Annexin A3 in Alzheimer's disease

• Grant number: 19/05508-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Leda Leme Talib
• Grantee: Lucas Yongsoo Park
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psiquiatria Doutor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (IPq). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The world population undergoes a process of demographic transition, in which the elderly population has been increasing. This increases the incidence of numerous diseases, for example cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases. Among these neuropsychiatric diseases, Alzheimer's disease deserves special attention because, according to US government data, between 1999 and 2014, the deaths caused by this disease increased by 54.5%. AD is a disease that greatly impairs patients' quality of life, especially in the final stages of their life. Clinical manifestations of this disease are dementia of progressive evolution, progressive deficit in short-term memory, agnosia, disorders in language and motor coordination, among others. The definitive diagnosis of AD can be made only by means of a brain biopsy that analyzes the amount of senile plaques and TAF protein neurofibrillary tangles present in the hippocampus. In the pathophysiology of AD, the peripheral and cerebral concentrations of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and calcium-independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) enzymes are reduced. Annexin A3 (ANXA3), another membrane protein, is known to inhibit the activity of the enzymes mentioned above. In this sense, this study aims to investigate this possible biological marker of Alzheimer's disease in peripheral blood samples and to compare them with the control group. For this, a sample of 30 individuals with AD and 30 normal individuals will be constituted. For analysis of the potential biomarker of AD, the expression of ANXA3 and related to the activity of the iPLA2 and cPLA2 enzymes of the respective groups will be determined in platelets. (AU)