QBI Neuroscience Seminar: 'From basic mechanisms to antibody- and ultrasound-based therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer's disease'
Event Details
- Date:
- Wednesday, 31 July 2019 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019
- Time:
- 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Room:
- QBI Level 7 Auditorium
- UQ Location:
- Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)
- URL:
- http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/neuroscience-seminars
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Ms Deirdre Wilson
- Phone:
- 66300
- Email:
- d.wilson5@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Queensland Brain Institute
Event Description
- Full Description:
- Professor Jürgen Götz
Director of Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland
Title: 'From basic mechanisms to antibody- and ultrasound-based therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer's disease'
Abstract: The brain is considered to be the last frontier, both in terms of understanding how it operates under normal and pathological conditions, and in accessing it for therapeutic intervention. My laboratory works in both spaces: deciphering the role of key molecules and signalling pathways in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and developing therapeutic antibodies and novel ultrasound-based techniques to overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB). One of the key features of the AD brain is the deposition of the peptide amyloid- (A) as plaques and of the protein Tau as tangles, a process that leads to neurodegeneration and dementia.
In the first part of my talk, I will present a mechanism by which A causes local protein translation of tau. Using click chemistry technology, we also revealed that pathological tau (in the absence of A) impairs the translational machinery. Finally, we have been exploring mechanisms by which tau pathology spreads through the brain via exosomes. Together this adds to an increased understanding of how tau impairs neuronal functions.
In the second part of my presentation, I will talk about our tau-based vaccination program and how we use ultrasound to clear A and Tau in AD mouse models to restore memory and motor functions. A challenge is to develop the technology for the application in humans, due to a highly attenuating human skull. To address this and to get ready for clinical trials, we have established a protocol that allows for the safe opening of the BBB in sheep, a large animal species with skull characteristics similar to that of humans.
Directions to UQ
- Google Map:
-
- Directions:
- St Lucia Campus | Gatton campus.
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