# Kv4 Channels as a Target of Aging and Beta-Amyloid

> **NIH NIH R03** · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $138,214

## Abstract

Tsunoda, Susan
Project Summary
 Age is perhaps the most significant contributing factor to multiple neurological diseases, including
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Our overarching hypothesis is that protein targets affected during normal aging may
be especially affected in age-related disease conditions. In this proposal, we focus on the voltage-dependent
K+ channel, Kv4, as such a target. Multiple studies have found that Aβ42 induces a decline in Kv4 channels that
contributes to downstream cognitive and motor pathologies. Here, we will examine whether there is a decline in
Kv4 channels with normal aging, whether reactive oxygen species (ROS) that arise with both normal aging and
Aβ42 accumulation lead to this progressive loss of Kv4, and whether loss of Kv4 leads to signs of early aging and
a shortened lifespan. Drosophila offers an ideal model for combining its powerful molecular-genetic toolkit with
a short lifespan to study how aging/Aβ42 accumulation affects neuronal signaling. We propose: 1) to test the
hypothesis that Kv4 channels are progressively lost with age by examining Kv4 mRNA, protein level and
localization, as well as current, 2) to test the hypothesis that the age/Aβ42-dependent accumulation of ROS
affects Kv4 channels, and 3) to test if normal age-related decline in motor activity and lifespan are improved when
levels of Kv4 are genetically restored, and exacerbated when Kv4 is absent.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10179642
- **Project number:** 1R03AG071917-01
- **Recipient organization:** COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SUSAN L TSUNODA
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $138,214
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10179642

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10179642, Kv4 Channels as a Target of Aging and Beta-Amyloid (1R03AG071917-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10179642. Licensed CC0.

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