Latest Publications
Increasing brain protein O-GlcNAcylation mitigates breathing defects and mortality of Tau.P301L mice
The microtubule associated protein tau causes primary and secondary tauopathies by unknown molecular mechanisms. Post-translational O-GlcNAc-ylation of brain proteins was demonstrated here to be beneficial for Tau.P301L mice by pharmacological inhibition of O-GlcNAc-ase. Chronic treatment [...]
Increased O-GlcNAcylation reduces pathological tau without affecting its normal phosphorylation in a mouse model of tauopathy
Neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), mainly consisting of fibrillar aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau, are a defining pathological feature of Alzheimer's Disease and other tauopathies. Progressive accumulation of tau into NFT is considered to be a toxic cellular [...]
Alectos Therapeutics Announces Achievement of Preclinical Milestone in Merck Alzheimer’s Collaboration
Vancouver, British Columbia (November 16, 2012) – Alectos Therapeutics Inc. today announced the achievement of a preclinical milestone in its research collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, to identify and [...]
O-GlcNAc modification prevents peptide-dependent acceleration of α-synuclein aggregation
Sweet relief: the Parkinson's disease-associated protein α-synuclein is post-translationally modified by N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc), but the biochemical consequences are unknown. Here we show that an O-GlcNAc-modified peptide does not participate in α-synuclein aggregation, thus suggesting that [...]
O-linked β-N-acetylglucosaminidase inhibitor attenuates β-amyloid plaque and rescues memory impairment
Deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) as senile plaques and disrupted glucose metabolism are two main characteristics of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is unknown, however, how these two processes are related in AD. Here we examined the [...]
Increasing O-GlcNAc slows neurodegeneration and stabilizes tau against aggregation
Oligomerization of tau is a key process contributing to the progressive death of neurons in Alzheimer’s disease. Tau is modified by O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc), and O-GlcNAc can influence tau phosphorylation in certain cases. We therefore [...]