Dennis Selkoe, United States of America

ARCND-Brigham and Women's Hospital-Harvard Medical School Neurology
Dennis Selkoe MD: Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School; Co-Director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital. Graduated Columbia and University of Virginia, trained at NIH, Harvard/Longwood Neurology and HMS Department of Neuroscience. Selkoe and colleagues isolated the tangles of Alzheimer’s disease and co-discovered their antigenic relationship to tau. His research on amyloid ß-protein and APP led to the “amyloid hypothesis” of AD, showed that A is produced by cells throughout life, and that mutations in APP and, later, presenilin, increase A. Michael Wolfe and Selkoe identified presenilin as -secretase. His lab has applied similar approaches to alpha-synuclein, the key protein of Parkinson’s disease. Selkoe has focused on translating his discoveries on the cause and mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease into therapeutic approaches, and his findings have provided the underpinnings and rationale of numerous disease-modifying trials currently underway worldwide. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and Association of American Physicians and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He was the principal founding scientist of Athena Neurosciences, and is now a founding director of Prothena Biosciences.

Moderator of 1 Session

LIVE SYMPOSIUM DISCUSSION

LIVE DISCUSSION - PD ANIMAL MODELS, MECHANISTIC ASPECTS AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES

Date
13.03.2021, Saturday
Session Time
17:30 - 18:00
Session Icon
Live

Presenter of 3 Presentations

A STEAROYL-COA DESATURASE INHIBITOR PREVENTS MULTIPLE PARKINSON’S DISEASE-PHENOTYPES IN ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN MICE

Session Type
SYMPOSIUM
Date
13.03.2021, Saturday
Session Time
12:00 - 13:45
Room
On Demand Symposia C
Lecture Time
12:15 - 12:30
Session Icon
On-Demand

Abstract

Aims

Parkinson’s disease (PD) has useful symptomatic treatments that do not slow the neurodegenerative process, and no significant disease-modifying treatments are approved. A key therapeutic target in PD is α-synuclein (αS), which is both genetically implicated and accumulates in Lewy bodies rich in vesicles and other lipid membranes. Reestablishing αS-homeostasis is a central goal in PD. Based on previous lipidomic analyses, we conducted a mouse-trial of a stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) inhibitor, '5b', that prevented αS-positive vesicular inclusions and cytotoxicity in cultured human neurons.

Methods

Oral dosing and brain activity of 5b were established in non-tg mice. 5b in drinking water was given to mice expressing WT hu αS or an amplified familial PD αS mutation [E35K+E46K+E61K (‘3K’)] beginning near the onset of nigral and cortical neurodegeneration and the robust PD-like motor syndrome in 3K. Motor phenotypes, brain cytopathology and SCD-related lipid changes were quantified in 5b- vs. placebo-treated mice. Outcomes were compared to effects of crossing 3K to SCD1-/- mice.

Results

5b treatment reduced αS hyperphosphorylation in E46K-expresing human neurons, in 3K neural cultures and in both WT hu and 3K αS mice. 5b prevented subtle gait deficits in WT hu αS mice and the PD-like resting tremor and progressive motor decline of 3K mice. 5b also increased αS tetramers and reduced PK-resistant lipid-rich aggregates. Similar benefits accrued from genetically deleting one SCD allele, providing target validation.

Conclusions

Prolonged reduction of brain SCD activity prevented PD-like neuropathology in multiple PD models. Thus, an orally available SCD inhibitor potently ameliorates PD phenotypes, positioning this approach to treat human α-synucleinopathies.

Hide

A challenging disease presents challenging cases

Session Type
SPONSORED SYMPOSIUM
Date
11.03.2021, Thursday
Session Time
14:00 - 15:30
Room
Industry Symposia 1
Lecture Time
14:05 - 14:20
Session Icon
Live