• OVPR

    The Office of the Vice President for Research facilitates collaborative research opportunities, streamlines related policies and procedures, and acts as a unified voice for U of I research.

  • UIC OTM

    The Office of Technology Management at Chicago is responsible for managing the intellectual property generated by research and educational activities at the University.

  • UIC Research Center

    Supplies a fully-equipped infrastructure and access to University resources, internship programs, world-class talent, and custom-designed business development services.

  • UI Research Park

    Provides an ideal environment for starting a high-growth technology venture, with wet-chemistry labs, office space, an array of shared equipment, server co-location facilities, and conference rooms.

  • IllinoisVENTURES

    IllinoisVENTURES is a seed and early-stage technology investment firm focused on research-derived companies in information technologies, physical sciences and life sciences, with a particular emphasis on those deriving from research conducted at the University of Illinois and other regional research institutions and federal laboratories.

Office of Technology Management, Urbana-Champaign

Alpha secretase regulates stem cell proliferation and cell fate determination

Stem cells
Stem cells

Alzheimer's is a degenerative and terminal disease for which there is no known cure. The cause and progression of Alzheimer's disease is not well understood. Research indicates that the disease is associated with plaques and tangles in the brain. These plaques are composed of a tangle of regularly ordered fibrillar aggregates called amyloid fibers, a protein fold shared by other peptides such as prions associated with protein misfolding diseases. Aβ is formed after sequential cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), a transmembrane glycoprotein of undetermined function. APP can be processed by α-, β- and γ-secretases; Aβ protein is generated by successive action of the β and γ secretases. The UIC invention suggests that the alpha secretase also plays an important role in regulating neural stem cell proliferation and cell fate determination. Thus the invention finds a critical link between Alzheimer’s disease and adult Neurogenesis.

Applications

• The development of a therapeutic approach for learning and memory impairments, Alzheimer’s and dementia and impaired neurogenesis

Benefits

• The study indicates the link between Alzheimer’s disease and adult neurogenesis

Reference #

DB109
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