Benjamin Fogelgren, PhD
Associate Professor
Core Director, Research Capacity Core, Ola HAWAII
Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology
John A. Burns School of Medicine
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The exocyst as an insulin-sensitive regulator of amyloid-beta in neurons.
Project Summary: Substantial racial and ethnic health disparities exist for Alzheimerʻs disease (AD), in part because of disparities in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, which significantly increases the risk for developing AD. We have discovered a new molecular pathway in neurons directly linking insulin signaling and amyloid precursor protein (APP) intracellular trafficking, which determines the balance of APP processing and thus amyloid-beta production. This administrative supplement will allow rigorous analysis of how the insulin-sensitive exocyst protein complex regulates APP trafficking and amyloid-beta generation in human neurons, with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic approaches to AD.