The search for answers to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders remains one of the most pressing goals in brain research. Maciej J. Stawikowski, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, believes the key may lie in understanding how cholesterol and other lipids move through cells and affect their communication.
“It’s well known that lipids and Alzheimer’s are linked,” said Stawikowski, a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. “Lipid imbalance may lead to amyloid plaque formation – oversized protein clumps that disrupt cell function, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
His team, including Qi Zhang, Ph.D., an associate professor in the FAU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, has focused on developing advanced tools to investigate the relationship between lipids and cellular function.
Cholesterol is a crucial component of cellular membranes, enabling hormone production, membrane stability and signaling. However, disruptions in cholesterol movement between cell compartments may play a role in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. To study this, Stawikowski and his team have developed novel fluorescent cholesterol probes (CNDs) designed to track cholesterol within cellular membranes.
A new study, published in Scientific Reports, demonstrates how CND probes can help at visualizing cholesterol in live cells. By combining computer simulations with live-cell imaging, the researchers have uncovered how different probe designs influence cholesterol probe behavior.
These innovative probes could enhance our understanding of how cholesterol imbalances contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and