Therapeutic
Hypothesis
Mechanistic Rationale
HDAC6 inhibitor treatment will preserve axonal transport and stop or slow the progression of ALS and AD
HDAC6 inhibitor treatment will prevent tau aggregation and stop or slow the progression of AD
Mechanistic Rationale
HDAC6 inhibitor treatment will preserve axonal transport and stop or slow the progression of ALS and AD
HDAC6 inhibitor treatment will prevent tau aggregation and stop or slow the progression of AD
Healthy & Dysfunctional Neurons
HDAC6 inhibitor treatment will preserve axonal transport and stop or slow the progression of ALS and AD
HEALTHY NEURONS
Neurons contain microtubules, which perform important transport functions.
HEALTHY NEURONS
Acetylated tau and tubulin proteins provide structure to microtubules and support axonal transport
Dysfunctional Neurons
HDAC6 deacetylates tau and tubulin, which makes microtubules less resilient and axonal transport is disrupted.
Healthy & Dysfunctional Neurons
HDAC6 Inhibitor Treatment Will Prevent Tau Aggregation And Stop Or Slow The Progression Of AD
Neurons contain microtubules, which perform important transport functions
Acetylated tau proteins provide structure to microtubules and support axonal transport.
HDAC6 deacetylates tau, which becomes unbound from microtubules. Free tau becomes phosphorylated.
Eventually, tau becomes hyper-phosphorylated, which leads to neurofibrillary tangles(NFTs).
Tangles accumulate within neurons, microtubules fail to function and eventually neurons die.