# Reversing Loss of Metabolic Homeostasis to Ameliorate Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenicity

> **NIH NIH R01** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2020 · $398,750

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Despite a long-term focus on the role of Amyloid Beta (Aβ) peptide plaques in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
pathology, downstream processes connecting cause to effect remain unclear, limiting the synthesis of targeted
therapeutic compounds. Furthermore, controversy surrounds which species of Aβ are cytotoxic, and clinical
trials designed to target Aβ directly have been less successful than anticipated. This adds critical importance to
the need to step back and define alternative systems-wide changes that exacerbate AD pathology and might
instead be modulated to lower disease risk. Loss of metabolic homeostasis is one of the hallmarks of the aging
process that might contribute to AD pathophysiology and neurodegeneration. In support of this hypothesis,
recent data show that, beyond type II diabetes, obese patients with metabolic dysfunction have increased risk
of AD, while dietary restriction (DR) maintains metabolic homeostasis and is neuroprotective. Taken together,
these data suggest a key underlying risk factor for AD that might be targeted for therapeutics is metabolic
dysfunction. However, causal links between age-onset changes in energetics and AD are unclear. AMP-
activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a highly conserved master regulator of energy homeostasis that we and
others have shown links energetics to the rate of aging in multiple species. AMPK is a central homeostatic
regulator of multiple cellular systems including transcriptional and post-translational signaling networks, protein
homeostasis, and organelle dynamics. Which of these links the effects of AMPK and metabolic dysfunction to
AD is unclear. Since negative feedback loops tend to exist to return a cell to homeostasis, targeting multiple
effectors of AMPK in tandem rather than AMPK alone may prove more effective in AD. We recently reported
that AMPK increases lifespan in C. elegans via remodeling of systemic mitochondrial metabolism, which
correlates with mitochondrial network fragmentation in peripheral tissues. In addition, we have shown a role for
RNA splicing homeostasis in the effects of AMPK on longevity and the UPRER modulator XBP-1. Here we use
C. elegans to expedite discovery of cellular mechanisms that modulate the effect of AMPK on AD
pathophysiology, and target multiple networks simultaneously to reduce age and Aβ induced decline in
neuronal function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9965403
- **Project number:** 1R01AG067106-01
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** William B Mair
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $398,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-04-15 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9965403

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9965403, Reversing Loss of Metabolic Homeostasis to Ameliorate Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenicity (1R01AG067106-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9965403. Licensed CC0.

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