insoluble

During normal disease-free aging, there is also an accumulation of insoluble proteins.

To date, approaches to treatments for Alzheimer's disease have not addressed the contribution of protein insolubility as a general phenomenon, instead focusing on one or two insoluble proteins.

Buck researchers have recently completed a systematic study in worms that paints an intricate picture of the connections between insoluble proteins in neurodegenerative diseases and aging.

"Based on our discoveries, targeting insoluble proteins could provide a strategy for the prevention and treatment of a variety of age-related diseases," said Edward Anderton, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Gordon Lithgow's lab and co-first author of a study that appears in the May 16 issue of the journal GeroScience.

The strong link between insoluble proteins promoting normal aging and diseases also builds a case for the bigger picture of how aging and age-related diseases occur.