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Characterization And Development Of Amyloid-Reactive Peptides As Tracers For Quantitative Molecular Imaging, Emily Brooke Martin

Doctoral Dissertations

Amyloidosis is a degenerative protein misfolding disorder that leads to the extracellular accumulation of amyloid deposits containing protein fibrils, heparan sulfate proteoglycans, glycoproteins and apolipoproteins. To date, at least 27 proteins have been identified as components of pathologic amyloid fibrils. In systemic forms of the disease, amyloid deposits can evade the immune system and expand throughout various tissues. As the deposits grow, tissue architecture is disrupted, leading to organ dysfunction and death.

In the US, there are ~3500 newly diagnosed patients with amyloidosis annually. The deposition of light chains as amyloid (AL amyloidosis) is the most common form of visceral …