Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Degree Granting Department

Public Health

Major Professor

Chaunhai Cao, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Umesh Jinwal, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Wanling Xuan, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Qingyu Zhou, Ph.D.

Keywords

tauopathies, diagnosis, aging, prion-like

Abstract

Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s Disease, and the most common motor disorder. In fact, nearly a third of those with AD have PD. A major hallmark of PD is the appearance of Lewy Bodies, proteinaceous cytoplasm inclusions, that build up and spread throughout the CNS in a prion like fashion. The major component of these Lewy Bodies is a protein called alpha-synuclein. Alpha-syn is a 14kDa protein made of 140 amino acids and found in the presynaptic ends of CNS neurons, acting as a chaperone and regulator. The protein is also found in the rest of the body besides the liver, most importantly in the blood. It has been shown in various studies that targeting alpha-syn can slow down or mitigate the effects of PD. It has also been shown that alpha-syn levels in the blood significantly increase in PD patients compared to non-PD patients. This makes alpha-syn a good biomarker for both diagnosis and potential treatment. However, being able to quickly identify alpha-syn is paramount for quick and efficient diagnosis. In this experiment, I use antibodies, 1H5 and 2A4, to quickly identify relative amounts of alpha-syn in human PD blood plasma. I also used the DOT Blot apparatus as a quick throughput method of antibody staining. The results showed that these monoclonal antibodies combined with using a DOT Blot technique could be used for clinical diagnosis or treatment with proper treatment.

Download

Share

COinS