# The roles of neuronal primary cilia in Alzheimer's disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $375,778

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Primary cilia are mechano- and chemo-sensory organelles with diverse functions. Abnormal
function or structure of primary cilia cause a list of diseases, termed ciliopathies. Although
ciliopathies include expanding spectrum of kidney, liver, and cardiovascular disorders, it is yet to
be investigated whether or not cilia are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and/or its related
dementias. In this Administrative Supplement proposal, we combine expertise from two
laboratories of the neighboring institutions. This multi-PI proposal includes Dr. Amal Alachkar
(the University of California, Irvine), whose research group has strong expertise in neurological
degeneration including Alzheimer, and Dr. Surya Nauli (Chapman University), whose laboratory
has strong records in interrogating primary cilia functions. The overall goal of this proposal is to
examine the alterations of cilia structure and functions in early- and late-stage AD in 3xTg mice
brains. The role of cilia will also be evaluated using conditional inducible IFT88 knockout mice
that do not possess cilia. IFT88 mouse will be put into the 3xTg-AD mouse background. Our first
aim is therefore to test the hypothesis that cilia structure/length is altered in early- and/or late-stage
3xTg-AD mice. The second aim is to test the hypothesis that genetic and pharmacological
manipulations of cilia alter behavioral changes in AD. The outcomes of these limited studies offer
new knowledge if genetic elimination of cilia exacerbates behavioral deficits in 3xTg-AD mouse
and if cilia-targeted therapy improves the behavioral deficits in 3xTg-AD mice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10285814
- **Project number:** 3R01HL147311-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Amal Alachkar
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $375,778
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-07-15 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10285814

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10285814, The roles of neuronal primary cilia in Alzheimer's disease (3R01HL147311-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10285814. Licensed CC0.

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