DRUG SCREENING TARGET FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND METHOD OF SCREENING POTENTIAL DRUGS
Drug screening targets and method of screening for potential drugs for treatment or amelioration of Alzheimer's Disease are provided.
1 . A polypeptide having about 30% homology to residues 38-123 of the N-terminal APP fragment (NAPP) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 1, said polypeptide containing 7 beta strands and wherein residues 66-81 comprise an alpha-helix-loop motif, and wherein residue 62 is Cysteine, residue 71 is Glutamine, residue 74 is Glutamine, residue 82 is Isoleucine, residue 103 is Lysine, and residue 123 is Valine.
2 . The polypeptide according to claim 1 having about 40% homology to residues 38-123 of the N-terminal fragment (NAPP) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 1.
3 . The polypeptide according to claim 1 having about 50% homology to residues 38-123 of the N-terminal fragment (NAPP) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 1.
4 . The polypeptide according to claim 1 having about 75% homology to residues 38-123 of the N-terminal fragment (NAPP) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 1.
5 . The polypeptide according to claim 1 having about 90% homology to residues 38-123 of the N-terminal fragment (NAPP) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 1.
6 . A polypeptide having about 30% homology to residues 96-167 of death cell receptor six (DR6) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2, and where said polypeptide includes a first Cysteine Rich Domains (CRD) with at least about 30% homology to amino acid residues 96 to 131 of DR6 as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2, and a second CRD with at least about 30% homology to amino acid residues 133 to 167 of DR6 as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2 and wherein residue 98 is Arginine, residue 104 is Glutamic acid, residue 131 is Cysteine, residue 132 is Threonine, residue 139 is Glutamine, residue 163 is Threonine, and residue 167 is Arginine.
7 . The polypeptide according to claim 6 which further comprises a disulfide bridge between residues 113 and 131 and a disulfide bridge between residues 133 and 144.
8 . A polypeptide according to claim 6 having about 40% homology to residues 96 to 167 of death cell receptor six (DR6) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2.
9 . A polypeptide according to claim 6 having about 50% homology to residues 96 to 167 of death cell receptor six (DR6) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2.
10 . A polypeptide according to claim 6 having about 75% homology to residues 96 to 167 of death cell receptor six (DR6) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2.
11 . A polypeptide according to claim 6 having about 90% homology to residues 96 to 167 of death cell receptor six (DR6) as identified in SEQ ID NO: 2.
12 . A method for screening compounds to determine their potential to treat AD comprising contacting a polypeptide according to claim 1 with a compound and determining a binding affinity of said compound and the polypeptide of claim 1 , where the binding affinity indicates the potential for therapeutic use.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said compound is selected from the following classes of compounds: polypeptides, peptidomimetics, and small molecules.
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said compound is in a library of compounds.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said library is generated by employing computer modeling.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein binding is determined using an in vitro or in vivo assay.
17 . A method for screening compounds to determine their potential to treat AD comprising contacting a polypeptide according to claim 6 with a compound and determining a binding affinity of said compound and the polypeptide of claim 6 , where the binding affinity indicates the potential for therapeutic use.
18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said compound is in a library of compounds.
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said library is generated by employing computer modeling.
20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein binding is determined using an in vitro or an in vivo assay.