Researchers have developed a groundbreaking new diagnostic technique that will allow for faster and more accurate detection of neurodegenerative diseases that affect humans, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and similar diseases that affect animals, such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) and mad cow disease. Credit: Sang-Hyun Oh Research Group, University of Minnesota
Key points:
- Researchers have developed a rapid diagnostic technique for neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals.
- The new method mixes normal proteins and misfolded proteins, making the misfolded ones easier to detect.
- The ultimate goal is to create an ultra-sensitive diagnostic that can detect disease biomarkers early.
Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, mad cow disease, and chronic wasting disease (widely found in deer) share a common feature—the buildup of misfolded proteins in the central nervous system. Detecting these misfolded proteins is crucial for understanding and diagnosing these disorders. However, existing diagnostic methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry, can be expensive, time-consuming and limiting in terms of antibody specificity.
Now, University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have developed a new diagnostic technique that allows for earlier treatment. The new method, called Nano-QuIC (Nanoparticle-enhanced Quaking-Induced Conversion), involves shaking a mixture of normal proteins with a small amount of misfolded protein, triggering a chain reaction that causes the proteins to multiply and allowing for the detection of these irregular proteins.
According to the research findings published in Nano Letters, using tissue samples from deer, the team demonstrated that adding 50-nanometer silica nanoparticles to RT-QuIC experiments reduces detection times from about 14 hours to 4 hours and increases the sensitivity by a factor of 10.
A typical 14-hour detection cycle means that a lab technician can run only one test per normal working day. However, with a detection time of less than four hours, researchers can now run three or even four tests per day.
The researchers say having a quicker detection method is critical for understanding and controlling transmission of CWD, and could be impactful for detecting protein-misfolding diseases in humans.
“Our vision is to develop ultra-sensitive, powerful diagnostic techniques for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases so that we can detect biomarkers early on, perhaps allowing more time for the deployment of therapeutic agents that can slow down the disease progression,” said Sang-Hyun Oh, senior co-author of the paper.