New Focus on Protein Aggregation -- The clumping of proteins in cells plays a role in aging as well as in Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. In Nature Protocols, Dr. Laura Santambrogio and her team, in collaboration with Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo, describe a new way to separate and characterize protein aggregates. Using hollow fibers, the new method yields highly purified protein aggregates and measures their molecular weight, their radius and their molecular conformation. The method, coupled with mass spectrometry, identifies protein modifications known to facilitate protein unfolding or aggregation, predicts whether aggregates will be cleared and recommends treatments for minimizing the aggregates. Dr. Santambrogio is professor of pathology, of microbiology & immunology and of orthopaedic surgery. Dr. Cuervo is professor of developmental & molecular biology, of anatomy & structural biology and of medicine, and is the Robert and Renee Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases. The paper’s first author was Dr. Maya Tanase, a visiting scientist from the University of Bologna.
Posted on: Monday, January 12, 2015