ProMIS' lead candidate antibody, PMN310 for Alzheimer's disease (AD), demonstrates a high degree of binding to toxic oligomers without binding to non-toxic forms of naturally occurring
amyloid beta protein. The company's program for Parkinson's disease (PD) is based on the development of several potential antibody therapeutic candidates aimed at selectively targeting toxic oligomers of the protein -synuclein, considered a root cause of PD.
Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to scan the brains of the participants for the
amyloid beta protein. Their heart disease risk was also calculated by noting factors including their sex, BMI, blood pressure, whether they had diabetes, and if they smoked.
Participants started the study with no evidence of mental decline, but some had high levels of
amyloid beta protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer's that can be detected in brain scans.
In Alzheimer's patients, the
amyloid beta protein folds incorrectly due to pathological changes long before the first symptoms occur.
Up to two decades before Alzheimer's symptoms of memory loss and confusion appear,
amyloid beta protein begins to collect into plaques in the brain.
(3) This hypothesis is based in part on studies in rabbits, dogs, and mice, in which the addition of a small amount of copper (0.12 mg/L) to distilled drinking water resulted in the accumulation of
amyloid beta protein in the brain.
A large-scale review of medical registries -- already in the pipeline -- will be needed to confirm the deadly
amyloid beta protein can be spread by dirty surgical instruments, a researcher said.
(2002) Naturally secreted oligomers of
amyloid beta protein potently inhibit hippocampal long-term potentiation in vivo.
Selkoe, "Soluble oligomers of
amyloid beta protein facilitate hippocampal long-term depression by disrupting neuronal glutamate uptake," Neuron, vol.
"This outcome does nothing to alter the overwhelming genetic, neuropathological and biomarker evidence that
amyloid beta protein buildup acts to precipitate the AD process, and it also does not alter the potential promise of current agents in trials: Merck's beta secretase inhibitor and Biogen's aducanumab antibody, which appears to be much more effective in mobilizing amyloid beta.
Mass spectrometry of purified
amyloid beta protein in Alzheimer's disease.
Roch et al., "Secreted form of
amyloid beta protein precursor is involved in the growth regulation of fibroblasts," Cell, vol.
