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University of South Florida

Abigail Esquivel

Principal Investigator (NIH-funded) · BIOCHEMISTRY · USF

Affiliated program: Neuroscience PhD

This profile was assembled automatically from NIH RePORTER award records. Department and program affiliations are inferred and may be out of date — confirm on the university website.

Funding summary

Active NIH grants
2
Total NIH funding
$70K
Award records
2

Research topics

Matched from this investigator's NIH project titles and abstracts.

Active NIH awards

  • DnaJB6 as a novel regulator of tau

    1F31AG082505-01

    NIA · FY 2023 · $38K

    Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by neuronal loss driven by deposits of pathological tau. Therefore, identifying and targeting potent regulators of tau is crucial in developing effective therapeutic strategies. My exciting preliminary data show DnaJB6 overexpression decreases tau levels in HEK293T cells more than 50%, and in parallel, knockdown of DnaJB6 results in a 2-fold increase of tau. This suggests that DnaJB6 may regulate tau levels, however, the nature of this relationship has not yet been investigated. In this proposal, I will test the hypothesis that DnaJB6 can prevent tau accumulation through direct and indirect mechanisms. In Aim 1, I will test this through assessing protein-protein interaction dynamics between DnaJB6 and tau with recombinant in vitro assays, including Thioflavin T fluorescence and Surface Plasmon Resonance. A targeted proteomic approach will be used to identify direct and proximal connections between DnaJB6 and tau in primary neurons. In Aim 2, we will use PS19 and non-transgenic mice to assess the associated behavioral and molecular changes that result from DnaJB6 overexpression in the brain. Successful completion of these studies will provide crucial information regarding DnaJB6 biology, direct and indirect effects of DnaJB6 on tau, and how regulation of DnaJB6 affects behavioral and molecular changes in the tauopathic brain.

Earlier awards

  • DnaJB6 as a novel regulator of tauFY 2024 · $32K