Differentially Expressed ApoE Protein Isoforms in Human Blood as Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease (2012)

Undergraduate: Ana Corcimaru

Faculty Advisor: Oscar Alzate
Department: Biology

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly. Currently, a definitive diagnosis for AD is only possible through post-mortem pathological studies of the brain. My research evaluates how the differential types, presence, and abundance of APOE protein isoforms in human blood serum can be used as blood biomarkers in a noninvasive method for diagnosis of AD. Blood serum samples were collected from patients that had been diagnosed with AD and control subjects. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to identify differentially expressed APOE isoforms between AD patients and controls. Two isoforms were consistently expressed in the AD patient population only. The identification of noninvasive methods of establishing AD biomarkers is of great importance for proper and timely diagnosis of this disease and for possible understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathology.