Project Summary

Patrick Provost, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2006) of Laval University, will study the role that dysregulation of a gene called Bace, β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme, plays in Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's disease affects approximately 2 percent of the population in industrialized countries, and its incidence is predicted to increase three-fold in the next 50 years. Alzheimer’s disease is a slowly progressing neurological disease affecting cholinergic neurons and is caused by B-amyloid plaque formation in specific brain regions. Bace contributes to the formation of these plaques. As compared to age-matched controls, Alzheimer disease brain cortexes show a 2.7-fold increase in Bace protein, whereas Bace mRNA levels remain unchanged. These postmortem analyses suggest a loss of Bace mRNA regulation in Alzheimer’s brain cortexes. For his study, Dr. Provost will investigate whether dysregulation of two Bace microRNAs (which interfere with the translation of mRNA into protein) is linked to the disease. Results may uncover a novel cause of the disease and identify new therapeutic strategies.

Program Area: BASAL GANGLIA DISEASES\Alzheimer's Disease

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