Donald Price Picture 2 Detail

This two panel image reflects the work of Drs. Huaibin Cai and Phil Wong, shows a diagram of immuunopreciptation-protein chip-mass spec method and results of analyses of the species of peptides generated by cultured neurons derived from three genotypes of mice (BACE1 +/+, +/-, and -/-). Note that the neurons from BACE1 null mice fail to secrete the Ab peptides, establishing that BACE1 is the neuronal b-secretase. Mating of BACE1 null mice to mutant APP/PS1 mice, which in a BACE1 +/+ background would develop amyloid deposits, results in progeny that cannot form amyloid, indicating this enzyme is a very attractive target for therapy.