PROJECT: JTC2008: ADTest

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common dementia in the elderly. In vivo diagnostic procedures are imperfect and there is need for additional biomarkers for preclinical diagnosis, furthermore no effective therapies are available. Members of ADtest have identified novel, AD-specific biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid using novel proteomics based approaches. Using these data, the ADtest consortium will address above problems in three areas: (1) validation of new AD biomarkers, (2) investigation AD pathophysiology (3) investigation of novel therapeutic approaches. Partners come from clinical, translational and basic science, combining broad expertise with scientific excellence and bring into ADtest a substantial body of existing knowledge and data. We will validate newly discovered AD biomarker profiles and look for novel AD biomarker profiles using a technique coupling high resolution capillary electrophoresis to mass spectrometry. Members of ADtest have indentified the proteinase inhibitor testican-1 as an AD biomarker and a potential disease modulator. This will be further investigated using in vitro and in vivo approaches. Finally, we will perform structural studies of testican-protease complexes to discover novel therapeutic targets. Thus, the ADtest consortium will develop innovative diagnostic technologies, provide novel insights into the pathophysiology of AD and expose novel therapeutic targets.