Sanne Simone Kaalund
Can we prevent aggregation of Tau proteins?
Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, characterized by accumulation of abnormal Tau protein in the brain cells. Under normal conditions Tau is important for the cell鈥檚 infrastructure, and its function is tightly regulated by a group of enzymes called kinases. Excessive activity of the kinases can cause Tau to aggregate, and, having formed in one cell, the Tau aggregates can be transferred to other cells and spread throughout the brain.
In this project we will find the excessively active kinases that cause Tau to aggregate by measuring kinase activity in post-mortem human brain tissue. Then, we will develop a cell model to test if we can prevent Tau aggregation by manipulating kinase activity.
If successful, our cell model can be used for high-throughput screening of drugs targeting Tau aggregation.
