Identification and Biophysical Characterization of Small Molecules Modulating Protein Disulfide Isomerase in Neurodegenerative Diseases

by Anna Kaplan

Neurodegenerative disorders constitute a class of diseases that express characteristic misfolded proteins that aggregate and induce neuronal toxicity and death. Huntington’s disease is one such fatal protein misfolding disease. Currently no therapeutic avenue can delay or stop the progression of the disease. In this context, there is a need to identify therapeutic pathways and drug targets that can prevent or delay pathogenesis in neurodegenerative diseases involving protein misfolding. This dissertation describes how our search for new drug targets have led us to identify protein disulfide...