The research in the Michaelson laboratory is directed at unraveling the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenration in Alzheimer’s disease and at the development of novel therapeutic approaches to counteract them.

The research focuses on apolipoprotein  E4 (apoE4), the most prevalent genetic risk factor of the disease ,and on it’s interaction with other risk factors. Accordingly the following specific projects are being pursued:

• Developments of in vivo models utilizing apoE4 and apoE3 targeted replacement mice;
• The mechanism underlying the pathological effects of apoE4;
• Development of apoE4 directed immune treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

The next step of this work is to produce second generation monoclonal Abs which react specifically with native brain apoE4. Since this approach is targeted at the native brain form of apoE4 it is expected to to be much more effective that the previous approach in which the Abs were directed at recombinanat apoE4 which is  a non physiological form of this molecule.