of the supplemental funding request in reference to AD/ADRD Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, representing two thirds of dementia cases. While AD was first described over 100 years ago, the etiology for the disease is still largely unknown. Although there are clear correlates of the impacts of AD within neurons, across the brain, and throughout the bodies of AD patients, the relationship between cause and effect in these cases is still unclear. A comprehensive systems-approach is needed to understand the full cascade of influences induced by AD related processes. Full systems analyses can be most powerfully conducted within a model genetic system. The nematode C. elegans is the premiere system for studying the genetics of aging, and the parent project of this supplement is directly aimed at moving this model into a full gene-by-gene and cell-by-cell systems analysis framework. However, there are two main barriers for using C. elegans as a model for AD. First, nematodes do not appear to acquire an analog of AD during their lifetimes and they do not inherently express some of the proteins thought to mediate the onset of AD. Second, and more perniciously, there is currently no well-verified paradigm for looking at the maintenance of neuronal health in C. elegans. Here we build upon the experimental scope and framework of the systems genetics of aging that we are developing by, for the first time, generating a male-specific model of neuronal health that has understandable and verifiable expectations of proper function throughout the lifetime of an individual. Specifically, we will (1) build AD-related protein knock-in and knock-down systems to be used as functional probes in the dozens of tissue-specific expression lines that we are generating, and (2) test those constructs in our systems-aging pipeline using both high-precision microscopic imaging and a completely novel whole-organism single-cell transcriptional analysis. Because we are still early in building the genetic resources for the parent project, this supplement creates a unique opportunity to leverage our current efforts to provide broader insights into AD related syndromes at whole- organism systems level resolution.
One in ten people over 65 years of age has Alzheimer's Disease, 32% of those over 85. The cost of treating these individuals is expected to exceed $1 trillion per year by 2050. Despite its growing importance, we still know surprisingly little about the specific mechanisms that underlie Alzheimer's Disease, especially in terms of the complex effects it has across the whole body. This project develops a new genetic approach that allows the comprehensive analysis of the whole individual?every gene in every cell?in response to protein- induced neural degradation. This results of this work sets the stage for future development of drugs or other interventions aimed at extending the period of healthy aging in all people.
