Researchers Identify Protein Biomarker Candidates Lead to Diagnosis and Treatment for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Applied Biosystems, an Applera Corporation business, and its joint venture partner, MDS Sciex, a division of MDS Inc. have announced the outcome of the scientific research community's extensive, spinal fluid-based protein study on neurodegenerative diseases to date.

Researchers from the University of Washington, Applied Biosystems and three other research facilities discovered a panel of numerous unique candidate biomarkers that could potentially help develop effective diagnostic tests and treatments for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies - three age-related diseases that affect more than seven million people in the United States today.

The study was published in the August issue of The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The study is simultaneously compare candidate biomarkers in these diseases.

To enable the simultaneous comparison, the researchers used iTRAQ™ reagent labeling technology to identify and quantify biomarkers.

Protein biomarkers are biological entities that can indicate the risk, presence and/or progression of diseases.

Once protein biomarkers are identified and validated, certain proteins can be targeted to either be blocked or enhanced in order to prevent or mitigate disease risk in patients and their families.

The next step will be for the findings to be validated in a different and larger population of patients.

"The results of this research may be a catalyst to using protein biomarkers to slow down the rising tide of devastating neurodegenerative diseases," said Dr. Zhang.

"Not only are these discoveries a beacon of hope for those people genetically susceptible to suffering from these diseases, but identifying panels of biomarkers could also potentially be used someday in the diagnosis and monitoring of these diseases."

The researchers identified approximately 1,500 proteins, constituting the most extensive characterization of proteins in the human cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) proteome to date.

To support the study, Applied Biosystems provided the protein discovery systems that delivered the required level of sensitivity, protein quantitation and reliability to differentiate between proteins and overcome the complexities of the analysis.

The CSF proteome has been difficult to study because of its complex nature and, without the proper level of sensitivity in previously available lab instrumentation, CSF neurodegenerative proteins can be confused with other neurological proteins within close proximity.

"The team of scientists set out together as partners on a common mission to cut through the complexities and unlock critical information about Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies," said Fadi Abdi, PhD, the collaborating scientist at Applied Biosystems.

"Collaborating with other research scientists is a fundamental part of Applied Biosystems' strategy to advance proteomics."

An abstract of the full article entitled "Detection of Biomarkers with a Multiplex Quantitative Proteomic Platform in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Neurodegenerative Disorders" in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease can be found online.