Project Grant RF1AG079331

This $4.2 million project grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging will fund research into the mechanisms by which the ABCA7 gene influences Alzheimer's disease. The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania will investigate the specific lipid species affected by deletion of ABCA7 in three types of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain cells. Researchers will also identify ABCA7 protein domains that differentiate its functions from ABCA1 and characterize the effects of naturally occurring ABCA7 coding variants associated with Alzheimer's disease. As part of this work, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center will perform lipid profiling on 1,000 samples generated over the three-year period, measuring four relevant lipid classes using mass spectrometry methods. This research aims to further the understanding of the role of specific lipid transport in Alzheimer's disease as part of NIH's Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866).