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Fig. 2 | Translational Neurodegeneration

Fig. 2

From: Seed amplification assay of nasal swab extracts for accurate and non-invasive molecular diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases

Fig. 2

Schematic presentation of RT-QuIC mechanism and process of nasal swab extracts. a Seed transformation in the RT-QuIC process. The misfolded proteins (orange, seeds) trigger conformational changes of native proteins (green, substrates) to form new misfolded seeds. This switch results in conformational modification into misfolded oligomers, which are then elongated into fibrils. After detection of fibrils, longer fibrils are broken down into shorter reactive seeds by quaking, which further facilitate the conversion of native proteins. b RT-QuIC procedure using nasal swab extracts. Sample homogenate from the patient’s olfactory mucosa is mixed with the reaction buffer containing recombinant protein and Thioflavin T (ThT, a fluorescent amyloid probe), loaded into a multi-well microplate, and then incubated with alternating cycles of shaking and rest in a fluorescence microplate reader. This device records ThT fluorescence emission throughout the incubation, thus revealing the kinetics of aggregate formation. Sigmoidal growth in ThT fluorescence indicates a positive diagnosis

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