Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a fatal, progressive dementia for which there is no cure and for which a molecular basis has yet
to be established. However, considerable evidence suggests that AD is linked to neurotoxic assemblies of the 42-amino-acid
peptide amyloid β (Aβ). There is now a clear body of evidence that shows this neurotoxicity resides not only in insoluble
fibrils of Aβ but also in soluble Aβ ADDLs (Aβ-derived diffusible ligands) and larger protofibrils. Further, anti-Aβ antibodies
have been reported to reverse memory failure in human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP)-expressed transgenic mice in a manner
that suggests symptom reversal is attributable to targeting of ADDLs. Clearly, a search for drugs targeting the assembly of
these soluble Aβ species represents a new and potentially important approach to the treatment of AD. In this work we describe
the development of a dot-blot immunoassay to measure ADDL at the femtomole level, its use in defining the time course of ADDL
formation, and its use in determining the presence of ADDLs in the hAPP transgenic mouse brain. Discussion of a protocol to
screen agents for inhibition of neurotoxic ADDL formation both in vivo and in vitro is also presented. The methods are suitable
for screening combinatorial libraries and, importantly, provide the potential for simultaneous information on candidate transport
across the blood-brain barrier.
Index Entries Amyloid-β - Alzheimer’s disease - oligomers - cyclodextrin - drug screening - ADDLs