IITH researchers target protein aggregation in ALS

IITH researchers have found a molecule called ‘AIM4’ that prevents protein aggregation and protein phase separation of an ALS-causative protein TDP-43. This is a promising finding towards potential development of treatment of the rare and debilitating neurodegenerative disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

ALS is a neurodegenerative disorder that severely affects the voluntary movement of muscles and can lead to paralysis and death. It occurs due to changes in specific genes, which may also be triggered by factors such as smoking, exposure to toxins, metals and pesticides.

This research was performed by an IIT-H team led by Dr. Basant Kumar Patel, Dr. Sandeep Singh and Dr. Rajakumara Eerappa, faculty from the Department of Biotechnology, and Prof. Ganesan Prabushankar, from Department of Chemistry, IIT Hyderabad, and research scholars Amandeep Girdhar, Vidhya Bharathi, Vikas Ramyagya Tiwari, Suman Abhishek, Waghela Deeksha, Usha Saraswat Mahawar and Gembali Raju. Their results have recently been published in the reputed peer-reviewed journal, ‘International Journal of Biological Macromolecules’.

Link to article: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/iit-h-finds-molecule-to-treat-rare-neurodegenerative-disease/article30743754.ece