# Novel chaperones and neurodegeneration

> **NIH NIH R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $370,478

## Abstract

Abstract
Protein aggregation of neurotoxic proteins is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias. In
AD both the beta-amyloid (Ab) and tau proteins aggregate, and this protein aggregation is thought to be
neurotoxic. One potential therapy for AD and related dementias is the development of strategies to reduce the
levels of Ab and tau aggregation. Interestingly, we and others have found that one organism, Dictyostelium
discoideum, is naturally resist to aggregation of another aggregation-prone protein that causes
neurodegeneration. Further work from our laboratory has identified a novel molecular chaperone we named
serine rich chaperone protein 1 (SRCP1) that is both necessary for Dictyostelium’s resistance to protein
aggregation and sufficient to impart resistance to protein aggregation to other organisms. In this supplement we
propose to: 1) determine if Dictyostelium is resistant to the aggregation of proteins that cause AD; and 2)
determine if SRCP1 imparts resistance to protein aggregation and neuronal degeneration in a mouse model of
AD. Together these studies will determine if Dictyostelium is a potential model for identifying proteins and
pathways that suppress protein aggregation in AD and may lead to the development of novel therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10122659
- **Project number:** 3R01NS112191-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kenneth Matthew Scaglione
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $370,478
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10122659

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10122659, Novel chaperones and neurodegeneration (3R01NS112191-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10122659. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*