Determining whether extracellular vesicles are involved in the spread of abnormal TDP-43 across cells in MND/FTD.
Principal Investigator: Dr Alex Thompson
Lead Institution: University of Oxford
MND Association Funding: £266,240
Funding dates: April 2025 - March 2028
About the project
It is known that people with MND and FTD will have toxic clumps of a protein called TDP-43 in their neurons. It is thought that an abnormal version of the protein may be passed from cell to cell and contribute to the spread of disease throughout the brain and spinal cord. This version of TDP-43 might be passed via extracellular vesicles, which are bubbles of chemicals and proteins that are released by cells. This project aims to study these extracellular vesicles to determine whether they are involved in the spread of abnormal TDP-43 across cells. The researchers will look at extracellular vesicles from people who have died from MND and FTD to observe if abnormal TDP-43 is inside these bubbles and where the extracellular vesicles are produced in the cell. This will help to increase understanding of whether the spread of abnormal TDP-43 is occurring and how it might be linked to the development and progression of disease. The project will also test if the proteins in extracellular vesicles provide information about the disease process and if these could be measured in people living with MND and FTD.
What could this mean for MND research?
The project could reveal new targets for future therapies that may stop or reduce the spread of abnormal TDP-43 and might lead to new biomarkers that could help with better diagnoses and prognoses of MND and FTD.
Project code: 2382-791