Biology Project Abstract
ANTIBODY LABELING OF TAU POLYMERS AS PROBES FOR TAU STRUCTURE IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Presenter:
Christine S. Tsai, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; steen@imsa.edu
Mentor:
Dr. Lester Binder, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University Medical School, 303 East Chicago Ave., Tarry Building 8-733, 60611
Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease, which is partially characterized by the intracellular accumulation of filaments in specific regions of the brain. These filaments are formed by tau, a microtubule-associated protein that is normally found as a monomer in cells. How and why these filaments of tau form in AD remains unanswered. In this study, the tau filaments were examined using antibody labeling. These antibodies, which attach to specific epitopes on tau, can help describe the structure of the molecule in both its monomeric and polymeric states. This research investigates the Tau-9 antibody and its epitope by measuring the binding affinity of Tau-9 to different constructs of tau through an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA). The results from these experiments were compared to those employing a control antibody, Tau-5, whose epitope is well characterized. By analyzing the binding affinity of tau antibodies to tau monomers and polymers, the location of the antibody binding sites and the structure of the protein will be better understood. Our findings may further our knowledge of how tau monomers form polymers and perhaps will help in the design of drugs that prevent tau filament formation in Alzheimer's disease.