A University of Akron researcher has received a $100,000 grant from the Alzheimer’s Association to continue early-stage work toward a drug that someday might stop the progress of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative nerve diseases.
Jie Zheng
Jie Zheng, Ph.D., associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, was among more than 1,100 researchers worldwide last year seeking grants from the Alzheimer’s Association, which funded 78 projects. Zheng received his grant last month.
Recruiting good peptides
Zheng is pursuing research to identify biological compounds in the human body called peptides that can be recruited and turned against one of their own, the disease-causing peptide amyloid-beta, or Abeta. Abeta bunches up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and kills neurons, the nerve cells that send and receive messages.
Peptides are made up of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The body depends on amino acids for many functions, including getting nutrients to cells and then removing waste from cells.
Zheng has compiled a database of about 5,000 peptides to sort through, looking for those that might keep Abeta from clumping in the brain. He has already identified some new peptides that show promise. The New Investigator Research Grant will enable Zheng to upgrade his database search tool and hunt for more potential Abeta inhibitors.
Better delivery system needed
Zheng also must develop a way to deliver small pieces of the Abeta-fighting peptides to the brain. His research plan aims to chemically bond peptide fragments to nanoparticles, microscopic specks that can help those fragments pass through the semi-permeable barrier that stands between circulating blood and the brain. This is a critical point of failure for most peptide-based drugs.
Laboratory tests will determine whether the peptide-nanoparticle bonds are successful. The peptide fragments also will face lab tests for their ability to keep Abeta from sticking together and for toxicity, high levels of which can cause kidney damage.
Toxic side effects are the main drawback of most Alzheimer’s drugs on the market or in development. Zheng believes peptide-based inhibitors are a much better solution.
Zheng’s research also could eventually have implications for treating other degenerative nerve diseases such as Parkinson’s.
The two-year Alzheimer’s Association grant is renewable if Zheng’s research continues to show promise. The next step would be testing in animals. Potential clinical trials involving humans are far in the future.
Media contact: Roger Mezger, 330-972-6482 or 330-730-4215, or rmezger@uakron.edu.