Invention Spotlight: Novel Approach to Protein Aggregation in Neurodegenerative Disease
Congratulations to UAMS inventors Dr. Robert Reis, Dr. Peter Crooks and Dr. Srinivas Ayyadevara on the issuance of a new patent for a promising approach to targeting protein aggregation in neurodegenerative disease. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease are often linked by one major biological challenge: the buildup of toxic protein aggregates in the brain and central nervous system. While many therapies focus on managing symptoms or addressing downstream effects, there remains a significant need for approaches that target protein aggregation more directly. This newly issued patent covers methods using combretastatin-A4 (CA4) and related analogs to prevent or reduce protein aggregation through compounds that bind glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The technology represents a new therapeutic direction for aggregation-associated disorders and suggests a potential disease-modifying strategy across multiple neurodegenerative indications. Preclinical studies described in the patent showed encouraging findings across several model systems, including reductions in aggregate burden, decreases in amyloid accumulation, improved disease-related phenotypes, and lifespan extension in nematode models. Together, these results support the potential of a CA4-based platform as a differentiated approach for targeting protein-aggregation pathology in the central nervous system. Inventors Peter Crooks, M.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Manc), FRSC, FRPharmS, CSci, CChem, Professor Emeritus of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Robert Reis, Ph.D., Professor at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Srinivas Ayyadevara, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
