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Objectives: Guided by a life course perspective and fundamental cause theory, this study aims to visualize co-trajectories of health between partners and examine how changes in one spouse's cognitive status can cohesively impact the health of the other spouse along three dimensions (functional, mental, and cognitive)., Methods: Drawing longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study 2000-2016 ( N = 3582), we measure women's health profiles by functional limitation (physical health), depression (mental health), and cognitive function (cognitive health). We use multivariate linear mixed models to summarize these paths in the same visual representation., Results: The approach provides a visualization tool that depicts data and model in the same spatial representation allowing assessment of model fit and comparison. This study advances the traditional life course studies by representing underlying processes as a multidimensional time vector of health outcomes., Discussion: The described approach provides a blueprint for studying complex health profiles or trajectories., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Tauopathies are characterized by the abnormal buildup of tau protein, with early oligomeric forms associated with neurodegeneration and the later neurofibrillary tangles possibly conferring neuroprotection. The molecular mechanisms governing the formation of these tau species are unclear. Lately, there has been an increased focus on examining the interactions between tau and other proteins, along with their influence on the aggregation of tau. Our previous work revealed EFhd2's association with pathological tau in animal models and tauopathy brains. Herein, we examined the impact of EFhd2 on monomeric and filamentous tau in vitro . The results demonstrated that EFhd2 incubation with monomeric full length human tau (hTau40) formed amorphous aggregates, where both EFhd2 and hTau40 colocalized. Moreover, EFhd2 is entangled with arachidonic acid (ARA)-induced filamentous hTau40. Furthermore, EFhd2-induced aggregation with monomeric and filamentous hTau40 is EFhd2 concentration dependent. Using sandwich ELISA assays, we assessed the reactivity of TOC1 and Alz50-two conformation-specific tau antibodies-to EFhd2-hTau40 aggregates (in absence and presence of ARA). No TOC1 signal was detected in EFhd2 aggregates with monomeric hTau40 whereas EFhd2 aggregates with hTau in the presence of ARA showed a higher signal compared to hTau40 filaments. In contrast, EFhd2 aggregates with both monomeric and filamentous hTau40 reduced Alz50 reactivity. Taken together, our results illustrate for the first time that EFhd2, a tau-associated protein, interacts with monomeric and filamentous hTau40 to form large aggregates that are starkly different from tau oligomers and filaments. Given these findings and previous research, we hypothesize that EFhd2 may play a role in the formation of tau aggregates. Nevertheless, further in vivo studies are imperative to test this hypothesis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Soliman, Umstead, Lamp and Vega.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on our personal and professional lives required a rapid adaptation to the evolving health crisis and accumulating social stresses. Established measures to reduce the spread of infection and potential death had a direct effect on ongoing research that involved older adults and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Although important to preserve public health, these measures risk further isolation of vulnerable research participant populations and threatened established community partnerships. To address the social and research challenges evolving from the COVID-19 pandemic, four National Institutes of Health funded-Centers that engage with community members to enhance research and advance the science of aging came together to learn from each other's efforts, approaches, and communication with community partners., Methods: Monthly meetings served as a venue to discuss the challenges of engagement with research participants and support community partners during the pandemic. The developed learning community also contributed to recognize and address research staff stress and isolation. We describe how these conversations led our Centers to address unprecedented challenges and sustain community engagement within diverse populations, especially Black/African Americans, Latinos, Middle Eastern/Arab Americans and the oldest-old., Results: The exchange of information resulted in maintaining long standing community relationships and partnerships in the face of the uncertainties generated by the pandemic. The strategies included adapting education programs to reduce risk of infection, recognizing symptoms, promoting vaccination and understanding of the effect of COVID-19 to the brain. Different strategies were used to address the effects of isolation and maintain community engagement. Although new research participant enrollment was a challenge, telephone and virtual visits allowed research participants to remain active in research. Community members participation in virtual learning events was variable, ranging from a dozen to hundreds of participants. Invitations to organize panels about newly developed topics indicated the need for information from trusted sources., Conclusion: In sum, the COVID-19 pandemic re - directed all four Centers' commitment to community service led to developing strategies for social support, which will potentially contribute to transforming public perceptions about research and researchers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Vega, Ajrouch, Rorai, Gadwa, Roberts and Nyquist.)

Objectives: Most older adults with dementia are assisted by multiple caregivers, but the relationship of care network structure with health care access and quality is underexamined. We sought to test the associations of care network characteristics with the physician visit experience for older adults with dementia across diverse racial/ethnic groups., Methods: We used data on Medicare beneficiaries (aged 65+) with dementia from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2015-2019) to fit logistic regression models to test associations between physician visit outcomes and (a) size of the potential care network and (b) proportion of potential care network members (PCNMs) currently helping with daily functioning tasks. We also tested for modifications by race/ethnicity., Results: Hispanic respondents had the largest potential care networks (M = 6.89, standard deviation [SD] = 3.58) and the smallest proportion of PCNMs providing help with daily functioning (M = 29.89%, SD = 22.29). In models adjusted for demographics and dementia classification, both network size and proportional involvement of PCNMs were positively associated with the presence of a PCNM and assistance during the visit. Associations remained significant at 4-year follow-up for the presence of PCNM at the visit and were robust to further adjustments for insurance type, income, and health factors. Associations were not modified by race/ethnicity., Discussion: Larger networks and a higher proportion of PCNMs providing assistance predicted caregiver presence and assistance at the physician visit but not access to care. Findings suggest that strengthening care networks early in the disease may support improved health care outcomes for persons with dementia across diverse populations., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a reversible biological process that contributes to the formation of critical concentration of proteins, forming membraneless compartments that are physiologically and pathologically relevant. Several proteins have been shown to demix into liquid droplets under in vitro crowding conditions. These studies are mainly conducted in isolation using purified recombinant proteins. Recently, we used LLPS to study the association between two proteins that are co-aggregated in Alzheimer's disease brain, tau, and EFhd2. Here, we describe how we used LLPS to determine the molecular components that contribute to the transition of these two proteins from liquid droplets to solid-like structures., (© 2023. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of polyamines (PAs). PAs are required for proliferation, and increased ODC activity is associated with cancer and neural over-proliferation. ODC levels and activity are therefore tightly regulated, including through the ODC-specific inhibitor, antizyme AZ1. Recently, ODC G84R has been reported as a partial loss-of-function variant that is associated with intellectual disability and seizures. However, G84 is distant from both the catalytic center and the ODC homodimerization interface. To understand how G84R modulates ODC activity, we have determined the crystal structure of ODC G84R in both the presence and the absence of the cofactor pyridoxal 5-phosphate. The structures show that the replacement of G84 by arginine leads to hydrogen bond formation of R84 with F420, the last residue of the ODC C-terminal helix, a structural element that is involved in the AZ1-mediated proteasomal degradation of ODC. In contrast, the catalytic center is essentially indistinguishable from that of wildtype ODC. We therefore reanalyzed the catalytic activity of ODC G84R and found that it is rescued when the protein is purified in the presence of a reducing agent to mimic the reducing environment of the cytoplasm. This suggests that R84 may exert its neurological effects not through reducing ODC catalytic activity but through misregulation of its AZ1-mediated proteasomal degradation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Identification and isolation of contagious individuals along with quarantine of close contacts, is critical for slowing the spread of COVID-19. Large-scale testing in a surveillance or screening capacity for asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 provides both data on viral spread and the follow-up ability to rapidly test individuals during suspected outbreaks. The COVID-19 early detection program at Michigan State University has been utilizing large-scale testing in a surveillance or screening capacity since fall of 2020. The methods adapted here take advantage of the reliability, large sample volume, and self-collection benefits of saliva, paired with a cost-effective, reagent conserving two-dimensional pooling scheme. The process was designed to be adaptable to supply shortages, with many components of the kits and the assay easily substituted. The processes outlined for collecting and processing SARS-CoV-2 samples can be adapted to test for future viral pathogens reliably expressed in saliva. By providing this blueprint for universities or other organizations, preparedness plans for future viral outbreaks can be developed.

β2-adrenoreceptor (β2AR) agonists have been associated with a decreased risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD) and are hypothesized to decrease expression of both alpha-synuclein mRNA (Snca) and protein (α-syn). Effects of β2AR agonist clenbuterol on the levels of Snca mRNA and α-syn protein were evaluated in vivo (rats and mice) and in rat primary cortical neurons by two independent laboratories. A modest decrease in Snca mRNA in the substantia nigra was observed after a single acute dose of clenbuterol in rats, however, this decrease was not maintained after multiple doses. In contrast, α-syn protein levels remained unchanged in both single and multiple dosing paradigms. Furthermore, clenbuterol did not decrease Snca in cultured rat primary cortical neurons, or decrease Snca or α-syn in mice. Additionally, compared to the single-dose paradigm, repeat dosing resulted in substantially lower levels of clenbuterol in plasma and brain tissue in rodents. Based on our observations of a transient decrease in Snca and no effect on α-syn protein in this preclinical study, these data support the conclusion that clenbuterol is not likely a viable disease-modifying strategy for PD., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of polyamines (PAs). PAs are oncometabolites that are required for proliferation, and pharmaceutical ODC inhibition is pursued for the treatment of hyperproliferative diseases, including cancer and infectious diseases. The most potent ODC inhibitor is 1-amino-oxy-3-aminopropane (APA). A previous crystal structure of an ODC-APA complex indicated that APA non-covalently binds ODC and its cofactor pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) and functions by competing with the ODC substrate ornithine for binding to the catalytic site. We have revisited the mechanism of APA binding and ODC inhibition through a new crystal structure of APA-bound ODC, which we solved at 2.49 Å resolution. The structure unambiguously shows the presence of a covalent oxime between APA and PLP in the catalytic site, which we confirmed in solution by mass spectrometry. The stable oxime makes extensive interactions with ODC but cannot be catabolized, explaining APA's high potency in ODC inhibition. In addition, we solved an ODC/PLP complex structure with citrate bound at the substrate-binding pocket. These two structures provide new structural scaffolds for developing more efficient pharmaceutical ODC inhibitors., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.)

EFhd2 is a conserved calcium-binding protein that is highly expressed in the central nervous system. We have shown that EFhd2 interacts with tau protein, a key pathological hallmark in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. However, EFhd2's physiological and pathological functions in the brain are still poorly understood. To gain insights into its physiological function, we identified proteins that co-immunoprecipitated with EFhd2 from mouse forebrain and hindbrain, using tandem mass spectrometry (MS). In addition, quantitative mass spectrometry was used to detect protein abundance changes due to the deletion of the Efhd2 gene in mouse forebrain and hindbrain regions. Our data show that mouse EFhd2 is associated with cytoskeleton components, vesicle trafficking modulators, cellular stress response-regulating proteins, and metabolic proteins. Moreover, proteins associated with the cytoskeleton, vesicular transport, calcium signaling, stress response, and metabolic pathways showed differential abundance in Efhd2 (-/-) mice. This study presents, for the first time, an EFhd2 brain interactome that it is associated with different cellular and molecular processes. These findings will help prioritize further studies to investigate the mechanisms by which EFhd2 modulates these processes in physiological and pathological conditions of the nervous system., (© 2021 International Society for Neurochemistry.)

The gastrointestinal tract may be a site of origin for α-synuclein pathology in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Disruption of the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP) may contribute to α-synuclein aggregation. Here we examined epigenetic alterations in the ALP in the appendix by deep sequencing DNA methylation at 521 ALP genes. We identified aberrant methylation at 928 cytosines affecting 326 ALP genes in the appendix of individuals with PD and widespread hypermethylation that is also seen in the brain of individuals with PD. In mice, we find that DNA methylation changes at ALP genes induced by chronic gut inflammation are greatly exacerbated by α-synuclein pathology. DNA methylation changes at ALP genes induced by synucleinopathy are associated with the ALP abnormalities observed in the appendix of individuals with PD specifically involving lysosomal genes. Our work identifies epigenetic dysregulation of the ALP which may suggest a potential mechanism for accumulation of α-synuclein pathology in idiopathic PD., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) regulates metabolism in response to the cellular energy states. Under energy stress, AMP stabilizes the active AMPK conformation, in which the kinase activation loop (AL) is protected from protein phosphatases, thus keeping the AL in its active, phosphorylated state. At low AMP:ATP (adenosine triphosphate) ratios, ATP inhibits AMPK by increasing AL dynamics and accessibility. We developed conformation-specific antibodies to trap ATP-bound AMPK in a fully inactive, dynamic state and determined its structure at 3.5-angstrom resolution using cryo-electron microscopy. A 180° rotation and 100-angstrom displacement of the kinase domain fully exposes the AL. On the basis of the structure and supporting biophysical data, we propose a multistep mechanism explaining how adenine nucleotides and pharmacological agonists modulate AMPK activity by altering AL phosphorylation and accessibility., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)

The gut microbiome can impact brain health and is altered in Parkinson's disease (PD). The vermiform appendix is a lymphoid tissue in the cecum implicated in the storage and regulation of the gut microbiota. We sought to determine whether the appendix microbiome is altered in PD and to analyze the biological consequences of the microbial alterations. We investigated the changes in the functional microbiota in the appendix of PD patients relative to controls ( n = 12 PD, 16 C) by metatranscriptomic analysis. We found microbial dysbiosis affecting lipid metabolism, including an upregulation of bacteria responsible for secondary bile acid synthesis. We then quantitatively measure changes in bile acid abundance in PD relative to the controls in the appendix ( n = 15 PD, 12 C) and ileum ( n = 20 PD, 20 C). Bile acid analysis in the PD appendix reveals an increase in hydrophobic and secondary bile acids, deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA). Further proteomic and transcriptomic analysis in the appendix and ileum corroborated these findings, highlighting changes in the PD gut that are consistent with a disruption in bile acid control, including alterations in mediators of cholesterol homeostasis and lipid metabolism. Microbially derived toxic bile acids are heightened in PD, which suggests biliary abnormalities may play a role in PD pathogenesis.

E. coli is a common host for generating human recombinant proteins in in vitro studies that seek to understand the biochemical and structural properties of proteins and in drug discovery. Validation of this biological resource is crucial to avoid misinterpretations and assay interference. Here, we demonstrate the use of tandem mass spectrometry to detect inadvertent post-translational modifications on human recombinant proteins produced in E. coli. Additionally, we identified co-purified E. coli proteins orthologous to known human interacting proteins. The results confirmed the importance of mass spectrometry in validating bacterial purified recombinant proteins as part of authenticating this key biological resource., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Recruitment and retention of US ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in research continues to pose challenges. The Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer's Disease (MCCFAD) engages with two underserved immigrant communities in Michigan - Middle Eastern/Arab Americans in metro-Detroit and Latinos in the Grand Rapids area - to recruit and retain two Participant Resource Pools (PRP)., Procedures: We adapt an existing community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to recruit Middle Eastern/Arab American and Latino adults of all ages for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) research. Using American Community Survey (2014-2018) data, we compare socio-demographic characteristics of Middle Eastern/Arab Americans and Latinos living in Michigan to our PRPs. Assessment tools and community advisory board feedback identified missteps and culturally sensitive solutions., Main Findings: In the first year of MCCFAD activities, 100 Middle Eastern/Arab Americans and 117 Latinos joined the MCCFAD PRPs. Comparisons to state-level data showed that PRP participants were on average older and more likely to be female than the Middle Eastern/Arab American and Latino populations in Michigan. Further, Middle Eastern/Arab Americans in the PRP reported higher education levels while Latinos reported lower education levels than their respective statewide populations. Community partnerships/feedback identified the importance of connecting with community leaders, attending to matters of within-group diversity, as well as language and semantics., Conclusion: Partnership with communities to develop culturally targeted and sensitive community health events can fill a significant gap in addressing ADRD health disparities by establishing sustainable relationships to increase participation in ADRD research., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: None declared., (Copyright © 2020, Ethnicity & Disease, Inc.)

Background: Hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal processes is a fundamental feature of the human brain and drives symptom lateralization in Parkinson's disease (PD), but its molecular determinants are unknown. Here, we identify divergent epigenetic patterns involved in hemispheric asymmetry by profiling DNA methylation in isolated prefrontal cortex neurons from control and PD brain hemispheres. DNA methylation is fine-mapped at enhancers and promoters, genome-wide, by targeted bisulfite sequencing in two independent sample cohorts., Results: We find that neurons of the human prefrontal cortex exhibit hemispheric differences in DNA methylation. Hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal DNA methylation patterns is largely mediated by differential CpH methylation, and chromatin conformation analysis finds that it targets thousands of genes. With aging, there is a loss of hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal epigenomes, such that hemispheres epigenetically converge in late life. In neurons of PD patients, hemispheric asymmetry in DNA methylation is greater than in controls and involves many PD risk genes. Epigenetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic differences between PD hemispheres correspond to the lateralization of PD symptoms, with abnormalities being most prevalent in the hemisphere matched to side of symptom predominance. Hemispheric asymmetry and symptom lateralization in PD is linked to genes affecting neurodevelopment, immune activation, and synaptic transmission. PD patients with a long disease course have greater hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal epigenomes than those with a short disease course., Conclusions: Hemispheric differences in DNA methylation patterns are prevalent in neurons and may affect the progression and symptoms of PD.

Background: Age of migration has been shown to have a robust association with Latino immigrant health outcomes; however, the relationship between timing of migration and cognition is less understood., Objective: To examine associations between race/ethnicity, nativity, age of migration, and cognitive aging among US-born (USB) non-Latino Whites (NLW) and USB and foreign-born Latinos 50 years and older., Methods: We used longitudinal biennial data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; 2006-2014) to fit generalized linear and linear latent growth curve models for: 1) global cognition (Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status; TICS-M); 2) memory and attention subdomains of TICS-M; and 3) cognitive dysfunction. We also tested for sex modifications., Results: In age and sex adjusted models, all Latino subgroups, independent of nativity and age of migration, had lower global and domain-specific cognitive scores and higher propensity of cognitive impairment classification compared to USB-NLWs. Differences between USB Latinos, but not other Latino subgroups, and USB-NLWs remained after full covariate adjustment. Latinas, independent of nativity or age of migration, had poorer cognitive scores relative to NLW females. Differences between all Latinos and USB-NLWs were principally expressed at baseline. Racial/ethnic, nativity, and age of migration grouping was not associated with slope (nor explained variance) of cognitive decline., Conclusion: Older US-born Latinos, regardless of sex exhibit poorer cognitive function than older USB-NLWs and foreign-born Latinos. Social determinants that differentially affect cognitive function, particularly those that compensate for education and sex differences among US-born Latinos and foreign-born Latinos, require further exploration.

Empirical evidence linking racial/ethnic differences in glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c) to cognitive function in midlife and early old age is limited. We use biomarker data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2006-2014), on adults 50-64 years at baseline (57-73 years by 2014), and fit multinomial logistic regression models to assess the association between baseline HbA1c, cognitive function (using Langa-Weir classifications) and mortality across 8-years. Additionally, we test for modification effects by race/ethnicity. In age- and sex-adjusted models high HbA1c level was associated with lower baseline cognition and higher relative risk ratios (RRR; vs. normal cognition) for cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND; RRR= 2.3; 95%CI=[1.38;3.84]; p<0.01), and dementia (RRR= 4.00; 95%CI=[1.76;9.10]; p<0.01). Adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioral risk factors, and other health conditions explained the higher RRR for CIND and attenuated the RRR for dementia by approximately 30%. HbA1c levels were not linked to the slope of cognitive decline, and we found no evidence of modification effects for HbA1c by race/ethnicity. Targeting interventions for glycemic control in the critical midlife period can protect baseline cognition and buffer against downstream development of cognitive impairment. This can yield important public health benefits and reductions in burdens associated with cognitive impairment, particularly among race/ethnic minorities who are at higher risk for metabolic diseases.

The transition of tau proteins from its soluble physiological conformation to the pathological aggregate forms found in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, is poorly understood. Therefore, understanding the process that modulates the formation of toxic tau oligomers and their conversion to putative neuroprotective neurofibrillary tangles will lead to better therapeutic strategies. We previously identified that EFhd2 is associated with aggregated tau species in AD brains and the coiled-coil domain in EFhd2 mediates the interaction with tau. To further characterize the association between EFhd2 and tau, we examined whether EFhd2 could affect the liquid-liquid phase separation properties of tau under molecular crowding conditions. We demonstrate that EFhd2 alters tau liquid phase behavior in a calcium and coiled-coil domain dependent manner. Co-incubation of EFhd2 and tau in the absence of calcium leads to the formation of solid-like structures containing both proteins, while in the presence of calcium these two proteins phase separate together into liquid droplets. EFhd2's coiled-coil domain is necessary to alter tau's liquid phase separation, indicating that protein-protein interaction is required. The results demonstrate that EFhd2 affects the liquid-liquid phase separation of tau proteins in vitro , suggesting that EFhd2 modulates the structural dynamics of tau proteins.

The accumulation of tau protein aggregates is a pathological hallmark in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. However, the identity of the toxic tau conformation that propagates and induces neurodegeneration is still unknown. Anti-tau antibodies are a common tool used to differentiate between normal and pathological-associated tau forms or as passive immunotherapy in the quest to interfere with tau-mediated neurodegeneration. Here, we show that Tau13, a tau N-terminal antibody, preferentially enriches high molecular weight tau species produced in a tauopathy mouse model and AD. The data suggest that Tau13 has higher affinity to specific tau conformation presence in higher molecular weight tau species.

Aggregation of the protein tau is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders. However, the molecular mechanisms that lead to tau protein aggregation are still unclear. Previously, we showed that EFhd2 protein is associated with pathological aggregated forms of tau in AD brain. Further, immuno-gold analyses of purified tau aggregates showed that EFhd2 co-localized with filamentous tau structures. We demonstrated that EFhd2's coiled-coil domain is required for its association with tau proteins. However, it is unknown the role that EFhd2 plays in tau aggregation. Here, we show that incubation of K19-tau with substoichiometric amount of EFhd2 promote the formation of amyloid structures in vitro . The result suggests that EFhd2 may play a role in the biogenesis of aggregated tau.

Lysine methylation is a key regulator of histone protein function. Beyond histones, few connections have been made to the enzymes responsible for the deposition of these posttranslational modifications. Here, we debut a high-throughput functional proteomics platform that maps the sequence determinants of lysine methyltransferase (KMT) substrate selectivity without a priori knowledge of a substrate or target proteome. We demonstrate the predictive power of this approach for identifying KMT substrates, generating scaffolds for inhibitor design, and predicting the impact of missense mutations on lysine methylation signaling. By comparing KMT selectivity profiles to available lysine methylome datasets, we reveal a disconnect between preferred KMT substrates and the ability to detect these motifs using standard mass spectrometry pipelines. Collectively, our studies validate the use of this platform for guiding the study of lysine methylation signaling and suggest that substantial gaps exist in proteome-wide curation of lysine methylomes.

Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is a major coinhibitory receptor and a member of the immunological synapse (IS). To uncover proteins that regulate PD-1 recruitment to the IS, we searched for cytoskeleton-related proteins that also interact with PD-1 using affinity purification mass spectrometry. Among these proteins, EF hand domain family member D2 (EFHD2), a calcium binding adaptor protein, was functionally and mechanistically analyzed for its contribution to PD-1 signaling. EFHD2 was required for PD-1 to inhibit cytokine secretion, proliferation, and adhesion of human T cells. Interestingly, EFHD2 was also required for human T cell-mediated cytotoxicity and for mounting an antitumor immune response in a syngeneic murine tumor model. Mechanistically, EFHD2 contributed to IS stability, lytic vesicles trafficking, and granzyme B secretion. Altogether, EFHD2 is an important regulator of T cell cytotoxicity and further studies should evaluate its role in T cell-mediated inflammation., (Copyright © 2018 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Background: The lack of diagnostic tools and disease-modifying treatments against Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders, collectively known as tauopathies, has led to a socioeconomic burden of epidemic proportion. Proteomics approaches can be used to identify novel proteome changes that could help us understand the pathogenesis of tau-related pathological hallmarks and/or cellular stress responses associated with tauopathy. These studies, however, need to be conducted taking into consideration brain region specificity and stage of neurodegeneration in order to provide insights about the pathological role of the identified proteins., Methods: We used a tauopathy mouse model (JNPL3) that expresses human tau bearing a P301L mutation and develops motor impairment, the severity of which correlates with the increased accumulation of pathological tau. Tissue was dissected from asymptomatic and severely motor impaired JNPL3 mice as well as non-transgenic littermate controls and subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Differentially abundant protein spots were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Postmortem mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD and normal aging controls were used to validate the pathological significance of the identified protein., Results: Ezrin was identified as a protein that is upregulated in tau-mediated neurodegeneration. We demonstrate that Ezrin protein abundance increased in JNPL3 mice preceded motor impairment and was sustained in severely motor impaired mice. Ezrin expression was also increased in the temporal cortex of MCI and AD patients., Conclusion: The results demonstrate that increased Ezrin protein abundance changes are associated with the early stages of neurodegeneration in tauopathy models and human disease. Understanding the role of Ezrin in tauopathies such as AD may provide new insights for targeting tau-mediated neurodegeneration., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

One of the main challenges faced by investigators studying the nervous system of members of the phylum Echinodermata is the lack of markers to identify nerve cells and plexi. Previous studies have utilized an antibody, RN1, that labels most of the nervous system structures of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima and other echinoderms. However, the antigen recognized by RN1 remained unknown. In the present work, the antigen has been characterized by immunoprecipitation, tandem mass spectrometry, and cDNA cloning. The RN1 antigen contains a START lipid-binding domain found in Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory (StAR) proteins and other lipid-binding proteins. Phylogenetic tree assembly showed that the START domain is highly conserved among echinoderms. We have named this antigen HgSTARD10 for its high sequence similarity to the vertebrate orthologs. Gene and protein expression analyses revealed an abundance of HgSTARD10 in most H. glaberrima tissues including radial nerve, intestine, muscle, esophagus, mesentery, hemal system, gonads and respiratory tree. Molecular cloning of HgSTARD10, consequent protein expression and polyclonal antibody production revealed the STARD10 ortholog as the antigen recognized by the RN1 antibody. Further characterization into this START domain-containing protein will provide important insights for the biochemistry, physiology and evolution of deuterostomes., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The recent failures of potential disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD) may reflect the fact that the enrolled participants in clinical trials are already too advanced to derive a clinical benefit. Thus, well-validated biomarkers for the early detection and accurate diagnosis of the preclinical stages of AD will be crucial for therapeutic advancement. The combinatorial use of biomarkers derived from biological fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), with advanced molecular imaging and neuropsychological testing may eventually achieve the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity necessary to identify people in the earliest stages of the disease when drug modification is most likely possible. In this regard, positive amyloid or tau tracer retention on positron emission tomography imaging, low CSF concentrations of the amyloid-β 1-42 peptide, high CSF concentrations in total tau and phospho-tau, mesial temporal lobe atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging, and temporoparietal/precuneus hypometabolism or hypoperfusion on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography have all emerged as biomarkers for the progression to AD. However, the ultimate AD biomarker panel will likely involve the inclusion of novel CSF and blood biomarkers more precisely associated with confirmed pathophysiologic mechanisms to improve its reliability for detecting preclinical AD. This review highlights advancements in biological fluid and imaging biomarkers that are moving the field towards achieving the goal of a preclinical detection of AD.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia among individuals 65 or older. There are more than 5 million diagnosed cases in the US alone and this number is expected to triple by 2050. Therefore, AD has reached epidemic proportions with significant socioeconomic implications. While aging in general is the greatest risk factor for AD, several additional demographic factors that have contributed to the rise in AD in the US are under study. One such factor is associated with the relatively fast growth of the Latino population. Several reports indicate that AD is more prevalent among blacks and Latinos. However, the reason for AD disparity among different ethnic groups is still poorly understood and highly controversial. The Latino population is composed of different groups based on nationality, namely South and Central America, Mexico, and Caribbean Hispanics. This diversity among the Latino population represents an additional challenge since there are distinct characteristics associated with AD and comorbidities. In this review, we aim to bring attention to the intersection between social determinants of health and genetic factors associated with AD within the Latino community. We argue that understanding the interplay between identified social determinants of health, co-morbidities, and genetic factors could lead to community empowerment and inclusiveness in research and healthcare services, contributing to improved diagnosis and treatment of AD patients. Lastly, we propose that inserting a neuroethics perspective could help understand key challenges that influence healthcare disparities and contribute to increased risk of AD among Latinos.

EFhd2 is a conserved calcium binding protein linked to different neurological disorders and types of cancer. Although, EFhd2 is more abundant in neurons, it is also found in other cell types. The physiological function of this novel protein is still unclear, but it has been shown in vitro to play a role in calcium signaling, apoptosis, actin cytoskeleton, and regulation of synapse formation. Recently, EFhd2 was shown to promote cell motility by modulating the activity of Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA. Although, EFhd2's role in promoting cell invasion and metastasis is of great interest in cancer biology, this review focusses on the evidence that links EFhd2 to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurological disorders. Altered expression of EFhd2 has been documented in AD, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and schizophrenia, indicating that Efhd2 gene expression is regulated in response to neuropathological processes. However, the specific role that EFhd2 plays in the pathophysiology of neurological disorders is still poorly understood. Recent studies demonstrated that EFhd2 has structural characteristics similar to amyloid proteins found in neurological disorders. Moreover, EFhd2 co-aggregates and interacts with known neuropathological proteins, such as tau, C9orf72, and Lrrk2. These results suggest that EFhd2 may play an important role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the understanding of EFhd2's role in health and disease could lead to decipher molecular mechanisms that become activated in response to neuronal stress and degeneration.

Objective: The Latino/Hispanic community in the United States is at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than other ethnic groups. Specifically, Caribbean Hispanics showed a more severe Alzheimer's disease symptomatology than any other ethnic group. In a previous study, we demonstrated that the mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease in Puerto Rico is higher than that reported in the United States. Moreover, the mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease was higher among Puerto Rican living in Puerto Rico than those in the mainland United States. There is also a differential geographical distribution of mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease in Puerto Rico, which may be associated with differential socioeconomic status and/or access to healthcare. However, there is no information regarding the clinical profile of Alzheimer's disease patients in Puerto Rico., Methods: Here, we present the results of a retrospective study directed to profile Alzheimer's disease patients clustered into two groups based on areas previously determined with low (Metro Region) and high (Northwest-Central Region) mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease in Puerto Rico., Results: Significant difference in the age-at-diagnosis and years of education was found among patients within the two studied regions. Despite these differences, both regions showed comparable levels of initial and last Mini Mental State Examination scores and rate of cognitive decline. Significant difference was also observed in the occurance of co-morbidities associated with Alzheimer's disease., Conclusions: The differential profile of Alzheimer's disease patients correlated with differences in socioeconomic status between these two regions, suggesting that covariant associated with social status may contribute to increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Further studies should be conducted to determine the role of socioeconomic factors and healthy living practices as risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.

Ependymoma is a slowly growing tumor in children and young adults originating from the wall of the ventricles or from the spinal canal that is composed of neoplastic ependymal cells. Tanycytic ependymoma is a rare variant of ependymoma usually arising in the intra medullary spine. The World Health Organization classifies the tanycytic ependymoma as a grade II tumor. The diagnosis of tanycytic ependymoma is challenging since the morphology of the lesions resemble those found in schwannoma and astrocytomas. In the present study, we show a case of a 76 years old male with a progressive paraparesis for 8 years, due to a spinal tumor. Radiological and histological studies were used to classify the tumor as tanycytic ependymoma. Therefore, it is important to be aware of tanycytic ependymoma and its immunohistochemistry profile in older patients, especially within the Caribbean Hispanic population. To our knowledge this is the oldest patient known to have this rare tumor and the first case reported in Puerto Rico.

EFhd2 is a calcium binding protein, which is highly expressed in the central nervous system and associated with pathological forms of tau proteins in tauopathies. Previous phosphoproteomics studies and bioinformatics analysis suggest that EFhd2 may be phosphorylated. Here, we determine whether Cdk5, a hyperactivated kinase in tauopathies, phosphorylates EFhd2 and influence its known molecular activities. The results indicated that EFhd2 is phosphorylated by brain extract of the transgenic mouse CK-p25, which overexpresses the Cdk5 constitutive activator p25. Consistently, in vitro kinase assays demonstrated that Cdk5, but not GSK3β, directly phosphorylates EFhd2. Biomass, tandem mass spectrometry, and mutagenesis analyses indicated that Cdk5 monophosphorylates EFhd2 at S74, but not the adjacent S76. Furthermore, Cdk5-mediated phosphorylation of EFhd2 affected its calcium binding activity. Finally, a phospho-specific antibody was generated against EFhd2 phosphorylated at S74 and was used to detect this phosphorylation event in postmortem brain tissue from Alzheimer's disease and normal-aging control cases. Results demonstrated that EFhd2 is phosphorylated in vivo at S74. These results imply that EFhd2's physiological and/or pathological function could be regulated by its phosphorylation state., (© 2014 The Protein Society.)

One third of inherited genetic diseases are caused by mRNAs harboring premature termination codons as a result of nonsense mutations. These aberrant mRNAs are degraded by the Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay (NMD) pathway. A central component of the NMD pathway is Upf1, an RNA-dependent ATPase and helicase. Upf1 is a known phosphorylated protein, but only portions of this large protein have been examined for phosphorylation sites and the functional relevance of its phosphorylation has not been elucidated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using tandem mass spectrometry analyses, we report the identification of 11 putative phosphorylated sites in S. cerevisiae Upf1. Five of these phosphorylated residues are located within the ATPase and helicase domains and are conserved in higher eukaryotes, suggesting a biological significance for their phosphorylation. Indeed, functional analysis demonstrated that a small carboxy-terminal motif harboring at least three phosphorylated amino acids is important for three Upf1 functions: ATPase activity, NMD activity and the ability to promote translation termination efficiency. We provide evidence that two tyrosines within this phospho-motif (Y-738 and Y-742) act redundantly to promote ATP hydrolysis, NMD efficiency and translation termination fidelity.

Molecular diagnostic tools with non-invasive properties that allow detection of pathological events in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative tauopathies are essential for the development of therapeutics. Several diagnostic strategies based on the identification of biomarkers have been proposed. However, its specificity among neurodegenerative disorders is disputable as the association with pathological events remains elusive. Recently, we showed that Amphiphysin-1 (AMPH1) protein's abundance is reduced in the central nervous system (CNS) of the tauopathy mouse model JNPL3 and AD brains. AMPH1 is a synaptic protein that plays an important role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis and associates with BIN1, one of the most important risk loci for AD. Also, it has been associated with a rare neurological disease known as Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS). Auto-antibodies against AMPH1 are used as diagnostic biomarkers for a paraneoplastic variant of SPS. Therefore, we set up to evaluate the presence and abundance of auto-AMPH1 antibodies in tau-mediated neurodegeneration. Immunoblots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were conducted to detect the presence of auto-AMPH1 antibodies in sera from euthanized mice that developed neurodegeneration (JNPL3) and healthy control mice (NTg). Results showed increased levels of auto-AMPH1 antibodies in JNPL3 sera compared to NTg controls. The abundance of auto-AMPH1 antibodies correlated with motor impairment and AMPH1 protein level decrease in the CNS. The results suggest that auto-AMPH1 antibodies could serve as a biomarker for the progression of tau-mediated neurodegeneration in JNPL3 mice.

EFhd2 is a conserved calcium-binding protein, abundant within the central nervous system. Previous studies identified EFhd2 associated with pathological forms of tau proteins in the tauopathy mouse model JNPL3, which expresses the human tau(P301L) mutant. This association was validated in human tauopathies, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role that EFhd2 may play in tauopathies is still unknown. Here, we show that EFhd2 formed amyloid structures in vitro, a capability that is reduced by calcium ions. Electron microscopy (EM) analyses demonstrated that recombinant EFhd2 formed filamentous structures. EM analyses of sarkosyl-insoluble fractions derived from human AD brains also indicated that EFhd2 co-localizes with aggregated tau proteins and formed granular structures. Immunohistological analyses of brain slices demonstrated that EFhd2 co-localizes with pathological tau proteins in AD brains, confirming the co-aggregation of EFhd2 and pathological tau. Furthermore, EFhd2's coiled-coil domain mediated its self-oligomerization in vitro and its association with tau proteins in JNPL3 mouse brain extracts. The results demonstrate that EFhd2 is a novel amyloid protein associated with pathological tau proteins in AD brain and that calcium binding may regulate the formation of EFhd2's amyloid structures. Hence, EFhd2 may play an important role in the pathobiology of tau-mediated neurodegeneration., (© 2013 International Society for Neurochemistry.)

EFhd2 is a novel protein conserved from C. elegans to H. sapiens. This novel protein was originally identified in cells of the immune and central nervous systems. However, it is most abundant in the central nervous system, where it has been found associated with pathological forms of the microtubule-associated protein tau. The physiological or pathological roles of EFhd2 are poorly understood. In this study, a functional and structural analysis was carried to characterize the molecular requirements for EFhd2's calcium binding activity. The results showed that mutations of a conserved aspartate on either EF-hand motif disrupted the calcium binding activity, indicating that these motifs work in pair as a functional calcium binding domain. Furthermore, characterization of an identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) that introduced a missense mutation indicates the importance of a conserved phenylalanine on EFhd2 calcium binding activity. Structural analysis revealed that EFhd2 is predominantly composed of alpha helix and random coil structures and that this novel protein is thermostable. EFhd2's thermo stability depends on its N-terminus. In the absence of the N-terminus, calcium binding restored EFhd2's thermal stability. Overall, these studies contribute to our understanding on EFhd2 functional and structural properties, and introduce it into the family of canonical EF-hand domain containing proteins.

The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) synthases from deep-sea bacteria invariably contain multiple acyl carrier protein (ACP) domains in tandem. This conserved tandem arrangement has been implicated in both amplification of fatty acid production (additive effect) and in structural stabilization of the multidomain protein (synergistic effect). While the more accepted model is one in which domains act independently, recent reports suggest that ACP domains may form higher oligomers. Elucidating the three-dimensional structure of tandem arrangements may therefore give important insights into the functional relevance of these structures, and hence guide bioengineering strategies. In an effort to elucidate the three-dimensional structure of tandem repeats from deep-sea anaerobic bacteria, we have expressed and purified a fragment consisting of five tandem ACP domains from the PUFA synthase from Photobacterium profundum. Analysis of the tandem ACP fragment by analytical gel filtration chromatography showed a retention time suggestive of a multimeric protein. However, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) revealed that the multi-ACP fragment is an elongated monomer which does not form a globular unit. Stokes radii calculated from atomic monomeric SAXS models were comparable to those measured by analytical gel filtration chromatography, showing that in the gel filtration experiment, the molecular weight was overestimated due to the elongated protein shape. Thermal denaturation monitored by circular dichroism showed that unfolding of the tandem construct was not cooperative, and that the tandem arrangement did not stabilize the protein. Taken together, these data are consistent with an elongated beads-on-a-string arrangement of the tandem ACP domains in PUFA synthases, and speak against synergistic biocatalytic effects promoted by quaternary structuring. Thus, it is possible to envision bioengineering strategies which simply involve the artificial linking of multiple ACP domains for increasing the yield of fatty acids in bacterial cultures.

The frequency and clinical and pathological characteristics associated with the Gly206Ala presenilin 1 (PSEN1) mutation in Puerto Rican and non-Puerto Rican Hispanics were evaluated at the University of Pennsylvania's Alzheimer's Disease Center. DNAs from all cohort subjects were genotyped for the Gly206Ala PSEN1 mutation. Carriers and non-carriers with neurodegenerative disease dementias were compared for demographic, clinical, psychometric, and biomarker variables. Nineteen (12.6%) of 151 unrelated subjects with dementia were discovered to carry the PSEN1 Gly206Ala mutation. Microsatellite marker genotyping determined a common ancestral haplotype for all carriers. Carriers were all of Puerto Rican heritage with significantly younger age of onset, but otherwise were clinically and neuropsychologically comparable to those of non-carriers with AD. Three subjects had extensive topographic and biochemical biomarker assessments that were also typical of non-carriers with AD. Neuropathological examination in one subject revealed severe, widespread plaque and tangle pathology without other meaningful disease lesions. The PSEN1 Gly206Ala mutation is notably frequent in unrelated Puerto Rican immigrants with dementia in Philadelphia. Considered together with the increased prevalence and mortality of AD reported in Puerto Rico, these high rates may reflect hereditary risk concentrated in the island which warrants further study.

Tauopathies are a family of neurodegenerative diseases that have the pathological hallmark of intraneuronal accumulation of filaments composed of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins that tend to aggregate in an ultrastructure known as neurofibrillary tangles. The identification of mutations on the tau gene in familial cases of tauopathies underscores the pathological role of the tau protein. However, the molecular process that underlines tau-mediated neurodegeneration is not understood. Here, a proteomics approach was used to identify proteins that may be affected during the course of tau-mediated neurodegeneration in the tauopathy mouse model JNPL3. The JNPL3 mice express human tau proteins bearing a P301L mutation, which mimics the neurodegenerative process observed in humans with tauopathy. The results showed that the protein amphiphysin-1 (AMPH1) is significantly reduced in terminally ill JNPL3 mice. Specifically, the AMPH1 protein level is reduced in brain regions known to accumulate aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins. The AMPH1 protein reduction was validated in Alzheimer's disease cases. Taken together, the results suggest that the reduction of the AMPH1 protein level is a molecular event associated with the progression of tau-mediated neurodegeneration.

Objective: To compare presentation of Alzheimer disease (AD) at the time of initial evaluation at a university specialty clinic across three ethnoracial groups in order to understand similarities and differences in the demographic, clinical, cognitive, psychiatric, and biologic features., Design: Cross-sectional study., Participants: A total of 1,341 self-identified African American, Latino (primarily of Caribbean origin), and white non-Hispanic ("WNH") subjects were recruited from primary care sites or by referral by primary care physicians., Measurements: Demographic variables and age of onset of AD, as well as cognitive, functional, and mood impairments at the time of initial presentation and frequencies of apolipoprotein E genotypes, were compared across groups., Results: Differences among ethnoracial groups were found for nearly all variables of interest. In particular, the largely immigrant Puerto Rican Latino group had an earlier age of onset of AD, more cognitive impairment, and greater severity of cognitive impairment at the time of initial evaluation in the setting of low average education and socioeconomic status. There was more depression in the Latinos compared with African Americans and WNHs. Greater severity of symptoms was not accounted for by a difference in lag time between onset of symptoms and initial evaluation. The apolipoprotein E-4 genotype was not associated with AD in the Latino cohort., Conclusions: Minority groups in Philadelphia, especially Latinos, exhibit a more severe profile of AD at the time of presentation than WNHs. Important potential confounds need to be considered and future research comparing immigrant and nonimmigrant Latino groups will be necessary to elucidate the highly significant differences reported.

Recent studies have shown that deoxygenated human red blood cells (RBCs) converted garlic-derived polysulfides into hydrogen sulfide, which in turn produced vasorelaxation in aortic ring preparations. The vasoactivity was proposed to occur via glucose- and thiol-dependent acellular reactions. In the present study, we investigated the interaction of garlic extracts with human deoxygenated RBCs and its effect on intracellular hemoglobin molecules. The results showed that garlic extract covalently modified intraerythrocytic deoxygenated hemoglobin. The modification identified consisted of an addition of 71 atomic mass units, suggesting allylation of the cysteine residues. Consistently, purified human deoxyhemoglobin reacted with chemically pure diallyl disulfide, showing the same modification as garlic extracts. Tandem mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that garlic extract and diallyl disulfide modified hemoglobin's beta-chain at cysteine-93 (beta-93C) or cysteine-112 (beta-112C). These results indicate that garlic-derived organic disulfides as well as pure diallyl disulfide must permeate the RBC membrane and modified deoxyhemoglobin at beta-93C or beta-112C. Although the physiological role of the reported garlic extract-induced allyl modification on human hemoglobin warrants further study, the results indicate that constituents of natural products, such as those from garlic extract, modify intracellular proteins.

Enzymes and biochemical mechanisms essential to survival are under extreme selective pressure and are highly conserved through evolutionary time. We applied this evolutionary concept to barnacle cement polymerization, a process critical to barnacle fitness that involves aggregation and cross-linking of proteins. The biochemical mechanisms of cement polymerization remain largely unknown. We hypothesized that this process is biochemically similar to blood clotting, a critical physiological response that is also based on aggregation and cross-linking of proteins. Like key elements of vertebrate and invertebrate blood clotting, barnacle cement polymerization was shown to involve proteolytic activation of enzymes and structural precursors, transglutaminase cross-linking and assembly of fibrous proteins. Proteolytic activation of structural proteins maximizes the potential for bonding interactions with other proteins and with the surface. Transglutaminase cross-linking reinforces cement integrity. Remarkably, epitopes and sequences homologous to bovine trypsin and human transglutaminase were identified in barnacle cement with tandem mass spectrometry and/or western blotting. Akin to blood clotting, the peptides generated during proteolytic activation functioned as signal molecules, linking a molecular level event (protein aggregation) to a behavioral response (barnacle larval settlement). Our results draw attention to a highly conserved protein polymerization mechanism and shed light on a long-standing biochemical puzzle. We suggest that barnacle cement polymerization is a specialized form of wound healing. The polymerization mechanism common between barnacle cement and blood may be a theme for many marine animal glues.

We have analyzed US Alzheimer disease (AD) mortality rates from 1999 to 2004, after 10th International Classification of Disease (ICD) revision coding made AD death certificate reporting more accurate. Age-standardized rates were calculated by year, age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, marital status, and geography. AD mortality increased 31% from 1999 to 2004. AD rates were higher in the northwest and the southeast. Stroke mortality shows a similar pattern; the correlation in state rates between stroke and AD is 0.79. Female AD mortality was 28% higher than male mortality. Whites had 56% higher rates than non-whites, and non-Hispanics had a 72% higher rate than Hispanics. Both less education and single marital status were associated with higher rates. The correlation between state rates for stroke and AD mortality could be due to artifacts of coding, or a true relationship, given that stroke is a risk factor for subsequent AD. Although AD mortality in the United States has been increasing over time it is not known whether incidence is increasing, due to lack of recent incidence data. AD reporting on death certificates is known to be poor. This is the first analysis of recent trends in AD mortality since the advent of ICD-10.

Since the implementation of the 10th International Classification of Disease in 1999, the trend in Alzheimer's disease mortality rate has not been reported. Here, the age-adjusted Alzheimer's disease mortality rate in Puerto Rico and United States from 1999 to 2004 was analyzed. The results showed an increasing trend in Alzheimer's disease mortality rate in both the United States and Puerto Rico. However in Puerto Rico, the Alzheimer's disease mortality rate (32.4/100,000) was higher than that observed in United States (20.9/100,000). Interestingly, the Alzheimer's disease mortality rate of Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico is much higher than Puerto Ricans living in the United States. The higher occurrence of Alzheimer's disease mortality in Puerto Rico versus the United States could be explained by factors such as coding practices, genetics, socioeconomics, and health care. These results highlight the need for comprehensive studies on factors that may influence diagnosis, death certificate coding practices, and development of Alzheimer's disease pathology in different geographical regions.

Tauopathies are a group of neurological disorders characterized by the presence of intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated and filamentous tau. Mutations in the tau gene have been found in kindred with tauopathy. The expression of the human tau mutant in transgenic mice induced neurodegeneration, indicating that tau plays a central pathological role. However, the molecular mechanism leading to tau-mediated neurodegeneration is poorly understood. To gain insights into the role that tau plays in neurodegeneration, human tau proteins were immunoprecipitated from brain lysates of the tauopathy mouse model JNPL3, which develops neurodegeneration in age-dependent manner. In the present work, a novel EF-hand domain-containing protein was found associated with tau proteins in brain lysate of 12-month-old JNPL3 mice. The association between tau proteins and the novel identified protein appears to be induced by the neurodegeneration process as these two proteins were not found associated in young JNPL3 mice. Consistently, the novel protein co-purified with the pathological sarkosyl insoluble tau in terminally ill JNPL3 mice. Calcium-binding assays demonstrated that this protein binds calcium effectively. Finally, the association between tau and the novel calcium-binding protein is conserved in human and enriched in Alzheimer's disease brain. Taken together, the identification of a novel calcium-binding protein associated with tau protein in terminally ill tauopathy mouse model and its confirmation in human brain lysate suggests that this association may play an important physiological and/or pathological role.

Microtubule-stabilizing and -destabilizing proteins play a crucial role in regulating the dynamic instability of microtubules during neuronal development and synaptic transmission. The microtubule-destabilizing protein SCG10 is a neuron-specific protein implicated in neurite outgrowth. The SCG10 protein is significantly reduced in mature neurons, suggesting that its expression is developmentally regulated. In contrast, the microtubule-stabilizing protein tau is expressed in mature neurons and its function is essential for the maintenance of neuronal polarity and neuronal survival. Thus, the establishment and maintenance of neuronal polarity may down-regulate the protein level/function of SCG10. In this report, we show that treatment of PC12 cells and neuroblastoma cells with the microtubule-stabilizing drug Taxol induced a rapid degradation of the SCG10 protein. Consistently, overexpression of tau protein in neuroblastoma cells also induced a reduction in SCG10 protein levels. Calpain inhibitor MDL-28170, but not caspase inhibitors, blocked a significant decrease in SCG10 protein levels. Collectively, these results indicate that tau overexpression and Taxol treatment induced a calpain-dependent degradation of the microtubule-destabilizing protein SCG10. The results provide evidence for the existence of an intracellular mechanism involved in the regulation of SCG10 upon microtubule stabilization.

A convenient synthesis of some homologous light isotope-coded affinity tags (ICAT-L) containing an acid-labile moiety between the affinity component biotin and an electrophilic polar linker is described. These light ICAT reagents give smooth mass spectral signals in tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analyses of some commercially available cysteine-containing peptides. However, these ICAT molecules are designed for use in identification and relative quantification of whole or partially purified cellular and tissue proteomes. Since the biotin moiety can be readily cleaved off the reagent after mass tagging, undesired residual fragmentation patterns caused by biotin of derived peptides, as normally observed using biotin-containing ICAT reagents, are effectively eliminated. This strategy should enhance peptide sequence coverage significantly which, in turn, should result in improving the quality of data obtained during data-dependent peptide mass and tandem mass spectral analysis of whole proteomes.