Molecular imaging study of pathological protein aggregation and transmission and neural circuit disruptions

Diverse neurodegenerative disorders are neuropathologically characterized by accumulations of misfolded proteins in the brain, as represented by depositions of tau, α-synuclein and TDP43, and these protein aggregations have been indicated to spread through neural circuits, eventually leading to a wide range of disease-specific symptoms attributable to functional alterations of these circuits. With groundbreaking and original PET probes for tau pathologies and AMPA receptors, this translational research project reciprocally linking non-clinical and clinical imaging assessments aim to clarify molecular etiologies of neurodegenerative disorders. Studies on disease models will focus on analyses of transmissions of protein aggregations. Along with this program, imaging agents for α-synuclein and TDP43 deposits will also be developed and applied to clinical assays.