# Understanding the functional impacts of Aβ variants in Alzheimer's disease with human brain organoids

> **NIH NIH RF1** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $2,333,853

## Abstract

While the AD etiology remains largely unknown, with no effective strategy to arrest the relentless progression of
the disease, current evidence connects amyloid-β (Aβ), a 40/42 amino acid peptide, to early disease progression.
How folding of this peptide might create the heterogeneous assemblies (strains) that propagate as a prion-like
infection throughout the brain remains a central question. Accordingly, we propose to connect the mechanisms
of diversification and propagation of proteopathic Aβ strains to their biochemical manifestation to connect the
structural foundation of strain patterns with disease etiology in human brain organoids. Because strains influence
the pathogenic properties of disease etiology and because aggregated Aβ proteins may also govern therapeutic
approaches to the diseases (such as immunotherapy), it is essential to structurally and functionally characterize
what we now understand to be the dynamic nature of proteopathic Aβ propagons. In the current application, we
will combine our complementary areas of expertise to analyze the assembly and propagation of Aβ strains with
their impact in human brain organoids (Z. Wen), spectroscopic analyses of the dynamic assembly network
members (D. Lynn), and with high- and low-resolution cryo-EM reconstructions (B. Liang) to define critical
disease propagons. Our overarching hypothesis is that the multidimensional dynamics of Aβ assemblies define
dynamic kinetic stability underlying the pathobiology of the self-perpetuating amyloid strains of AD. First, we will
identify strain-specific patterns of Aβ intracellular formation and propagation to correlate the molecular
foundations of structural differences among Aβ strains (Aim 1). Second, we will determine the biochemical
manifestation of Aβ strains and elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which aberrant strains function in the
human cortical organoid model (Aim 2). Lastly, we will delineate the molecular signatures associated with Aβ
strains in human cortical organoids (Aim 3). By combining the advanced human induced pluripotent stem cell
technology with comprehensive structural and functional analyses, our investigation will reveal key structural
features underlying the propagation of misfolded protein aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease, allowing us
ultimately to identify early neurodegenerative AD etiology targets for therapeutic intervention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10523682
- **Project number:** 1RF1AG079256-01
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREAS S BOMMARIUS
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $2,333,853
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10523682

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10523682, Understanding the functional impacts of Aβ variants in Alzheimer's disease with human brain organoids (1RF1AG079256-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10523682. Licensed CC0.

---

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