Date of Award

Spring 5-18-2018

Author's Department

Biomedical Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Type

Thesis

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States with approximately 5.5 million Americans diagnosed with it. The neuropathological hallmark includes extracellular senile plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles. Recent GWAS studies have identified genes associated with AD, and have revealed several classes of genes implicated in disease pathogenesis. In particular, three general pathways associated with an increased risk of AD included: 1) cholesterol metabolism, innate immune system, and the membrane trafficking. Our lab has focused on intracellular trafficking as it relates to the processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP), the precursor protein for the Aβ peptide—a critical component of the senile plaque. Much is still unknown about the intracellular itinerary of APP, and the cellular location of Aβ production. Here, I describe the use of click-chemistry applied to an APP construct to further study APP processing. In addition, I describe work that I did to develop a microfluidic system to enable visualizing APP processing within the unique cytoarchitecture of primary neurons. Microfluidics helps in isolating the soma and axon to understand APP processing in these specific compartments.

Language

English (en)

Chair

Dr. Jin-Moo Lee

Committee Members

Steven Mennerick Phyllis Hanson

Comments

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7T43SJW

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