FURI | Spring 2018

Progerin-Induced Aging to Develop a Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has the sixth highest mortality rate in the United States with no known cure or treatment. To model late-onset disorders, such as AD, age-related phenotypes must be reintroduced into the DNA of the cells. The accumulation of the progerin protein is associated with aging. Using in-vitro techniques, it is hypothesized that overexpressing progerin through the generation of a lentiviral system will artificially age human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) derived neurons to model AD. Age-related phenotypes in hiPSCs will be analyzed via immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy and mitochondrial superoxide assays to confirm the identity of the hiPSCs.