By Samantha Mitzel, Gracie F

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Deborah O’Dell

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating, neurodegenerative disease that is diagnosed with the build-up of neurofibrillary tangles(NFTs) and amyloid plaques. Various studies on Alzheimer’s investigate mechanisms that can prevent NFT build-up, including the micropinocytosis of fibril. Heparin Sulfate Proteoglycans(HSPGs) have been observed to be a significant component of micropinocytosis and prevent NFTs. This research aims to expand the understanding of how HSPGs prevent NFTs by comparing the effectiveness of subtypes HSPG 3-O and 6-O. N2A(neuroblastoma cells) of mouse hippocampus were transfected with genes for HSPG-3 and HSPG-6 and introduced to tau-441 tagged with Alexa Fluor. Cells were then imaged for up to 4 hours under fluorescent microscopy and imaged at 15-minute intervals. Quality analysis aims to observe the presence of reuptake. Future expansion of this research will be to determine why one HSPG group works more effectively at reuptake. (Researchers are thankful for support from the Undergraduate Grant Award from the University of Mary Washington).