Gal Bitan

Gal Bitan got his PhD in organic chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. During his postdoc at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Dr. Bitan worked on pathologic self-assembly of amyloid ß-protein (Aß) and made fundamental contributions to the study of early events in the pathologic cascades that cause Alzheimer's disease, including the discovery of one of the earliest oligomers in the assembly cascade, the paranucleus. In 2004, Dr. Bitan joined UCLA where he is currently a Professor of Neurology. His research program combines basic and translational research focused on neurodegenerative proteinopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, other tauopathies, Parkinson's disease, and atypical parkinsonian disorders. The Bitan group has discovered small molecules called "molecular tweezers" that are broad-spectrum inhibitors of abnormal protein oligomerization and aggregation. A lead compound, CLR01, was shown to ameliorate disease phenotype and reduce toxic protein aggregates in pre-clinical models of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, transthyretin amyloidosis, and desmin-related cardiomyopathy. In a different line of research, the group has been developing biomarkers in blood products and CNS-originating extracellular vesicles isolated from the blood, and has shown that such biomarkers can distinguish between Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy with high sensitivity and specificity using a simple blood test. In a related study, several biomarkers have been discovered for the lysosomal disease, Sanfilippo syndrome. The Bitan group is also the first to discover exophers in mammalian neurons. Exophers are new cellular compartments/extracellular vesicles described to date only in C. elegans, which are thought to participate in non-cell-autonomous clearance of dysfunctional organelles and protein aggregates, in addition to other, currently unknown roles in neurophysiology.

Websites:

Lab website

Research Interests:

extracellular vesicles, Exophers, Biomarkers, Amyloid, Parkinson's disease, Proteinopathy, Drug development, Alzheimer's disease, Prion-like seeding, exosomes,

Publications:

Murakami K, Nguyen THV, Nagao C, Mizuguchi K, Bitan G. Lysine-Targeting Inhibitors of Amyloidogenic Protein Aggregation: A Promise for Neurodegenerative Proteinopathies. JACS Au. 2025 Aug 25; 5(8):3680-3700. view on PubMed

Lantz C, Zenaidee MA, Tran D, Biggs K, Bitan G, Ogorzalek Loo RR, Loo JA. Mass spectrometry structural analysis of intrinsically disordered phosphoproteins. Int J Mass Spectrom. 2025 Jul; 513. view on PubMed

Leuchter MK, Oughli HA, Durbin KA, Jackson NJ, Elashoff D, Chang TS, Corlier J, Ngo D, Matthews C, Wong D, Fogel BL, Bitan G, Leuchter AF, Vossel K, Suthana N. Broad repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the precuneus in Alzheimer's disease: A rationale and study design. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2025 Jan-Mar; 11(1):e70043. view on PubMed

Silva A, Duarte-Silva S, Martins PM, Rodrigues B, Serrenho D, Vilasboas-Campos D, Teixeira-Castro A, Vieyto-Nuñez J, Mieres-Perez J, Figueiredo F, Fraga J, Noble J, Lantz C, Sepanj N, Monteiro-Fernandes D, Guerreiro S, Neves-Carvalho A, Pereira-Sousa J, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Loo JA, Pastore A, Sanchez-Garcia E, Bitan G, Carvalho AL, Maciel P, Macedo-Ribeiro S. Allosteric Modulation of Pathological Ataxin-3 Aggregation: A Path to Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type-3 Therapies. bioRxiv. 2025 Jan 24. view on PubMed

Vasilopoulou F, Pocock J, Bitan G, Hermann DM. Editorial: Extracellular vesicles: emerging roles in the aged and neurodegenerative brain. Front Cell Neurosci. 2024; 18:1522499. view on PubMed

Giaccio M, Monaco A, Galiano L, Parente A, Borzacchiello L, Rubino R, Klärner FG, Killa D, Perna C, Piccolo P, Marotta M, Pan X, Khijniak M, Siddique I, Schrader T, Pshezhetsky AV, Sorrentino NC, Bitan G, Fraldi A. Anti-amyloid treatment is broadly effective in neuronopathic mucopolysaccharidoses and synergizes with gene therapy in MPS-IIIA. Mol Ther. 2024 Nov 06; 32(11):4108-4121. view on PubMed

Polgreen LE, Chen AH, Pak Y, Luzzi A, Morales Garval A, Acevedo J, Bitan G, Iacovino M, O'Neill C, Eisengart JB. Author Correction: Anakinra in Sanfilippo syndrome: a phase 1/2 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Sep; 30(9):2693. view on PubMed

Polgreen LE, Chen AH, Pak Y, Luzzi A, Morales Garval A, Acevedo J, Bitan G, Iacovino M, O'Neill C, Eisengart JB. Anakinra in Sanfilippo syndrome: a phase 1/2 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Sep; 30(9):2473-2479. view on PubMed

Sexton CE, Bitan G, Bowles KR, Brys M, Buée L, Maina MB, Clelland CD, Cohen AD, Crary JF, Dage JL, Diaz K, Frost B, Gan L, Goate AM, Golbe LI, Hansson O, Karch CM, Kolb HC, La Joie R, Lee SE, Matallana D, Miller BL, Onyike CU, Quiroz YT, Rexach JE, Rohrer JD, Rommel A, Sadri-Vakili G, Schindler SE, Schneider JA, Sperling RA, Teunissen CE, Weninger SC, Worley SL, Zheng H, Carrillo MC. Novel avenues of tau research. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 03; 20(3):2240-2261. view on PubMed

Hong M, Bitan G. Recent advances and future therapy development for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Neural Regen Res. 2024 Sep 01; 19(9):1877-1878. view on PubMed

Lantz C, Lopez J, Goring AK, Zenaidee MA, Biggs K, Whitelegge JP, Ogorzalek Loo RR, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Loo JA. Characterization of Molecular Tweezer Binding on α-Synuclein with Native Top-Down Mass Spectrometry and Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Reveals a Mechanism for Aggregation Inhibition. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2023 Dec 06; 34(12):2739-2747. view on PubMed

Taha HB, Chawla E, Bitan G. IM-MS and ECD-MS/MS Provide Insight into Modulation of Amyloid Proteins Self-Assembly by Peptides and Small Molecules. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2023 Oct 04; 34(10):2066-2086. view on PubMed

Dutta S, Hornung S, Taha HB, Bitan G. Biomarkers for parkinsonian disorders in CNS-originating EVs: promise and challenges. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 05; 145(5):515-540. view on PubMed

Taha HB, Hornung S, Dutta S, Fenwick L, Lahgui O, Howe K, Elabed N, Del Rosario I, Wong DY, Duarte Folle A, Markovic D, Palma JA, Kang UJ, Alcalay RN, Sklerov M, Kaufmann H, Fogel BL, Bronstein JM, Ritz B, Bitan G. Toward a biomarker panel measured in CNS-originating extracellular vesicles for improved differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. Transl Neurodegener. 2023 03 20; 12(1):14. view on PubMed

Dutta S, Hornung S, Taha HB, Biggs K, Siddique I, Chamoun LM, Shahpasand-Kroner H, Lantz C, Herrera-Vaquero M, Stefanova N, Loo JA, Bitan G. Development of a Novel Electrochemiluminescence ELISA for Quantification of α-Synuclein Phosphorylated at Ser129 in Biological Samples. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2023 04 05; 14(7):1238-1248. view on PubMed

Dutta S, Sklerov M, Teunissen CE, Bitan G. Editorial: Trends in biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases: Current research and future perspectives. Front Aging Neurosci. 2023; 15:1153932. view on PubMed

Maina KN, Smet-Nocca C, Bitan G. Using FRET-Based Biosensor Cells to Study the Seeding Activity of Tau and α-Synuclein. Methods Mol Biol. 2023; 2551:125-145. view on PubMed

Shahpasand-Kroner H, Siddique I, Malik R, Linares GR, Ivanova MI, Ichida J, Weil T, Münch J, Sanchez-Garcia E, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. Molecular Tweezers: Supramolecular Hosts with Broad-Spectrum Biological Applications. Pharmacol Rev. 2023 03; 75(2):263-308. view on PubMed

Monaco A, Maffia V, Sorrentino NC, Sambri I, Ezhova Y, Giuliano T, Cacace V, Nusco E, De Risi M, De Leonibus E, Schrader T, Klärner FG, Bitan G, Fraldi A. The Amyloid Inhibitor CLR01 Relieves Autophagy and Ameliorates Neuropathology in a Severe Lysosomal Storage Disease. Mol Ther. 2022 Nov 02; 30(11):3499. view on PubMed

Taha HB, Kearney B, Bitan G. A minute fraction of α-synuclein in extracellular vesicles may be a major contributor to α-synuclein spreading following autophagy inhibition. Front Mol Neurosci. 2022; 15:1001382. view on PubMed

Dutta S, Nimse SB, Van Keuren-Jensen K, Bitan G. Editorial: Exosomes: Message in a vesicle. Front Pharmacol. 2022; 13:1018928. view on PubMed

Palma JA, Martinez J, Millar Vernetti P, Ma T, Perez MA, Zhong J, Qian Y, Dutta S, Maina KN, Siddique I, Bitan G, Ades-Aron B, Shepherd TM, Kang UJ, Kaufmann H. mTOR Inhibition with Sirolimus in Multiple System Atrophy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Futility Trial and 1-Year Biomarker Longitudinal Analysis. Mov Disord. 2022 04; 37(4):778-789. view on PubMed

Shahpasand-Kroner H, Portillo J, Lantz C, Seidler PM, Sarafian N, Loo JA, Bitan G. Three-repeat and four-repeat tau isoforms form different oligomers. Protein Sci. 2022 03; 31(3):613-627. view on PubMed

Murakami K, Izuo N, Bitan G. Aptamers targeting amyloidogenic proteins and their emerging role in neurodegenerative diseases. J Biol Chem. 2022 01; 298(1):101478. view on PubMed

Li Z, Siddique I, Hadrovic I, Kirupakaran A, Li J, Zhang Y, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. Lysine-selective molecular tweezers are cell penetrant and concentrate in lysosomes. Commun Biol. 2021 09 14; 4(1):1076. view on PubMed

Dutta S, Hornung S, Kruayatidee A, Maina KN, Del Rosario I, Paul KC, Wong DY, Duarte Folle A, Markovic D, Palma JA, Serrano GE, Adler CH, Perlman SL, Poon WW, Kang UJ, Alcalay RN, Sklerov M, Gylys KH, Kaufmann H, Fogel BL, Bronstein JM, Ritz B, Bitan G. α-Synuclein in blood exosomes immunoprecipitated using neuronal and oligodendroglial markers distinguishes Parkinson's disease from multiple system atrophy. Acta Neuropathol. 2021 09; 142(3):495-511. view on PubMed

Malishev R, Salinas N, Gibson J, Eden AB, Mieres-Perez J, Ruiz-Blanco YB, Malka O, Kolusheva S, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Sanchez-Garcia E, Wang C, Landau M, Bitan G, Jelinek R. Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm-forming functional amyloid by molecular tweezers. Cell Chem Biol. 2021 09 16; 28(9):1310-1320.e5. view on PubMed

Di J, Siddique I, Li Z, Malki G, Hornung S, Dutta S, Hurst I, Ishaaya E, Wang A, Tu S, Boghos A, Ericsson I, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. The molecular tweezer CLR01 improves behavioral deficits and reduces tau pathology in P301S-tau transgenic mice. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2021 01 04; 13(1):6. view on PubMed

Bengoa-Vergniory N, Faggiani E, Ramos-Gonzalez P, Kirkiz E, Connor-Robson N, Brown LV, Siddique I, Li Z, Vingill S, Cioroch M, Cavaliere F, Threlfell S, Roberts B, Schrader T, Klärner FG, Cragg S, Dehay B, Bitan G, Matute C, Bezard E, Wade-Martins R. CLR01 protects dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in mouse models of Parkinson's disease. Nat Commun. 2020 09 28; 11(1):4885. view on PubMed

Weil T, Groß R, Röcker A, Bravo-Rodriguez K, Heid C, Sowislok A, Le MH, Erwin N, Dwivedi M, Bart SM, Bates P, Wettstein L, Müller JA, Harms M, Sparrer K, Ruiz-Blanco YB, Stürzel CM, von Einem J, Lippold S, Read C, Walther P, Hebel M, Kreppel F, Klärner FG, Bitan G, Ehrmann M, Weil T, Winter R, Schrader T, Shorter J, Sanchez-Garcia E, Münch J. Supramolecular Mechanism of Viral Envelope Disruption by Molecular Tweezers. J Am Chem Soc. 2020 10 07; 142(40):17024-17038. view on PubMed

Malik R, Corrales C, Linsenmeier M, Alalami H, Sepanj N, Bitan G. Examination of SOD1 aggregation modulators and their effect on SOD1 enzymatic activity as a proxy for potential toxicity. FASEB J. 2020 09; 34(9):11957-11969. view on PubMed

Mason AJ, Hurst I, Malik R, Siddique I, Solomonov I, Sagi I, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. Different Inhibitors of Aβ42-Induced Toxicity Have Distinct Metal-Ion Dependency. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2020 08 05; 11(15):2243-2255. view on PubMed

Bitan G. The recent failure of the PROMESA clinical trial for multiple system atrophy raises the question-are polyphenols a viable therapeutic option against proteinopathies? Ann Transl Med. 2020 Jun; 8(11):719. view on PubMed

Hornung S, Dutta S, Bitan G. CNS-Derived Blood Exosomes as a Promising Source of Biomarkers: Opportunities and Challenges. Front Mol Neurosci. 2020; 13:38. view on PubMed

Monaco A, Maffia V, Sorrentino NC, Sambri I, Ezhova Y, Giuliano T, Cacace V, Nusco E, De Risi M, De Leonibus E, Schrader T, Klärner FG, Bitan G, Fraldi A. The Amyloid Inhibitor CLR01 Relieves Autophagy and Ameliorates Neuropathology in a Severe Lysosomal Storage Disease. Mol Ther. 2020 04 08; 28(4):1167-1176. view on PubMed

Shin WS, Di J, Cao Q, Li B, Seidler PM, Murray KA, Bitan G, Jiang L. Amyloid β-protein oligomers promote the uptake of tau fibril seeds potentiating intracellular tau aggregation. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2019 10 18; 11(1):86. view on PubMed

Hadrovic I, Rebmann P, Klärner FG, Bitan G, Schrader T. Molecular Lysine Tweezers Counteract Aberrant Protein Aggregation. Front Chem. 2019; 7:657. view on PubMed

Hayden EY, Putman J, Nunez S, Shin WS, Oberoi M, Charreton M, Dutta S, Li Z, Komuro Y, Joy MT, Bitan G, MacKenzie-Graham A, Jiang L, Hinman JD. Ischemic axonal injury up-regulates MARK4 in cortical neurons and primes tau phosphorylation and aggregation. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2019 08 20; 7(1):135. view on PubMed

Bitan G. Disease-modifying therapy for proteinopathies: Can the exception become the rule? Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2019; 168:277-287. view on PubMed

Herrera-Vaquero M, Bouquio D, Kallab M, Biggs K, Nair G, Ochoa J, Heras-Garvin A, Heid C, Hadrovic I, Poewe W, Wenning GK, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Stefanova N. The molecular tweezer CLR01 reduces aggregated, pathologic, and seeding-competent α-synuclein in experimental multiple system atrophy. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2019 11 01; 1865(11):165513. view on PubMed

Despres C, Di J, Cantrelle FX, Li Z, Huvent I, Chambraud B, Zhao J, Chen J, Chen S, Lippens G, Zhang F, Linhardt R, Wang C, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Landrieu I, Bitan G, Smet-Nocca C. Major Differences between the Self-Assembly and Seeding Behavior of Heparin-Induced and in Vitro Phosphorylated Tau and Their Modulation by Potential Inhibitors. ACS Chem Biol. 2019 06 21; 14(6):1363-1379. view on PubMed

Yan Z, Dutta S, Liu Z, Yu X, Mesgarzadeh N, Ji F, Bitan G, Xie YH. A Label-Free Platform for Identification of Exosomes from Different Sources. ACS Sens. 2019 02 22; 4(2):488-497. view on PubMed

Malik R, Meng H, Wongkongkathep P, Corrales CI, Sepanj N, Atlasi RS, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Spencer MJ, Loo JA, Wiedau M, Bitan G. The molecular tweezer CLR01 inhibits aberrant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) self-assembly in vitro and in the G93A-SOD1 mouse model of ALS. J Biol Chem. 2019 03 08; 294(10):3501-3513. view on PubMed

Atlasi RS, Malik R, Corrales CI, Tzeplaeff L, Whitelegge JP, Cashman NR, Bitan G. Investigation of Anti-SOD1 Antibodies Yields New Structural Insight into SOD1 Misfolding and Surprising Behavior of the Antibodies Themselves. ACS Chem Biol. 2018 09 21; 13(9):2794-2807. view on PubMed

Nshanian M, Lantz C, Wongkongkathep P, Schrader T, Klärner FG, Blümke A, Despres C, Ehrmann M, Smet-Nocca C, Bitan G, Loo JA. Native Top-Down Mass Spectrometry and Ion Mobility Spectrometry of the Interaction of Tau Protein with a Molecular Tweezer Assembly Modulator. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2019 Jan; 30(1):16-23. view on PubMed

Röcker AE, Müller JA, Dietzel E, Harms M, Krüger F, Heid C, Sowislok A, Riber CF, Kupke A, Lippold S, von Einem J, Beer J, Knöll B, Becker S, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Otto M, Vapalahti O, Zelikin AN, Bitan G, Schrader T, Münch J. The molecular tweezer CLR01 inhibits Ebola and Zika virus infection. Antiviral Res. 2018 04; 152:26-35. view on PubMed

Hayden EY, Conovaloff JL, Mason A, Bitan G, Teplow DB. Preparation of Pure Populations of Amyloid β-Protein Oligomers of Defined Size. Methods Mol Biol. 2018; 1779:3-12. view on PubMed

Malik R, Di J, Nair G, Attar A, Taylor K, Teng E, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. Using Molecular Tweezers to Remodel Abnormal Protein Self-Assembly and Inhibit the Toxicity of Amyloidogenic Proteins. Methods Mol Biol. 2018; 1777:369-386. view on PubMed

Walsh RR, Krismer F, Galpern WR, Wenning GK, Low PA, Halliday G, Koroshetz WJ, Holton J, Quinn NP, Rascol O, Shaw LM, Eidelberg D, Bower P, Cummings JL, Abler V, Biedenharn J, Bitan G, Brooks DJ, Brundin P, Fernandez H, Fortier P, Freeman R, Gasser T, Hewitt A, Höglinger GU, Huentelman MJ, Jensen PH, Jeromin A, Kang UJ, Kaufmann H, Kellerman L, Khurana V, Klockgether T, Kim WS, Langer C, LeWitt P, Masliah E, Meissner W, Melki R, Ostrowitzki S, Piantadosi S, Poewe W, Robertson D, Roemer C, Schenk D, Schlossmacher M, Schmahmann JD, Seppi K, Shih L, Siderowf A, Stebbins GT, Stefanova N, Tsuji S, Sutton S, Zhang J. Recommendations of the Global Multiple System Atrophy Research Roadmap Meeting. Neurology. 2018 01 09; 90(2):74-82. view on PubMed

Richter F, Subramaniam SR, Magen I, Lee P, Hayes J, Attar A, Zhu C, Franich NR, Bove N, De La Rosa K, Kwong J, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Chesselet MF, Bitan G. A Molecular Tweezer Ameliorates Motor Deficits in Mice Overexpressing α-Synuclein. Neurotherapeutics. 2017 Oct; 14(4):1107-1119. view on PubMed

Xu N, Bitan G, Schrader T, Klärner FG, Osinska H, Robbins J. Inhibition of Mutant αB Crystallin-Induced Protein Aggregation by a Molecular Tweezer. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017 Aug 08; 6(8). view on PubMed

Vöpel T, Bravo-Rodriguez K, Mittal S, Vachharajani S, Gnutt D, Sharma A, Steinhof A, Fatoba O, Ellrichmann G, Nshanian M, Heid C, Loo JA, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Wanker EE, Ebbinghaus S, Sanchez-Garcia E. Inhibition of Huntingtin Exon-1 Aggregation by the Molecular Tweezer CLR01. J Am Chem Soc. 2017 04 26; 139(16):5640-5643. view on PubMed

Daloglu MU, Ray A, Gorocs Z, Xiong M, Malik R, Bitan G, McLeod E, Ozcan A. Computational On-Chip Imaging of Nanoparticles and Biomolecules using Ultraviolet Light. Sci Rep. 2017 03 09; 7:44157. view on PubMed

Hayden EY, Conovaloff JL, Mason A, Bitan G, Teplow DB. Preparation of pure populations of covalently stabilized amyloid β-protein oligomers of specific sizes. Anal Biochem. 2017 Feb 01; 518:78-85. view on PubMed

Schrader T, Bitan G, Klärner FG. Molecular tweezers for lysine and arginine - powerful inhibitors of pathologic protein aggregation. Chem Commun (Camb). 2016 Oct 15; 52(76):11318-34. view on PubMed

Li H, Rahimi F, Bitan G. Modulation of Amyloid β-Protein (Aβ) Assembly by Homologous C-Terminal Fragments as a Strategy for Inhibiting Aβ Toxicity. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2016 07 20; 7(7):845-56. view on PubMed

Lulla A, Barnhill L, Bitan G, Ivanova MI, Nguyen B, O'Donnell K, Stahl MC, Yamashiro C, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Sagasti A, Bronstein JM. Neurotoxicity of the Parkinson Disease-Associated Pesticide Ziram Is Synuclein-Dependent in Zebrafish Embryos. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 Nov; 124(11):1766-1775. view on PubMed

Fogerson SM, van Brummen AJ, Busch DJ, Allen SR, Roychaudhuri R, Banks SM, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Morgan JR. Reducing synuclein accumulation improves neuronal survival after spinal cord injury. Exp Neurol. 2016 Apr; 278:105-15. view on PubMed

Roychaudhuri R, Zheng X, Lomakin A, Maiti P, Condron MM, Benedek GB, Bitan G, Bowers MT, Teplow DB. Role of Species-Specific Primary Structure Differences in Aβ42 Assembly and Neurotoxicity. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2015 Dec 16; 6(12):1941-55. view on PubMed

Zheng X, Wu C, Liu D, Li H, Bitan G, Shea JE, Bowers MT. Mechanism of C-Terminal Fragments of Amyloid β-Protein as Aβ Inhibitors: Do C-Terminal Interactions Play a Key Role in Their Inhibitory Activity? J Phys Chem B. 2016 Mar 03; 120(8):1615-23. view on PubMed

Malishev R, Nandi S, Kolusheva S, Levi-Kalisman Y, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Jelinek R. Toxicity inhibitors protect lipid membranes from disruption by Aβ42. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2015 Nov 18; 6(11):1860-9. view on PubMed

Lump E, Castellano LM, Meier C, Seeliger J, Erwin N, Sperlich B, Stürzel CM, Usmani S, Hammond RM, von Einem J, Gerold G, Kreppel F, Bravo-Rodriguez K, Pietschmann T, Holmes VM, Palesch D, Zirafi O, Weissman D, Sowislok A, Wettig B, Heid C, Kirchhoff F, Weil T, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Sanchez-Garcia E, Winter R, Shorter J, Münch J. A molecular tweezer antagonizes seminal amyloids and HIV infection. Elife. 2015 Aug 18; 4. view on PubMed

Herzog G, Shmueli MD, Levy L, Engel L, Gazit E, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Segal D. The Lys-Specific Molecular Tweezer, CLR01, Modulates Aggregation of the Mutant p53 DNA Binding Domain and Inhibits Its Toxicity. Biochemistry. 2015 Jun 23; 54(24):3729-38. view on PubMed

Lopes DH, Attar A, Nair G, Hayden EY, Du Z, McDaniel K, Dutt S, Bravo-Rodriguez K, Mittal S, Klärner FG, Wang C, Sanchez-Garcia E, Schrader T, Bitan G. Molecular tweezers inhibit islet amyloid polypeptide assembly and toxicity by a new mechanism. ACS Chem Biol. 2015 Jun 19; 10(6):1555-69. view on PubMed

Zheng X, Liu D, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Bowers MT. Amyloid β-protein assembly: The effect of molecular tweezers CLR01 and CLR03. J Phys Chem B. 2015 Apr 09; 119(14):4831-41. view on PubMed

Aronovich D, Bitan G, Bartal G. Exact modeling of cylindrical metal-dielectric multilayers beyond the effective medium approximation. Opt Lett. 2014 Nov 15; 39(22):6517-20. view on PubMed

Attar A, Chan WT, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G. Safety and pharmacological characterization of the molecular tweezer CLR01 - a broad-spectrum inhibitor of amyloid proteins' toxicity. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2014 Apr 16; 15:23. view on PubMed

Ferreira N, Pereira-Henriques A, Attar A, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Bitan G, Gales L, Saraiva MJ, Almeida MR. Molecular tweezers targeting transthyretin amyloidosis. Neurotherapeutics. 2014 Apr; 11(2):450-61. view on PubMed

Acharya S, Safaie BM, Wongkongkathep P, Ivanova MI, Attar A, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Loo JA, Bitan G, Lapidus LJ. Molecular basis for preventing α-synuclein aggregation by a molecular tweezer. J Biol Chem. 2014 Apr 11; 289(15):10727-10737. view on PubMed

Attar A, Bitan G. Disrupting self-assembly and toxicity of amyloidogenic protein oligomers by "molecular tweezers" - from the test tube to animal models. Curr Pharm Des. 2014; 20(15):2469-83. view on PubMed

Attar A, Liu T, Chan WT, Hayes J, Nejad M, Lei K, Bitan G. A shortened Barnes maze protocol reveals memory deficits at 4-months of age in the triple-transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One. 2013; 8(11):e80355. view on PubMed

Connors CR, Rosenman DJ, Lopes DH, Mittal S, Bitan G, Sorci M, Belfort G, Garcia A, Wang C. Tranilast binds to aβ monomers and promotes aβ fibrillation. Biochemistry. 2013 Jun 11; 52(23):3995-4002. view on PubMed

Attar A, Ripoli C, Riccardi E, Maiti P, Li Puma DD, Liu T, Hayes J, Jones MR, Lichti-Kaiser K, Yang F, Gale GD, Tseng CH, Tan M, Xie CW, Straudinger JL, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Frautschy SA, Grassi C, Bitan G. Protection of primary neurons and mouse brain from Alzheimer's pathology by molecular tweezers. Brain. 2012 Dec; 135(Pt 12):3735-48. view on PubMed

Ripoli C, Piacentini R, Riccardi E, Leone L, Li Puma DD, Bitan G, Grassi C. Effects of different amyloid β-protein analogues on synaptic function. Neurobiol Aging. 2013 Apr; 34(4):1032-44. view on PubMed

Ringman JM, Fithian AT, Gylys K, Cummings JL, Coppola G, Elashoff D, Pratico D, Moskovitz J, Bitan G. Plasma methionine sulfoxide in persons with familial Alzheimer's disease mutations. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2012; 33(4):219-25. view on PubMed

Solomonov I, Korkotian E, Born B, Feldman Y, Bitler A, Rahimi F, Li H, Bitan G, Sagi I. Zn2+-Aβ40 complexes form metastable quasi-spherical oligomers that are cytotoxic to cultured hippocampal neurons. J Biol Chem. 2012 Jun 08; 287(24):20555-64. view on PubMed

Prabhudesai S, Sinha S, Attar A, Kotagiri A, Fitzmaurice AG, Lakshmanan R, Lakshmanan R, Ivanova MI, Loo JA, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Stahl M, Bitan G, Bronstein JM. A novel "molecular tweezer" inhibitor of α-synuclein neurotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Neurotherapeutics. 2012 Apr; 9(2):464-76. view on PubMed

Sinha S, Lopes DH, Bitan G. A key role for lysine residues in amyloid β-protein folding, assembly, and toxicity. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2012 Jun 20; 3(6):473-81. view on PubMed

Novick PA, Lopes DH, Branson KM, Esteras-Chopo A, Graef IA, Bitan G, Pande VS. Design of β-amyloid aggregation inhibitors from a predicted structural motif. J Med Chem. 2012 Apr 12; 55(7):3002-10. view on PubMed

Sinha S, Du Z, Maiti P, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Wang C, Bitan G. Comparison of three amyloid assembly inhibitors: the sugar scyllo-inositol, the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate, and the molecular tweezer CLR01. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2012 Jun 20; 3(6):451-8. view on PubMed

Liu T, Bitan G. Modulating self-assembly of amyloidogenic proteins as a therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases: strategies and mechanisms. ChemMedChem. 2012 Mar 05; 7(3):359-74. view on PubMed

Li H, Zemel R, Lopes DH, Monien BH, Bitan G. A two-step strategy for structure-activity relationship studies of N-methylated aβ42 C-terminal fragments as aβ42 toxicity inhibitors. ChemMedChem. 2012 Mar 05; 7(3):515-22. view on PubMed

Lopes DH, Sinha S, Rosensweig C, Bitan G. Application of photochemical cross-linking to the study of oligomerization of amyloidogenic proteins. Methods Mol Biol. 2012; 849:11-21. view on PubMed

Rosensweig C, Ono K, Murakami K, Lowenstein DK, Bitan G, Teplow DB. Preparation of stable amyloid β-protein oligomers of defined assembly order. Methods Mol Biol. 2012; 849:23-31. view on PubMed

Gessel MM, Wu C, Li H, Bitan G, Shea JE, Bowers MT. Aβ(39-42) modulates Aβ oligomerization but not fibril formation. Biochemistry. 2012 Jan 10; 51(1):108-17. view on PubMed

Li H, Du Z, Lopes DH, Fradinger EA, Wang C, Bitan G. C-terminal tetrapeptides inhibit Aβ42-induced neurotoxicity primarily through specific interaction at the N-terminus of Aβ42. J Med Chem. 2011 Dec 22; 54(24):8451-60. view on PubMed

Moskovitz J, Maiti P, Lopes DH, Oien DB, Attar A, Liu T, Mittal S, Hayes J, Bitan G. Induction of methionine-sulfoxide reductases protects neurons from amyloid β-protein insults in vitro and in vivo. Biochemistry. 2011 Dec 13; 50(49):10687-97. view on PubMed

Sinha S, Lopes DH, Du Z, Pang ES, Shanmugam A, Lomakin A, Talbiersky P, Tennstaedt A, McDaniel K, Bakshi R, Kuo PY, Ehrmann M, Benedek GB, Loo JA, Klärner FG, Schrader T, Wang C, Bitan G. Lysine-specific molecular tweezers are broad-spectrum inhibitors of assembly and toxicity of amyloid proteins. J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Oct 26; 133(42):16958-69. view on PubMed

Urbanc B, Betnel M, Cruz L, Li H, Fradinger EA, Monien BH, Bitan G. Structural basis for Aβ1–42 toxicity inhibition by Aβ C-terminal fragments: discrete molecular dynamics study. J Mol Biol. 2011 Jul 08; 410(2):316-28. view on PubMed

Hochdörffer K, März-Berberich J, Nagel-Steger L, Epple M, Meyer-Zaika W, Horn AH, Sticht H, Sinha S, Bitan G, Schrader T. Rational design of β-sheet ligands against Aβ42-induced toxicity. J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Mar 30; 133(12):4348-58. view on PubMed

Maiti P, Piacentini R, Ripoli C, Grassi C, Bitan G. Surprising toxicity and assembly behaviour of amyloid β-protein oxidized to sulfone. Biochem J. 2011 Jan 15; 433(2):323-32. view on PubMed

Li H, Monien BH, Lomakin A, Zemel R, Fradinger EA, Tan M, Spring SM, Urbanc B, Xie CW, Benedek GB, Bitan G. Mechanistic investigation of the inhibition of Abeta42 assembly and neurotoxicity by Abeta42 C-terminal fragments. Biochemistry. 2010 Aug 03; 49(30):6358-64. view on PubMed

Rahimi F, Bitan G. Selection of aptamers for amyloid beta-protein, the causative agent of Alzheimer's disease. J Vis Exp. 2010 May 13; (39). view on PubMed

Urbanc B, Betnel M, Cruz L, Bitan G, Teplow DB. Elucidation of amyloid beta-protein oligomerization mechanisms: discrete molecular dynamics study. J Am Chem Soc. 2010 Mar 31; 132(12):4266-80. view on PubMed

Maiti P, Lomakin A, Benedek GB, Bitan G. Despite its role in assembly, methionine 35 is not necessary for amyloid beta-protein toxicity. J Neurochem. 2010 Jun; 113(5):1252-62. view on PubMed

Li H, Monien BH, Fradinger EA, Urbanc B, Bitan G. Biophysical characterization of Abeta42 C-terminal fragments: inhibitors of Abeta42 neurotoxicity. Biochemistry. 2010 Feb 16; 49(6):1259-67. view on PubMed

Rahimi F, Murakami K, Summers JL, Chen CH, Bitan G. RNA aptamers generated against oligomeric Abeta40 recognize common amyloid aptatopes with low specificity but high sensitivity. PLoS One. 2009 Nov 10; 4(11):e7694. view on PubMed

Bernstein SL, Dupuis NF, Lazo ND, Wyttenbach T, Condron MM, Bitan G, Teplow DB, Shea JE, Ruotolo BT, Robinson CV, Bowers MT. Amyloid-β protein oligomerization and the importance of tetramers and dodecamers in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. Nat Chem. 2009 Jul; 1(4):326-31. view on PubMed

Maji SK, Ogorzalek Loo RR, Inayathullah M, Spring SM, Vollers SS, Condron MM, Bitan G, Loo JA, Teplow DB. Amino acid position-specific contributions to amyloid beta-protein oligomerization. J Biol Chem. 2009 Aug 28; 284(35):23580-91. view on PubMed

Wu C, Murray MM, Bernstein SL, Condron MM, Bitan G, Shea JE, Bowers MT. The structure of Abeta42 C-terminal fragments probed by a combined experimental and theoretical study. J Mol Biol. 2009 Mar 27; 387(2):492-501. view on PubMed

Rahimi F, Maiti P, Bitan G. Photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP) applied to amyloidogenic peptides. J Vis Exp. 2009 Jan 12; (23). view on PubMed

Fradinger EA, Monien BH, Urbanc B, Lomakin A, Tan M, Li H, Spring SM, Condron MM, Cruz L, Xie CW, Benedek GB, Bitan G. C-terminal peptides coassemble into Abeta42 oligomers and protect neurons against Abeta42-induced neurotoxicity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Sep 16; 105(37):14175-80. view on PubMed

Rahimi F, Shanmugam A, Bitan G. Structure-function relationships of pre-fibrillar protein assemblies in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2008 Jun; 5(3):319-41. view on PubMed

Condron MM, Monien BH, Bitan G. Synthesis and Purification of Highly Hydrophobic Peptides Derived from the C-Terminus of Amyloid β-Protein. Open Biotechnol J. 2008 Jan 01; 2(1):87-93. view on PubMed

Yun S, Urbanc B, Cruz L, Bitan G, Teplow DB, Stanley HE. Role of electrostatic interactions in amyloid beta-protein (A beta) oligomer formation: a discrete molecular dynamics study. Biophys J. 2007 Jun 01; 92(11):4064-77. view on PubMed

Monien BH, Apostolova LG, Bitan G. Early diagnostics and therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease--how early can we get there? Expert Rev Neurother. 2006 Sep; 6(9):1293-306. view on PubMed

Teplow DB, Lazo ND, Bitan G, Bernstein S, Wyttenbach T, Bowers MT, Baumketner A, Shea JE, Urbanc B, Cruz L, Borreguero J, Stanley HE. Elucidating amyloid beta-protein folding and assembly: A multidisciplinary approach. Acc Chem Res. 2006 Sep; 39(9):635-45. view on PubMed

Seabrook TJ, Thomas K, Jiang L, Bloom J, Spooner E, Maier M, Bitan G, Lemere CA. Dendrimeric Abeta1-15 is an effective immunogen in wildtype and APP-tg mice. Neurobiol Aging. 2007 Jun; 28(6):813-23. view on PubMed

Baumketner A, Bernstein SL, Wyttenbach T, Bitan G, Teplow DB, Bowers MT, Shea JE. Amyloid beta-protein monomer structure: a computational and experimental study. Protein Sci. 2006 Mar; 15(3):420-8. view on PubMed

Bitan G. Structural study of metastable amyloidogenic protein oligomers by photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins. Methods Enzymol. 2006; 413:217-36. view on PubMed

Fradinger EA, Bitan G. En route to early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease--are we there yet? Trends Biotechnol. 2005 Nov; 23(11):531-3. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Fradinger EA, Spring SM, Teplow DB. Neurotoxic protein oligomers--what you see is not always what you get. Amyloid. 2005 Jun; 12(2):88-95. view on PubMed

Bernstein SL, Wyttenbach T, Baumketner A, Shea JE, Bitan G, Teplow DB, Bowers MT. Amyloid beta-protein: monomer structure and early aggregation states of Abeta42 and its Pro19 alloform. J Am Chem Soc. 2005 Feb 23; 127(7):2075-84. view on PubMed

Vollers SS, Teplow DB, Bitan G. Determination of Peptide oligomerization state using rapid photochemical crosslinking. Methods Mol Biol. 2005; 299:11-8. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Teplow DB. Preparation of aggregate-free, low molecular weight amyloid-beta for assembly and toxicity assays. Methods Mol Biol. 2005; 299:3-9. view on PubMed

Urbanc B, Cruz L, Yun S, Buldyrev SV, Bitan G, Teplow DB, Stanley HE. In silico study of amyloid beta-protein folding and oligomerization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec 14; 101(50):17345-50. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Teplow DB. Rapid photochemical cross-linking--a new tool for studies of metastable, amyloidogenic protein assemblies. Acc Chem Res. 2004 Jun; 37(6):357-64. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Tarus B, Vollers SS, Lashuel HA, Condron MM, Straub JE, Teplow DB. A molecular switch in amyloid assembly: Met35 and amyloid beta-protein oligomerization. J Am Chem Soc. 2003 Dec 17; 125(50):15359-65. view on PubMed

Monsonego A, Zota V, Karni A, Krieger JI, Bar-Or A, Bitan G, Budson AE, Sperling R, Selkoe DJ, Weiner HL. Increased T cell reactivity to amyloid beta protein in older humans and patients with Alzheimer disease. J Clin Invest. 2003 Aug; 112(3):415-22. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Vollers SS, Teplow DB. Elucidation of primary structure elements controlling early amyloid beta-protein oligomerization. J Biol Chem. 2003 Sep 12; 278(37):34882-9. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Kirkitadze MD, Lomakin A, Vollers SS, Benedek GB, Teplow DB. Amyloid beta -protein (Abeta) assembly: Abeta 40 and Abeta 42 oligomerize through distinct pathways. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jan 07; 100(1):330-5. view on PubMed

Sun B, Fan W, Balciunas A, Cooper JK, Bitan G, Steavenson S, Denis PE, Young Y, Adler B, Daugherty L, Manoukian R, Elliott G, Shen W, Talvenheimo J, Teplow DB, Haniu M, Haldankar R, Wypych J, Ross CA, Citron M, Richards WG. Polyglutamine repeat length-dependent proteolysis of huntingtin. Neurobiol Dis. 2002 Oct; 11(1):111-22. view on PubMed

Kirkitadze MD, Bitan G, Teplow DB. Paradigm shifts in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders: the emerging role of oligomeric assemblies. J Neurosci Res. 2002 Sep 01; 69(5):567-77. view on PubMed

Scheibler L, Mierke DF, Bitan G, Rosenblatt M, Chorev M. Identification of a contact domain between echistatin and the integrin alpha(v)beta(3) by photoaffinity cross-linking. Biochemistry. 2001 Dec 18; 40(50):15117-26. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Lomakin A, Teplow DB. Amyloid beta-protein oligomerization: prenucleation interactions revealed by photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins. J Biol Chem. 2001 Sep 14; 276(37):35176-84. view on PubMed

Inbar O, Liefshitz B, Bitan G, Kupiec M. The relationship between homology length and crossing over during the repair of a broken chromosome. J Biol Chem. 2000 Oct 06; 275(40):30833-8. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Scheibler L, Mierke DF, Rosenblatt M, Chorev M. Ligand-integrin alpha v beta 3 interaction determined by photoaffinity cross-linking: a challenge to the prevailing model. Biochemistry. 2000 Sep 12; 39(36):11014-23. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Scheibler L, Teng H, Rosenblatt M, Chorev M. Design and evaluation of benzophenone-containing conformationally constrained ligands as tools for photoaffinity scanning of the integrin alphaVbeta3-ligand bimolecular interaction. J Pept Res. 2000 Mar; 55(3):181-94. view on PubMed

Behar V, Bisello A, Bitan G, Rosenblatt M, Chorev M. Photoaffinity cross-linking identifies differences in the interactions of an agonist and an antagonist with the parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related protein receptor. J Biol Chem. 2000 Jan 07; 275(1):9-17. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Scheibler L, Greenberg Z, Rosenblatt M, Chorev M. Mapping the integrin alpha V beta 3-ligand interface by photoaffinity cross-linking. Biochemistry. 1999 Mar 16; 38(11):3414-20. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Sukhotinsky I, Mashriki Y, Hanani M, Selinger Z, Gilon C. Synthesis and biological activity of novel backbone-bicyclic substance-P analogs containing lactam and disulfide bridges. J Pept Res. 1997 May; 49(5):421-6. view on PubMed

Muller D, Zeltser I, Bitan G, Gilon C. Building Units for N-Backbone Cyclic Peptides. 3. Synthesis of Protected N(alpha)-(omega-Aminoalkyl)amino Acids and N(alpha)-(omega-Carboxyalkyl)amino Acids. J Org Chem. 1997 Jan 24; 62(2):411-416. view on PubMed

Behrens S, Mathä B, Bitan G, Gilon C, Kessler H. Structure-activity relationship of the ring portion in backbone-cyclic C-terminal hexapeptide analogs of substance P. NMR and molecular dynamics. Int J Pept Protein Res. 1996 Dec; 48(6):569-79. view on PubMed

Byk G, Halle D, Zeltser I, Bitan G, Selinger Z, Gilon C. Synthesis and biological activity of NK-1 selective, N-backbone cyclic analogs of the C-terminal hexapeptide of substance P. J Med Chem. 1996 Aug 02; 39(16):3174-8. view on PubMed

Bitan G, Zeltser I, Byk G, Halle D, Mashriki Y, Gluhov EV, Sukhotinsky I, Hanani M, Selinger Z, Gilon C. Backbone cyclization of the C-terminal part of substance P. Part 1: The important role of the sulphur in position 11. J Pept Sci. 1996 Jul-Aug; 2(4):261-9. view on PubMed