The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 12, 2004
Filed:
Jul. 31, 2001
Gary Lynch, Irvine, CA (US);
Xiaoning Bi, Irvine, CA (US);
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a model for studying the development of, and/or pathologies associated with neurodegenerative diseases, and agents that can alter such development and/or pathologies. The model of the invention is especially useful as an Alzheimer's disease model. The model of the invention provides brain cells and a method for increasing neurodegenerative disease characteristics in such cells, especially, induction of neurofibrillary tangles and/or phosphorylated tau and/or tau fragments and/or the production and/or release of cytokines and/or microglia reactions and/or activations and/or inflammation and/or conversion of p35 to p25 and/or the levels and activities of protein kinases by selectively increasing the concentration of cathepsin D to an effective level, and/or by lowering the concentration of cholesterol in such cells. The model also provides a method of reversing such effects, by inhibiting cysteine protease and mitogen activated kinase activity, and especially, by inhibiting calpain, and/or MAP kinase.