Alzheimer's Disease (AD) Drug Discovery Service

Creative Biolabs offers well-established and innovative one-stop solutions for Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. We will find a way to manage both the entire supply chain and the entire value chain to meet your needs. You can count on our skilled and passionate workforce to find the most suitable path and to guide you through your AD research journey. We can make your AD journey easier.

Overview

AD is a multifactorial brain disorder prevalent in elderly people. It is characterized by cognitive impairment, synaptic failure, aggregates of amyloid-beta (Aβ), and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangle. The biology of AD is increasingly well understood. Amyloid and tau protein are important targets; inflammation, synaptic plasticity, neuroprotection, and bioenergetics/metabolism account for most of the rest of the current pipeline of agents. Biomarkers are playing an increasing role in drug development and the use of amyloid (A), Tau (T), and neurodegenerative (N)-A/T/N biomarker frameworks. Both in vivo and in vitro methods help in the understanding of AD and the mechanisms of pathogenesis by Aβ and tau proteins. Advancements in these methods will improve the diagnosis and treatment of AD.

In vitro Services for Investigating AD

• AD In Vitro Models

In vitro culture methods involve 2D and 3D cultures, usually in a petri dish. In vitro models of AD are usually created either by introducing synthetic compounds like the Aβ peptide into the cells or by inserting AD-associated genes into cells via gene delivery technologies such as transfection and transduction.

Fig.1 Principal 3D cell culture techniques. (Ranjan, et al., 2018)

• AD In Vitro Assay

A series of in vitro assays are available at Creative Biolabs to analyze cell viability and cytotoxicity assay to promote your AD research.

Mechanism-based AD Drug Development

• Therapies Targeted at Amyloid

The majority of AD treatment strategies targeted at the amyloid cascade or so have been focused on reducing Aβ generation through the development of β- and γ-secretase inhibitors, accelerating Aβ clearance through active and passive immunotherapies, as well as preventing the formation of toxic amyloid aggregates.

Fig.3 Models of antibody-mediated amyloid clearance. (Citron, 2004)

• Therapies Targeted at Tau

The treatment of tau protein has become a research hotspot in AD drug development. Current treatment strategies include inhibition of tau aggregation, reduction of tau hyperphosphorylation or other toxic post-translational modifications, and promotion of tau clearance and prevention of tau transmission.

• Therapies Targeted at ApoE

The ApoE4 genotype is one of the strongest genetic risk factors for sporadic AD. Different treatment strategies for ApoE have been tested in vitro and/or in vivo in preclinical animal models.

• Neuroprotective Therapies

In AD, synaptic dysfunction due to a variety of factors including toxic accumulation, age-related processes, and neuroinflammation is one of the features of the disease. Neuroprotective strategies are developed to target degenerative mechanisms triggered by or involving the factors mentioned above.

As people have a new understanding of the pathogenesis and progression of AD, the development or reuse of drugs that can target different aspects of the pathogenesis of AD has become a hope for the treatment of AD. Creative Biolabs can apply our considerable experience with AD solutions to develop the necessary analytics specific to your neuroscience research project. Please feel free to contact us for more detail.

References

1. Ranjan, V.D.; et al. Modelling Alzheimer's disease: Insights from in vivo to in vitro three-dimensional culture platforms. Journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. 2018, 12(9): 1944-1958.
2. Citron, M. Strategies for disease modification in Alzheimer's disease. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2004, 5(9): 677-685.