Released on: August 18, 2008, 2:38 pm

Press Release Author: AnaSpec Inc.

Industry: Biotech

Press Release Summary: In a collaborative effort, the University of British Columbia
and AnaSpec, Inc. presented a poster at the 2008 International Conference on
Alzheimer's Disease entitled "Alzheimer Disease Tangles and Threads Display Multiple
Tau Phosphorylation Sites".

Press Release Body: August 18, 2008 - San Jose, CA

In a collaborative effort, the University of British Columbia and AnaSpec, Inc.
presented a poster at the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease
entitled "Alzheimer Disease Tangles and Threads Display Multiple Tau Phosphorylation
Sites". Authored by Jian-Ping Guo, Claudia Schwab, Daniel Hsieh-Hsin Li, Jack
Jianyuan Liu, Cecilia Po and Patrick L McGeer, the poster documented the presence of
multiple Tau phosphorylation sites in Alzheimer Disease tangles and threads.

As the abstract noted, insoluble tau accumulations are characteristeric of AD and
many other tauopathies. They occur primarily in the form of neurofibrillary
tangles(NFTs) and threads. Tau is known to be phosphorylated in these abnormal
accumulations but it is still uncertain as to which phosphokinases are primarily
involved. To explore this question, we epitope mapped a series of anti-tau
antibodies directed at specific sites of phosphorylation and compared their ability
to detect NFTs and threads in paraformaldehyde fixed sections of AD brain. We
synthesized on cellulose membranes an array of 11-mer tau peptides shifted by one
amino acid and phosphorylated at key threonine and serine sites. We found that
specific antibodies raised against peptides phosporylated at threonine 181, 205,
212, and 217 and at serine 198, 214, and 396 each recognized the specific
phosphorylated peptides but not the corresponding non-phosphorylated peptides. By
immunohistochemistry, each antibody strongly recognized both NFTs and threads in AD
tissue with no apparent qualitative differences. We conclude that each of these
threonine and serine sites of tau is abundantly phosphorylated in the threads and
NFTs that develop in AD bran. The phosphokinase GSK-3β has been reported to
phosphorylate recombinant tau at each of these sites and cdk5 has been reported to
phosphorylated all but serine 198, 262 and 400. These phosphokinases could be
playing a key role in the development ot tau pathology in AD.

About the University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia holds an international reputation for excellence
in advanced research and learning. UBC\'s research offices support the development
of outstanding research in all disciplines including research carried out by
graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and research associates. Their goals include
increasing research funding from all sectors and to encourage local national and
international research partnerships and exchanges.

About AnaSpec, Inc.
AnaSpec, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated proteomics solutionsT for
worldwide life science research. With a vision for innovation through synergy,
AnaSpec offers expertise in three primary technologies: peptides, detection
reagents, and combinatorial chemistry.



Web Site: http://www.anaspec.com

Contact Details: AnaSpec Inc.
2149 O\'Toole Ave.
San Jose, CA 95131
1-408-452-5055 (Tel)
1-408-452-5059 (Fax)
1-800-452-5530
ping@anaspec.com
www.anaspec.com