Yonatan Savir, PhD

Determining the effect of replicative and chorological age on toxicity of amyloid-B and tau protein in yeast as a model for age

Protein aggregates that accumulate inside and outside of cells are considered fundamental drivers of neuronal cell death in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. In Alzheimer’s disease, cell death is associated with extracellular plaques and intracellular toxicity of the protein fragment amyloid-β, as well as intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein. Dr. Savir’s goal is to uncover how the toxicity caused by amyloid-β and tau protein—and the cellular response to it—depends on the age of the cell.

To do so, Dr. Savir and his group will study yeast cells using an automated flow cytometry system, a method of counting and examining cells by suspending them in a stream of fluid and passing them through a laser beam. They will use this method to measure single-cell dynamics for hundreds of different conditions. They will also use microscopy and imaging devices to take images of the yeast’s entire life span. Their ultimate goal is to shed more light on the molecular mechanism that underlies neural cell death in Alzheimer’s disease.

More broadly, this method can be tested in combination with novel approaches to prevent, slow down or even arrest disease progress. Therefore, Dr. Savir’s work could set the stage for identifying and testing basic mechanisms of aging and disease-related toxicity.