body's cells and effective against tau-related changes in Alzheimer's disease.