Fibrillar and oligomeric constructs of neurodegenerative disease associated peptides and their utility in disease modelling

Abstract:

Spreading of neurodegenerative disease associated peptides (NDAPs; e.g. tau and alpha-synuclein) within the human brain is one of the earliest pathological processes occurring in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The study of these diseases necessitates the use of viable models that are representative of the disease in question. In order to create them, numerous tools are required that can induce the neuropathological processes in vitro and in vivo. For instance, transgenic animals over-expressing tau or alpha-synuclein endogenously, or animals expressing tau or alpha-synuclein mutants that aggregate more rapidly, are commonly used. An alternative approach is to introduce pre-formed fibrils of NDAPs into cells to induce pathology.

In this presentation, we will provide an overview of tools available for neurodegenerative research including different forms of NDAPs. We will demonstrate that certain fibrils and filaments can initiate protein aggregation, inducing disease pathology in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the presentation will cover important considerations for the handling of pre-formed fibrils to maintain activity such as the effects of sonication. Furthermore, we will show examples of in vitro modelling of neuropathologies in neuronal circuits using a proprietary high capacity microfluidics platform.

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Presented by:

Ariel Louwrier, PhD, President & CEO of StressMarq Biosciences Inc.

Ariel is the President & CEO of StressMarq Biosciences Inc., a research reagent company with primary product lines in neurodegenerative diseases and cellular stress, based in Victoria (BC), Canada. The company has expanded its portfolio in recent years to include oligomeric and fibrillar constructs of prion-like proteins known to have significant impact in neurodegenerative diseases. Ariel holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Kent (UK), and is a Corporate Fellow of the Cell Stress Society International. He is a successful senior scientific business executive with demonstrated expertise growing markets, revenues, product pipelines and expanding technical organizations into new business opportunities. He has educational and business management experience in global markets, with quantified success in moving technical businesses into new international arenas. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, and holder of several patents.

Sebastian Illes, PhD, Director of CNS research, Cellectricon AB

Sebastian joined Cellectricon in 2018 where he leads the company’s CNS research services. Together with his team, he works to devise novel concepts to generate human and rodent cell-based in vitro models that enable the discovery of new targets and compounds for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, Sebastian holds a position at the University of Gothenburg where his research team aims to decipher the etiology of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Sebastian’s research interests include neural development, neuroinflammation and neuronal circuit function and prior to joining Cellectricon, Sebastian did a Post-Doc at the Institute for Molecular Regenerative Medicine (PMU, Salzburg, Austria) and worked as guest researcher at the Natural and Medical Science Institute, Reutlingen, Germany. He did his PhD at the neurology department at the Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany, where he, for the first time, combined pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons with microelectrode array technology in pre-clinical research.

The webinar is recommended for:

From Pharmaceutical industry and Research Institutes;

Chief Scientific Officers/ Directors/ Heads/ VPs/ Managers/ Senior Scientists/ Principal/ Scientists/ Neuroscientists/ Project Leaders/ Research Fellows/ Lab Managers/ External Research Solutions managers/ Scientific Collaboration and Business Development managers in:

• Neuroscience / CNS drug discovery
• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Translational Neuroscience
• Preclinical research
• Neuropharmacology / Neurobiology