Biomedical subjects

Min S Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Min S Wang.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Single chain Fv antibodies against the 25-35 Abeta fragment inhibit aggregation and toxicity of Abeta42.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the deposition of amyloid-beta (Abeta) protein in the brain. Immunization studies have demonstrated that anti-Abeta antibodies reduce Abeta deposition and improve clinical symptoms seen in AD. However, conventional antibody-based therapies risk an inflammatory response that can result in meningoencephalitis and cerebral hemorrhage. Here we report on the development of human-based single chain variable domain antibody fragments (scFvs) directed against the Abeta 25-35 region as potential therapeutics for AD that do not risk an inflammatory response. The 25-35 region of Abeta represents a promising therapeutic target since it promotes aggregation and is highly toxic. Two scFvs with differing affinities for Abeta were studied, and both inhibited aggregation of Abeta42 as determined by thioflavin T binding assay and atomic force microscopy analysis and blocked Abeta-induced toxicity toward human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells as determined by MTT and LDH release assays. These results provide additional evidence that scFvs against Abeta provide an attractive alternative to more conventional antibody-based therapeutics for controlling aggregation and toxicity of Abeta.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

A multielectrode microcompartment culture platform for studying signal transduction in the nervous system.

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and characterization of a microfabricated compartmented culture system (micro-CCS) useful for electrophysiological signaling studies in cultured neurons. The focus of the paper is the process of interfacing the micro-CCS with cultured neurons and to demonstrate the applicability of the system for biochemical-mediated electrophysiological studies. Moreover, we show that we can record action potentials from cultured neurons through the extracellular compartmented application of elevated levels of K(+) ions. Finally, we show that we can isolate the electrophysiological effects of the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin in one of the compartments of a two compartment culture while recording electrophysiological data from both compartments.

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PubMed2006

A compartmented neuronal culture system in microdevice format.

This paper describes a microfabricated compartmented culture system (mu-CCS) for studying the effects of drugs on cultured neurons. We describe the fabrication of the microsystem and show the ability to culture DRG neurons in the microsystem. Furthermore, we demonstrate the ability to culture neurons with extensions growing into adjoining compartments while maintaining fluid isolation between compartments. The axonal growth pattern was controlled along the surface of the glass microelectrode substrate using a micropatterned collagen film. The ability to isolate fluids to selected compartments while simultaneously allowing intercompartmental growth of the axons enables various studies in which selected segments of neurons or populations of neurons can be selectively exposed to biochemical treatment. The neurotoxin vincristine was used as the test vehicle to demonstrate the functionality of the mu-CCS. Vincristine was applied to the axonal compartment to show that the interaction of drugs with DRG neurons progresses in a way similar to neurons cultured/exposed using conventional techniques.

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