Two VCU professors awarded grants for Alzheimer’s Research

By Mike Porter

Two Virginia Commonwealth University professors have been awarded grants through the 2006-2007 Alzheimer’s Research Fund Award (ARDRAF). 

Dusan Bratko, D. Sc., a professor in the department of chemistry, and Jeffrey L. Dupree, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of anatomy and neurobiology, were among six grant award winners for 2006-2007.

Bratko received a $30,000 grant to fund his research titled “Computer Screening of Amyloidogenic Protein Varients.”

Computational chemistry is becoming an important tool in biophysical and biomedical research and Bratko’s study addresses, through computer simulation, the molecular properties of pathological intra- or extracellular agglomerations of misfolded proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and related diseases.  The role of mutations that affect peptide aggregation will also be explored. 

Bratko specializes in statistical mechanics, a discipline concerned with the prediction of observable physical properties from the knowledge about molecular constituents of a material. Bratko’s research could lead to high-throughput computational methods to screen amyloidogenic protein variants which could assist in identifying systems conditions and protein mutations relevant for prediction, treatment, and prevention of debilitating processes involved in neurodegenerative diseases.

Dupree received a $30,000 grant to fund his research titled “Understanding the Role of Sulfatide in Maintaining Viable Neurons in Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Dupree is studying a class of cells known as oligodendrocytes (OLG’s), which are best known for their role in the formation of myelin, the insulating wrap that ensures rapid nerve impulse transmission. In addition, they are almost exclusively responsible for the production of a prominent brain lipid, known as sulfatide, which is significantly reduced in the earliest stages of dementia.   

The loss of proper OLG-neuron communication induces abnormal tau phosphorylation as seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Studies on mice show the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau results in a collapse of the microtubular network and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dupree will investigate what happens initially after tau phosphorylation and the potential contribution to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis.

The Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases Research Award Fund was established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1982 to stimulate innovative investigations into Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.  The fund supports research into the causes, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of the disorder; public policy and the financing of care; and the social and psychological impacts of the disease upon the individual, family and community.

The ARDRAF competition is administered by VCU’s Virginia Center on Aging.      

Richard B. Westkaemper, Ph.D., a professor in the department of medicinal chemistry at VCU served on the awards committee.  He received an ARDRAF award in 1995.  The project was titled “Molecular Models of the Nicotinic Receptor:  A Potential Route to the Rational Design of Agents to Treat Alzheimer's Disease.”