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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Parabolic Flights in Support of the Ring-Sheared Drop (RSD) Module Aboard the ISS

The Ring-Sheared Drop module was conceived as a centimeter-scale, containerless biochemical reactor to study shearing flow at gas-liquid interfaces without complications associated with solid walls. The drop is constrained by a thin, stationary contact ring in one hemisphere and sheared by the steady rotation of another ring in the other hemisphere. The original experiment considers a 2.5 cm diameter drop of human insulin solution in order to examine the formation of amyloid fibrils without wall nucleation. Shear-induced amyloidogenesis is of wide interest due to the pathogenic role amyloid proteins play in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, prion diseases, and type-2 diabetes. Pinning full-scale drops of native protein solutions - prior to any fibrillization - was challenging and required a collaborative effort. In this talk we report on laboratory experiments, multiphase CFD simulations, and several parabolic flights to find strategies that are effective for constraining large drops of protein in microgravity.

Amir Hirsa↗
DOE OSTI2021

PET imaging of zinc transport

A method for producing a solution including a positron emitting zinc cation of 63Zn, and the method comprises bombarding a solution target including 63 Cu with high energy protons to produce a solution including a positron emitting zinc cation. A method for detecting or ruling out Alzheimer's disease in a patient comprises administering to a patient a detectable amount of a compound including a positron emitting zinc cation, wherein the zinc cation is targeted to β-amyloid in the patient, and acquiring an image to detect the presence or absence of β-amyloid in the patient. A method for detecting or ruling out cancer in a patient comprises administering to a patient a detectable amount of a compound including a positron emitting zinc cation, wherein the zinc cation is targeted to tissue in the patient; and acquiring an image using a medical imaging technique to detect zinc distribution in tissue in the patient.

DeGrado, Timothy R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Successful cognitive aging is associated with thicker anterior cingulate cortex and lower tau deposition compared to typical aging

INTRODUCTION There is no consensus on either the definition of successful cognitive aging (SA) or the underlying neural mechanisms. METHODS We examined the agreement between new and existing definitions using: (1) a novel measure, the cognitive age gap (SA-CAG, cognitive-predicted age minus chronological age), (2) composite scores for episodic memory (SA-EM), (3) non-memory cognition (SA-NM), and (4) the California Verbal Learning Test (SA-CVLT). RESULTS Fair to moderate strength of agreement was found between the four definitions. Most SA groups showed greater cortical thickness compared to typical aging (TA), especially in the anterior cingulate and midcingulate cortices and medial temporal lobes. Greater hippocampal volume was found in all SA groups except SA-NM. Lower entorhinal 18 F-Flortaucipir (FTP) uptake was found in all SA groups. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that a feature of SA, regardless of its exact definition, is resistance to tau pathology and preserved cortical integrity, especially in the anterior cingulate and midcingulate cortices. Highlights: Different approaches have been used to define successful cognitive aging (SA). Regardless of definition, different SA groups have similar brain features. SA individuals have greater anterior cingulate thickness and hippocampal volume. Lower entorhinal tau deposition, but not amyloid beta is related to SA. A combination of cortical integrity and resistance to tau may be features of SA.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optimizing quantification of MK6240 tau PET in unimpaired older adults

Accurate measurement of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology in older adults without significant clinical impairment is critical to assessing intervention strategies aimed at slowing AD-related cognitive decline. The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (POINTER) is a 2-year randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of multicomponent risk reduction strategies in older adults (60-79 years) who are cognitively unimpaired but at increased risk for cognitive decline/dementia due to factors such as cardiovascular disease and family history. The POINTER Imaging ancillary study is collecting tau-PET ([ 18 F]MK6240), beta-amyloid (Aβ)-PET ([ 18 F]florbetaben [FBB]) and MRI data to evaluate neuroimaging biomarkers of AD and cerebrovascular pathophysiology in this at-risk sample. Here 481 participants (70.0±5.0; 66% F) with baseline MK6240, FBB and structural MRI scans were included. PET scans were coregistered to the structural MRI which was used to create FreeSurfer-defined reference regions and target regions of interest (ROIs). We also created off-target signal (OTS) ROIs to examine the magnitude and distribution of MK6240 OTS across the brain as well as relationships between OTS and age, sex, and race. OTS was unimodally distributed, highly correlated across OTS ROIs and related to younger age and sex but not race. Aiming to identify an optimal processing approach for MK6240 that would reduce the influence of OTS, we compared our previously validated MRI-guided standard PET processing and 6 alternative approaches. The alternate approaches included combinations of reference region erosion and meningeal OTS masking before spatial smoothing as well as partial volume correction. To compare processing approaches we examined relationships between target ROIs (entorhinal cortex (ERC), hippocampus or a temporal meta-ROI (MetaROI)) SUVR and age, sex, race, Aβ and a general cognitive status measure, the Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICSm). Overall, the processing approaches performed similarly, and none showed a meaningful improvement over standard processing. Across processing approaches we observed previously reported relationships with MK6240 target ROIs including positive associations with age, an Aβ+> Aβ- effect and negative associations with cognition. In sum, we demonstrated that different methods for minimizing effects of OTS, which is highly correlated across the brain within subject, produced no substantive change in our performance metrics. This is likely because OTS contaminates both reference and target regions and this contamination largely cancels out in SUVR data. Caution should be used when efforts to reduce OTS focus on target or reference regions in isolation as this may exacerbate OTS contamination in SUVR data.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Structure-based design of nanobodies that inhibit seeding of Alzheimer’s patient–extracted tau fibrils

Despite much effort, antibody therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have shown limited efficacy. Challenges to the rational design of effective antibodies include the difficulty of achieving specific affinity to critical targets, poor expression, and antibody aggregation caused by buried charges and unstructured loops. To overcome these challenges, we grafted previously determined sequences of fibril-capping amyloid inhibitors onto a camel heavy chain antibody scaffold. These sequences were designed to cap fibrils of tau, known to form the neurofibrillary tangles of AD, thereby preventing fibril elongation. The nanobodies grafted with capping inhibitors blocked tau aggregation in biosensor cells seeded with postmortem brain extracts from AD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients. The tau capping nanobody inhibitors also blocked seeding by recombinant tau oligomers. Another challenge to the design of effective antibodies is their poor blood–brain barrier (BBB) penetration. In this study, we also designed a bispecific nanobody composed of a nanobody that targets a receptor on the BBB and a tau capping nanobody inhibitor, conjoined by a flexible linker. We provide evidence that the bispecific nanobody improved BBB penetration over the tau capping inhibitor alone after intravenous administration in mice. Our results suggest that the design of synthetic antibodies that target sequences that drive protein aggregation may be a promising approach to inhibit the prion-like seeding of tau and other proteins involved in AD and related proteinopathies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

NREM sleep as a novel protective cognitive reserve factor in the face of Alzheimer's disease pathology

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology impairs cognitive function. Yet some individuals with high amounts of AD pathology suffer marked memory impairment, while others with the same degree of pathology burden show little impairment. Why is this? One proposed explanation is cognitive reserve i.e., factors that confer resilience against, or compensation for the effects of AD pathology. Deep NREM slow wave sleep (SWS) is recognized to enhance functions of learning and memory in healthy older adults. However, that the quality of NREM SWS (NREM slow wave activity, SWA) represents a novel cognitive reserve factor in older adults with AD pathology, thereby providing compensation against memory dysfunction otherwise caused by high AD pathology burden, remains unknown. Here, we tested this hypothesis in cognitively normal older adults (N = 62) by combining 11 C-PiB (Pittsburgh compound B) positron emission tomography (PET) scanning for the quantification of β-amyloid (Aβ) with sleep electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to quantify NREM SWA and a hippocampal-dependent face-name learning task. We demonstrated that NREM SWA significantly moderates the effect of Aβ status on memory function. Specifically, NREM SWA selectively supported superior memory function in individuals suffering high Aβ burden, i.e., those most in need of cognitive reserve (B = 2.694, p = 0.019). In contrast, those without significant Aβ pathological burden, and thus without the same need for cognitive reserve, did not similarly benefit from the presence of NREM SWA (B = -0.115, p = 0.876). This interaction between NREM SWA and Aβ status predicting memory function was significant after correcting for age, sex, Body Mass Index, gray matter atrophy, and previously identified cognitive reserve factors, such as education and physical activity (p = 0.042). These findings indicate that NREM SWA is a novel cognitive reserve factor providing resilience against the memory impairment otherwise caused by high AD pathology burden. Furthermore, this cognitive reserve function of NREM SWA remained significant when accounting both for covariates, and factors previously linked to resilience, suggesting that sleep might be an independent cognitive reserve resource. Beyond such mechanistic insights are potential therapeutic implications. Unlike many other cognitive reserve factors (e.g., years of education, prior job complexity), sleep is a modifiable factor. As such, it represents an intervention possibility that may aid the preservation of cognitive function in the face of AD pathology, both present moment and longitudinally.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

In-vivo neuronal dysfunction by Aβ and tau overlaps with brain-wide inflammatory mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease

The molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remain uncharacterized. Here, we identify genes, molecular pathways and cellular components associated with whole-brain dysregulation caused by amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau deposits in the living human brain. We obtained in-vivo resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), Aβ- and tau-PET for 47 cognitively unimpaired and 16 AD participants from the Translational Biomarkers in Aging and Dementia cohort. Adverse neuronal activity impacts by Aβ and tau were quantified with personalized dynamical models by fitting pathology-mediated computational signals to the participant’s real rs-fMRIs. Then, we detected robust brain-wide associations between the spatial profiles of Aβ-tau impacts and gene expression in the neurotypical transcriptome (Allen Human Brain Atlas). Within the obtained distinctive signature of in-vivo neuronal dysfunction, several genes have prominent roles in microglial activation and in interactions with Aβ and tau. Moreover, cellular vulnerability estimations revealed strong association of microglial expression patterns with Aβ and tau’s synergistic impact on neuronal activity (q < 0.001). These results further support the central role of the immune system and neuroinflammatory pathways in AD pathogenesis. Neuronal dysregulation by AD pathologies also associated with neurotypical synaptic and developmental processes. In addition, we identified drug candidates from the vast LINCS library to halt or reduce the observed Aβ-tau effects on neuronal activity. Top-ranked pharmacological interventions target inflammatory, cancer and cardiovascular pathways, including specific medications undergoing clinical evaluation in AD. Our findings, based on the examination of molecular-pathological-functional interactions in humans, may accelerate the process of bringing effective therapies into clinical practice.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2005

Chemical colloids versus biological colloids: a comparative study for the elucidation of the mechanism of protein fiber formation

Fiber formation from murine serum amyloid A1 (SAA) was compared to the linear aggregation and fiber formation of colloidal gold particles. Here we report the similarities of these processes. Upon incubation with acetic acid, SAA misfolds and adopts a new conformation, which we termed saa. saa apparently is less soluble than SAA in aqueous solution; it aggregates and forms nucleation units and then fibers. The fibers appear as a string of the nucleation units. Additionally, an external electric field promotes saa fiber formation. These properties of saa are reminiscent of colloidal gold formation from gold ions and one-dimensional aggregation of the gold colloids. Colloidal gold particles were also found to be capable of aggregating one-dimensionally under an electric field or in the presence of polylysine. These gold fibers resembled in structure that of saa fibers. In summary, protein aggregation and formation of fibers appear to follow the generalized principles derived in colloidal science for the aggregation of atoms and molecules, including polymers such as polypeptides. The analysis of colloidal gold formation and of one-dimensional aggregation provides a simple model system for the elucidation of some aspects of protein fiber formation.

Colloids↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of Plasma Phosphorylated Tau217 for Differentiation Between Alzheimer Disease and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Subtypes Among Patients With Corticobasal Syndrome

Plasma phosphorylated tau217 (p-tau217), a biomarker of Alzheimer disease (AD), is of special interest in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) because autopsy studies have revealed AD is the driving neuropathology in up to 40% of cases. This differentiates CBS from other 4-repeat tauopathy (4RT)–associated syndromes, such as progressive supranuclear palsy Richardson syndrome (PSP-RS) and nonfluent primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), where underlying frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is typically the primary neuropathology. To validate plasma p-tau217 against positron emission tomography (PET) in 4RT-associated syndromes, especially CBS. This multicohort study with 6, 12, and 24-month follow-up recruited adult participants between January 2011 and September 2020 from 8 tertiary care centers in the 4RT Neuroimaging Initiative (4RTNI). All participants with CBS (n = 113), PSP-RS (n = 121), and nfvPPA (n = 39) were included; other diagnoses were excluded due to rarity (n = 29). Individuals with PET-confirmed AD (n = 54) and PET-negative cognitively normal control individuals (n = 59) were evaluated at University of California San Francisco. Operators were blinded to the cohort. Plasma p-tau217, measured by Meso Scale Discovery electrochemiluminescence, was validated against amyloid-β (Aβ) and flortaucipir (FTP) PET. Imaging analyses used voxel-based morphometry and bayesian linear mixed-effects modeling. Clinical biomarker associations were evaluated using longitudinal mixed-effect modeling. Of 386 participants, 199 (52%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 68 (8) years. Plasma p-tau217 was elevated in patients with CBS with positive Aβ PET results (mean [SD], 0.57 [0.43] pg/mL) or FTP PET (mean [SD], 0.75 [0.30] pg/mL) to concentrations comparable to control individuals with AD (mean [SD], 0.72 [0.37]), whereas PSP-RS and nfvPPA showed no increase relative to control. Within CBS, p-tau217 had excellent diagnostic performance with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for Aβ PET of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.76-0.98; P < .001) and FTP PET of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.83-1.00; P < .001). At baseline, individuals with CBS-AD (n = 12), defined by a PET-validated plasma p-tau217 cutoff 0.25 pg/mL or greater, had increased temporoparietal atrophy at baseline compared to individuals with CBS-FTLD (n = 39), whereas longitudinally, individuals with CBS-FTLD had faster brainstem atrophy rates. Individuals with CBS-FTLD also progressed more rapidly on a modified version of the PSP Rating Scale than those with CBS-AD (mean [SD], 3.5 [0.5] vs 0.8 [0.8] points/year; P = .005). In this cohort study, plasma p-tau217 had excellent diagnostic performance for identifying Aβ or FTP PET positivity within CBS with likely underlying AD pathology. Plasma P-tau217 may be a useful and inexpensive biomarker to select patients for CBS clinical trials.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tau Positron Emission Tomography for Predicting Dementia in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment

An accurate prognosis is especially pertinent in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), when individuals experience considerable uncertainty about future progression. To evaluate the prognostic value of tau positron emission tomography (PET) to predict clinical progression from MCI to dementia. This was a multicenter cohort study with external validation and a mean (SD) follow-up of 2.0 (1.1) years. Data were collected from centers in South Korea, Sweden, the US, and Switzerland from June 2014 to January 2024. Participant data were retrospectively collected and inclusion criteria were a baseline clinical diagnosis of MCI; longitudinal clinical follow-up; a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score greater than 22; and available tau PET, amyloid-β (Aβ) PET, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan less than 1 year from diagnosis. A total of 448 eligible individuals with MCI were included (331 in the discovery cohort and 117 in the validation cohort). None of these participants were excluded over the course of the study. Exposures included Tau PET, Aβ PET, and MRI. Positive results on tau PET (temporal meta–region of interest), Aβ PET (global; expressed in the standardized metric Centiloids), and MRI (Alzheimer disease [AD] signature region) was assessed using quantitative thresholds and visual reads. Clinical progression from MCI to all-cause dementia (regardless of suspected etiology) or to AD dementia (AD as suspected etiology) served as the primary outcomes. The primary analyses were receiver operating characteristics. In the discovery cohort, the mean (SD) age was 70.9 (8.5) years, 191 (58%) were male, the mean (SD) MMSE score was 27.1 (1.9), and 110 individuals with MCI (33%) converted to dementia (71 to AD dementia). Only the model with tau PET predicted all-cause dementia (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.75; 95% CI, 0.70-0.80) better than a base model including age, sex, education, and MMSE score (AUC, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.65-0.77; P = .02), while the models assessing the other neuroimaging markers did not improve prediction. In the validation cohort, tau PET replicated in predicting all-cause dementia. Compared to the base model (AUC, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.69-0.82), prediction of AD dementia in the discovery cohort was significantly improved by including tau PET (AUC, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79-0.89; P < .001), tau PET visual read (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.88; P = .001), and Aβ PET Centiloids (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.88; P = .03). In the validation cohort, only the tau PET and the tau PET visual reads replicated in predicting AD dementia. In this study, tau-PET showed the best performance as a stand-alone marker to predict progression to dementia among individuals with MCI. This suggests that, for prognostic purposes in MCI, a tau PET scan may be the best currently available neuroimaging marker.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease and low tau burden: Characteristics and implications

Abnormal amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau deposition define Alzheimer's Disease (AD), but non-elevated tau is relatively frequent in patients on the AD pathway. We examined characteristics and regional patterns of 397 Aβ+ unimpaired and impaired individuals with low tau (A+T-) in relation to their higher tau counterparts (A+T+). Seventy-one percent of Aβ+ unimpaired and 42% of impaired Aβ+ individuals were categorized as A+T- based on global tau. In impaired individuals only, A+T- status was associated with older age, male sex, and greater cardiovascular risk. α-synuclein was linked to poorer cognition, particularly when tau was low. Tau burden was most frequently elevated in a common set of temporal regions regardless of T+/T- status. Low tau is relatively common in patients on the AD pathway and is linked to comorbidities that contribute to impairment. These findings have implications for the selection of individuals for Aβ- and tau-modifying therapies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Harmonizing tau positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease: The CenTauR scale and the joint propagation model

Abstract INTRODUCTION Tau‐positron emission tomography (PET) outcome data of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) cannot currently be meaningfully compared or combined when different tracers are used due to differences in tracer properties, instrumentation, and methods of analysis. METHODS Using head‐to‐head data from five cohorts with tau PET radiotracers designed to target tau deposition in AD, we tested a joint propagation model (JPM) to harmonize quantification (units termed “CenTauR” [CTR]). JPM is a statistical model that simultaneously models the relationships between head‐to‐head and anchor point data. JPM was compared to a linear regression approach analogous to the one used in the amyloid PET Centiloid scale. RESULTS A strong linear relationship was observed between CTR values across brain regions. Using the JPM approach, CTR estimates were similar to, but more accurate than, those derived using the linear regression approach. DISCUSSION Preliminary findings using the JPM support the development and adoption of a universal scale for tau‐PET quantification. Highlights Tested a novel joint propagation model (JPM) to harmonize quantification of tau PET. Units of common scale are termed “CenTauRs”. Tested a Centiloid‐like linear regression approach. Using five cohorts with head‐to‐head tau PET, JPM outperformed linearregressionbased approach. Strong linear relationship was observed between CenTauRs values across brain regions.

Neurosciences & Neurology↗
DOE OSTI2024

Global brain activity and its coupling with cerebrospinal fluid flow is related to tau pathology

Abstract INTRODUCTION Factors responsible for the deposition of pathological tau in the brain are incompletely understood. This study links macroscale tau deposition in the human brain to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow dynamics using resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). METHODS Low‐frequency (< 0.1 Hz) resting‐state global brain activity is coupled with CSF flow and potentially reflects CSF dynamics‐related clearance. We examined the correlation between rsfMRI measures of CSF inflow and global activity (gBOLD–CSF coupling) as a predictor, interacting with amyloid beta (Aβ), of tau and cortical thickness (dependent variables) across Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) participants from cognitively unimpaired through mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). RESULTS Tau deposition in Aβ+ participants, accompanied by cortical thinning and cognitive decline, is associated with decreased gBOLD–CSF coupling. Tau mediates the relationship between coupling and thickness. DISCUSSION Findings suggest that resting‐state global brain activity and CSF movements comodulate Alzheimer's tau deposition, presumably related to CSF clearance. Highlights A non‐invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessment of a CSF clearance‐related process is carried out. Global brain activity is coupled with CSF inflow in human fMRI during resting state. Global fMRI–CSF coupling is correlated with tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This coupling measure is also associated with cortical thickness, mediated by tau.

Neurosciences & Neurology↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cognitive aging outcomes are related to both tau pathology and maintenance of cingulate cortex structure

Abstract INTRODUCTION Successful cognitive aging is related to both maintaining brain structure and avoiding Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, but how these factors interplay is unclear. METHODS A total of 109 cognitively normal older adults (70+ years old) underwent amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and cognitive testing. Cognitive aging was quantified using the cognitive age gap (CAG), subtracting chronological age from predicted cognitive age. RESULTS Lower CAG (younger cognitive age) was related to slower decline in episodic memory, multi‐domain cognition, and atrophy of the midcingulate cortex (MCC). Lower entorhinal cortical tau was linked to slower decline in episodic memory, multi‐domain cognition, and hippocampal atrophy. DISCUSSION These results suggest that aging outcomes may be influenced by two independent pathways: one associated with tau accumulation, affecting primarily memory and hippocampal atrophy, and another involving tau‐independent structural preservation of the MCC, benefiting multi‐domain cognition over time. Highlights Younger cognitive age (lower cognitive age gap [CAG]) is related to slower cognitive decline. Lower CAG is linked to slower midcingulate cortex (MCC) atrophy. Reduced tau in the entorhinal cortex is related to less hippocampal atrophy and cognitive decline. Structural preservation of the MCC benefits multi‐domain cognition over time. Two independent pathways influence cognitive aging: tau accumulation and MCC preservation.

Neurosciences & Neurology↗
DOE OSTI2025

Plasma GFAP for populational enrichment of clinical trials in preclinical Alzheimer's disease

Abstract INTRODUCTION Cognitively unimpaired (CU) amyloid beta (Aβ)+ individuals with elevated plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) have an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD)‐related progression. We tested the utility of plasma GFAP for population enrichment CU populations in clinical trials. METHODS We estimated longitudinal progression, effect size, and costs of hypothetical clinical trials designed to test an estimated 25% drug effect on reducing tau positron emission tomography (PET) accumulation in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and temporal neocortical region (NEO‐T). RESULTS CU GFAP+/Aβ+ individuals present an increased annual rate of change and effect size in tau PET MTL and tau PET NEO‐T compared to the other groups. An enrichment strategy selecting CU GFAP+/Aβ+ individuals would require a smaller sample size (≈ 57% reduction) and fewer Aβ PET scans (≈ 74% reduction) than trials enriched with Aβ PET alone, reducing total clinical trial costs by up to 64%. DISCUSSION Our results suggest that clinical trials focusing on preclinical AD recruiting Aβ+ individuals with elevated GFAP levels would improve cost effectiveness. Highlights Cognitively unimpaired (CU) glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)+/amyloid beta (Aβ)+ shows increased changes in tau positron emission tomography (PET) . CU GFAP+/Aβ+ enriched clinical trials require a reduced sample size compared to Aβ+ only. CU GFAP+/Aβ+ enrichment reduces Aβ PET scans required and costs. CU GFAP+/Aβ+ enrichment allows the selection of individuals at early stages of the Alzheimer's disease continuum.

Neurosciences & Neurology↗
DOE OSTI2024

Persistence of Methionine Side Chain Mobility at Low Temperatures in a Nine‐Residue Low Complexity Peptide, as Probed by 2 H Solid‐State NMR

Abstract Methionine side chains are flexible entities which play important roles in defining hydrophobic interfaces. We utilize deuterium static solid‐state NMR to assess rotameric inter‐conversions and other dynamic modes of the methionine in the context of a nine‐residue random‐coil peptide (RC9) with the low‐complexity sequence GGKGMGFGL. The measurements in the temperature range of 313 to 161 K demonstrate that the rotameric interconversions in the hydrated solid powder state persist to temperatures below 200 K. Removal of solvation significantly reduces the rate of the rotameric motions. We employed 2 H NMR line shape analysis, longitudinal and rotation frame relaxation, and chemical exchange saturation transfer methods and found that the combination of multiple techniques creates a significantly more refined model in comparison with a single technique. Further, we compare the most essential features of the dynamics in RC9 to two different methionine‐containing systems, characterized previously. Namely, the M35 of hydrated amyloid‐β 1–40 in the three‐fold symmetric polymorph as well as Fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (FMOC)‐methionine amino acid with the bulky hydrophobic group. The comparison suggests that the driving force for the enhanced methionine side chain mobility in RC9 is the thermodynamic factor stemming from distributions of rotameric populations, rather than the increase in the rate constant.

Vugmeyster, Liliya↗
DOE OSTI2020

The impact of demographic, clinical, genetic, and imaging variables on tau PET status

Purpose: A substantial proportion of amyloid-β (Aβ)+ patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are tau PET–negative, while some clinically diagnosed non-AD neurodegenerative disorder (non-AD) patients or cognitively unimpaired (CU) subjects are tau PET–positive. We investigated which demographic, clinical, genetic, and imaging variables contributed to tau PET status. Methods: We included 2338 participants (430 Aβ+ AD dementia, 381 Aβ+ MCI, 370 non-AD, and 1157 CU) who underwent [ 18 F]flortaucipir ( n = 1944) or [ 18 F]RO948 ( n = 719) PET. Tau PET positivity was determined in the entorhinal cortex, temporal meta-ROI, and Braak V-VI regions using previously established cutoffs. We performed bivariate binary logistic regression models with tau PET status (positive/negative) as dependent variable and age, sex, APOE ε4, Aβ status (only in CU and non-AD analyses), MMSE, global white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and AD-signature cortical thickness as predictors. Additionally, we performed multivariable binary logistic regression models to account for all other predictors in the same model. Results: Tau PET positivity in the temporal meta-ROI was 88.6% for AD dementia, 46.5% for MCI, 9.5% for non-AD, and 6.1% for CU. Among Aβ+ participants with AD dementia and MCI, lower age, MMSE score, and AD-signature cortical thickness showed the strongest associations with tau PET positivity. In non-AD and CU participants, presence of Aβ was the strongest predictor of a positive tau PET scan. Conclusion: We identified several demographic, clinical, and neurobiological factors that are important to explain the variance in tau PET retention observed across the AD pathological continuum, non-AD neurodegenerative disorders, and cognitively unimpaired persons.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Biofluid-based staging of Alzheimer’s disease

Recently, conceptual systems for the in vivo staging of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using fluid biomarkers have been suggested. Thus, it is important to assess whether available fluid biomarkers can successfully stage AD into clinically and biologically relevant categories. In the TRIAD cohort, we explored whether p-tau217, p-tau205 and NTA-tau (biomarkers of early, intermediate and late AD pathology, respectively) have potential for biofluid-based staging in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF; n = 219) and plasma (n = 150), and compared them in a paired CSF and plasma subset (n = 76). Our findings suggest a good concordance between biofluid staging and underlying pathology when classifying amyloid-positivity into three categories based on neurofibrillary pathology: minimal/non-existent (p-tau217 positive), early-to-intermediate (p-tau217 and p-tau205 positivity), and advanced tau tangle deposition (p-tau217, p-tau205 and NTA-tau positive), as indexed by tau-PET. Discordant cases accounted for 4.6% and 13.3% of all CSF and plasma measurements respectively (9.2% and 11.8% in paired samples). Notably, CSF- and plasma-based staging matched one another in 61.7% of the cases, while approximately 32% of the remaining participants were one to three biofluid stages higher in CSF as compared to plasma. Overall, these exploratory results suggest that biofluid staging of AD holds potential for offering valuable insights into underlying AD hallmarks and disease severity. However, its applicability beyond molecular characterization at research settings has yet to be demonstrated.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗