Proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases
Project no. 21297 · Status: Kapanmış · 2019
Summary
Neurodegeneration can be defined as damage due to various factors in nerve cells. Especially with aging, there may be a slowdown or disruption in cellular functions. Neurodegenerative diseases are frequently seen with aging. Although these diseases are varied, the most common is Alzheimer's disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by severe memory loss, behavioral disorder, and weakening in vital skills. Due to its high prevalence, it is considered a serious public health problem globally. For this reason, scientific research on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease is carried out intensely. In the pathophysiology of the disease, the formation of senile plaques due to the accumulation of the amyloid ß peptide and the neurofibrillar tangles formed by the tau protein are involved. The irregular accumulation of these structures disrupts various functions in the cell and leads to cell death. In this project, glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK3ß) enzyme level, which plays a role in the phosphorylation of tau protein, was measured in paraquat-induced neuronal damage using Western Blot technique. It was shown that GSK3ß levels increased and pGSK3ß (Ser9) levels decreased statistically following paraquat application (p?0.05). Thus, the possible phosphorylation of tau protein was supported by the changes in enzyme levels in case of neuronal damage. Throughout the project, an undergraduate student and a PhD student had the opportunity to gain knowledge about techniques commonly used in health sciences by taking apart in experiments.