Neurodegenerative Disease In The Brain

The brain is a very complex organ that requires controlled conditions to ensure that it functions correctly. When these conditions and needs are disturbed the brains functions are altered. Neurodegeneration is a consequence of changes within normal brain physiology. Neurodegeneration is a broad term that is used to describe a group of conditions that is characterised by a loss of structure and function of the neurons within the brain. A few examples of neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These neurodegenerative diseases can be caused by many factors some of which include genetics, protein misfolding, changes in intracellular pathways (such as protein

In Wilson’s disease there is an accumulation of copper in the tissue which is unable to be cleared and leads to the manifestation of symptoms such as neurological and liver disease.(Buiakova et al., 1999) Lyme disease is an example of how the metalloproteins in an organism can incorporate a different metal leading to an altered state. In some cases the lyme disease causing bacteria contains metalloproteins that incorporate manganese instead of iron to avoid being eliminated by the host it has infected.(Aguirre et al., 2013) Another example of altered metalloprotein states is seen with the copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD). This protein in its normal state contains one molecule of both copper and zinc, in this state the protein is fully metallated. Yet this metalloprotein has the capability to exist in many states, such as only containing one metal or two of the same metals bound or even no metals bound at all. And when in these states the protein can be misfolded which my result in an altered function and in some cases be more prone to aggregation.When the protein is in its fully metallated state it is able to scavenge superoxide radicals where as when there is no copper bound

And during sample storage, multiple aliquots of samples should be created in the desired volume/concentration to avoid multiple freeze thaw cycles as this can impact on the proteins and may even cause the protein to misfold or aggregate. Any problems that arise in this initial sample collection or storage can have detrimental effects on the outcomes achieved, as if a protein loses its metal during these steps it will be not identified as a metalloprotein. Meaning that a novel metalloprotein could be overlooked and misidentified, adding to the pool of incorrectly identified