immunology-research-tissue-science-2018-posters

13 / 26

Journal of Transmitted Diseases and Immunity
ISSN: 2573-0320 Page 71
Volume 4
May 10-11, 2018
Frankfurt, Germany
Immunology Research 2018
Tissue Science 2018
JOINT EVENT
2 2 n d E d i t i o n o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o n
Immunology and
Evolution of Infectious Diseases
&
1 2 t h E d i t i o n o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o n
Tissue Engineering and
Regenerative Medicine
Alzheimer’s disease is a very common type of dementia that
destroysmemory and other important mental functions. It is a
neurodegenerative disorder which affects over 5 million people in
the United States alone. In fact, it is the 6th leading cause of death
in the United States, and on average, an American is diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s disease every 66 seconds. This can be a familial
or sporadic disease which is primarily caused by the destruction
of neurons which starts from the hippocampus and spreads
throughout the brain (cerebellum is spared). The apoptosis of the
countless neurons seems to be caused by a multitude of factors
including amyloid-beta plaques, Tau tangles, and neuronal loss.
For the sake of this investigation, there will be a primary focus
on the amyloid-beta plaques because the accumulation or
buildup of neurotoxic plaques on the neurons seems to be a key
factor in Alzheimer’s disease. Enzymes called γ-secretase and
β-secretase cleave a protein called an amyloid precursor protein
(APP) to form these amyloid-beta peptides which can accumulate
and form neurotoxic plaques. Previous studies have found that
DAPT, a dipeptide analogue, is effective in inhibiting γ secretase
thus decreasing amyloid-beta concentration in the brain. This
study confirms the efficacy of DAPT in inhibiting γ-secretase, but
also investigates the alternative inhibitory effects of other drugs
like Activase® rt-PA (alteplase), a tissue plasminogen activator
typically used for treatment of stroke, and clonazepam (E64), a pill
used to treat panic disorder and anxiety. Although the goal was
to see the effects on Aβ40 (40 amino acid amyloid-beta chain)
and Aβ42 (42 amino acid amyloid-beta chain) production, only
the effects of Aβ40 production were examined due to possible
contamination in the Aβ42 tests.
Biography
Arnav Gupta is passionate about exploring causal relationships of drugs
commonly used to treat neurodegenerative disorder. Arnav is interested in
pursuing a career in neuroscience. His passion in studying the brain and
memory has inspired him to do research about Alzheimer’s disease. This
common disorder presents so many unanswered questions, and Arnav
is motivated to do further research in the future to answer some of these
questions.
Inhibitory effects of dipeptide analogue, DAPT, on γ-secretase
causing decrease in amyloid- β concentration in neuroblastoma
cells
Arnav Gupta
Biomedical Research Institute of New Jersey, USA
Arnav Gupta, J Transm Dis Immun 2018, Volume 2
DOI: 10.21767/2573-0320-C2-006