Antiaggregating antibodies: New approach to treating conformational diseases?(prion-related diseases)

2002 DEC 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Could Alzheimer disease be prevented with a vaccine? Not in the immediate future, but it seems that research results are pointing to the potential of immunotherapy for such conditions as Alzheimer's and prion-related diseases.

These neurodegenerative diseases, molecular biologists explain, "belong to the family of conformational diseases characterized by protein self-association and tissue deposition as amyloid fibrils. Regardless of the nature of the protein constituent, all forms of amyloid are stable assemblies based on noncovalent interactions between subunits of crossed beta-sheet structure.

"Understanding the mechanism and molecular details of the pathological conformational conversion of amyloidogenic proteins may be of importance to the development of approaches towards prevention and treatment of such diseases."

In earlier work, B. Solomon and colleagues, Tel Aviv University, Israel, "found that monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) interact at strategic sites where protein unfolding is initiated, thereby stabilizing the protein and preventing further precipitation. Indeed, site-directed mAbs raised against the N-terminal region of Alzheimer's beta-peptide (AbetaP) disaggregate AbetaP fibrils, restore peptide solubility and prevent its neurotoxic effects," they reported.

"Similarly, selected mAbs raised against the human prion peptide 106-126 modulate conformational changes occurring in the ...