Fueling Discovery in the Etiology, Pathology, and Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease

It is estimated the aging worldwide population will result in over 100 million sufferers of dementia by the year 2050, a postulate that continues to drive major research efforts in neurodegenerative diseases and the associated loss of cognitive function. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD), Huntington’s (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are considered diseases of protein homeostasis (proteostasis), characterized by loss of specific neuronal populations, and the presence of inclusion bodies consisting of insoluble, unfolded proteins. Drug development programs for treatment of these diseases include modulators of key proteins and enzymes that regulate proper protein folding, modification, and clearance, seeking to reverse or prevent the accumulation of protein aggregates and toxic intermediates.

Although the mechanism may vary from one class of neurodegenerative disease to another, the principle pathology of AD, PD, HD, and ALS are similar: the cell’s defense mechanisms against protein aggregation (i.e., molecular chaperones, protein degradation & recycling pathways) become overwhelmed, leading to structural defects, apoptosis, and ensuing cognitive defects associated with loss or impairment of neural cell function.

As our understanding of neurodegenerative disease origins increases, so does the need for innovative, high quality research tools for developing potential therapeutics. The breadth of Enzo’s expertise across research disciplines from proteostasis and cell analysis, to small molecule chemistry and assay development provides a unique collection of innovative reagents and assays to assess the impact of neurodegeneration on critical neural signaling networks.

Focused Compound Libraries for Neuromodulator Screening

Tired of procuring small molecules from multiple sources? Enzo has a long and successful history of identifying, synthesizing, and commercializing known bioactives for use as research tool compounds and assembling focused sets of compounds for chemical genomics, receptor de-orphaning, drug repurposing, pathway analysis, and more.

Enzo offers over 3000 widely cited and thoroughly validated antibodies, including nearly 500 for key markers of neurodegenerative disease, GPCRs, nerve cell structure proteins, and neural signal transduction. Each of our antibodies is backed by our Worry-free Antibody Trial Program.

• Neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitter Biosynthesis
• Neurotransmitter Receptors
• Neurodegenerative Markers
• Synaptic Vessicle Markers
• Ion Channel Antibodies

This first-to-market, complete immunoassay kit allows the quantitation of APP ΔC31 in cell lysate, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), serum and plasma samples with results in less than two hours. APP ΔC31, is an important amyloid precursor protein fragment with a unique pro-apoptotic mechanism, produced after caspase-mediated cleavage that also releases the cytotoxic C31 fragment (AβPP-C31) after interaction with the amyloid-βprotein (Aβ) peptide. C31 and APP ΔC31 modulate death signaling pathways leading to Alzheimer's disease.

The assay was developed in collaboration with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and with the support of a grant from the NIA (grant # AG041456). Researchers at the Buck Institute have validated use of the assay in drug screening applications for caspase inducers and caspase inhibitors

• Highly sensitive assay, measuring as little as 0.92 pM of APP ΔC31
• Negligible reactivity to similar APP isoforms
• High throughput format with results in 2 hours for up to 38 samples in duplicate
• Fully quantitative results that surpass semi-quantitative Western blot analysis

NUPHERIN™ is a biochemical transfection reagent consisting of a cationic peptide fused to a non-classical nuclear localization sequence. The cationic peptide facilitates electrostatic interactions between the DNA and the peptide, and the nuclear localization sequence utilizes the endogenous nuclear transport machinery to deliver the DNA to the nucleus. The end result is high efficiency transfection in non-dividing cells.