Andrew Pickering
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX·Biology
Why do some conditions slow aging, and can those conditions protect the brain from disease? This work centers on the proteasome, a cellular machine that breaks down damaged or unneeded proteins.
- Fields
Biology
Neuroscience
Biochemistry
- Topics
aging
lifespan extension
cold temperature
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through May 2028
What they work on
- Determine whether the mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP4b, which lets mitochondria release energy as heat, is required and sufficient for cold-induced lifespan extension and redox balance in Drosophila, using genetic manipulation.
- Test whether cold-induced loss of O-GlcNAcylation, a sugar tag on proteins, regulates mTOR and GSK3β nutrient signaling, by genetic and drug changes to the OGA and OGT enzymes in flies.
- Measure how cold reshapes protein production in flies, using IRES reporter constructs and RiboTag RNA sequencing to track translation of stress-response and proteasome proteins.
- Test whether proteasome activation driven by NRF2/CNC-C signaling is necessary and sufficient for cold-induced longevity, using RNAi knockdown, overexpression and small molecules in Drosophila.
- Determine whether drug and genetic boosting of proteasome function reduces memory loss and neurodegeneration in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.
- Test whether the proteasome limits AD by degrading the β-amyloid-making proteins APP, BACE1 and GSAP, or whether Aβ-induced proteasome failure itself drives neurodegeneration.
- Establish where proteasome dysfunction occurs in human AD using brain tissue, and whether it varies with disease stage, severity, symptoms and biomarkers.
More about the research
One project asks how cold temperatures extend lifespan in fruit flies. The other asks whether the decline of proteasome function with age helps drive Alzheimer's disease. Protein quality control links the two.
Why it matters
Alzheimer's disease affects 5.5 million Americans and has very limited treatments. Showing that boosting the proteasome slows AD-like decline in mice could lay groundwork for preclinical trials of a new class of AD drugs. Mapping how cold extends fly lifespan may reveal conserved regulators of aging that could be targeted to promote healthy aging in people.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Anna Salazar
Christopher Newport University, VA·Biology
Test whether age-related breakdown of the gut barrier drives aging changes in the brain and muscle, using fruit flies with reduced levels of the gut seal protein Snakeskin.
Ryan Insolera
Wayne State University, MI·Biology
Engineer the genes encoding mitophagy adapter and receptor proteins in Drosophila melanogaster to create tools that can switch each known form of mitophagy on or off in a living animal.
Stanislava Chtarbanova
University of Alabama, AL·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine whether older fruit flies survive Flock House Virus infection through infection tolerance, by changing their metabolism to limit damage, using genetic, molecular and metabolic methods.
The school
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: 25 labs on PI Pages, $419M a year on research, 340 research doctorates a year.
More about University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.