MITOCHONDRIAL PREPROTEINS AS MARKERS FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

摘要

The present invention is inter alia concerned with a method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in a patient, wherein said method is based on determining the amount of at least one premature mitochondrial protein. Further, the present invention relates to the use of such a protein as marker for Alzheimer's disease. Accordingly, antibodies binding to such a preprotein may be used for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. The present invention is based on the finding that premature mitochondrial proteins accumulate in Alzheimer's disease.

主权项

1. A method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a patient comprising the following steps:
a) providing a sample from a patient potentially suffering from AD; b) determining an amount of at least one premature mitochondrial protein in said sample, wherein said premature mitochondrial protein comprises at least part of its mitochondrium-targeting presequence; and c) comparing the amount obtained in step b) to an amount of said at least one premature mitochondrial protein determined in a control sample, wherein said control sample is derived from a subject not suffering from AD; wherein a higher amount of said at least one premature mitochondrial protein in the sample from a patient potentially suffering from AD compared to the amount of said at least one premature mitochondrial protein in the control sample indicates AD in said patient.