Early detection of neurodegenerative diseases by studying tau protein aggregates

Ana Pina

Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier (ITQB), Lisbon, Portugal

Several neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by the accumulation of tau protein in the brain. This protein, which is essential for maintaining neuronal structure, undergoes a pathological transformation and accumulates in the form of tangles that eventually impair proper brain function, contributing to cognitive decline and the development and progression of the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation, 130 million people worldwide are expected to suffer from one of these neurodegenerative diseases by 2050. Current diagnostic approaches focus on symptoms, making early detection difficult. New methods are needed to detect these diseases early and accurately, which would open the door to treating them at an early stage and slowing their progression.

The study of tau protein aggregates holds great potential. However, the molecular complexity of the protein poses a major challenge. New tools are needed to isolate and study these aggregates, as well as the changing structures and compositions they acquire, in order to analyse how they impact development of the disease.

This project will advance the development of a tau protein aggregate detection tool, called Pep-SICO, which uses fluorescent markers within artificial compartments to identify and differentiate abnormal tau proteins, with the aim of enabling early diagnosis of these diseases.

• Mohit Kumar, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

• Luísa Alves, Unidade Local de Saúde de Lisboa Ocidental (ULSLO), Lisbon, Portugal

Peptide-based systems as artificial compartments to diagnose nonAlzheimer Tauopathies diseases

€999,994.87