St. Jude Researchers Launch PanNDA Atlas Mapping 10,000 Proteins to Identify New Neurodegenerative Disease Subtypes

The new PanNDA atlas identifies distinct subtypes of Alzheimer's and dementia, providing 20+ new biomarkers for more accurate neurodegenerative diagnosis.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 24, 2026, 5:18 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Decoding the Proteomic Fingerprints of the Brain

Neurodegenerative diseases have long been viewed as a tangled web of overlapping symptoms and molecular signatures, making precise diagnosis a significant clinical challenge. To decode this complexity, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai developed the pan-neurodegeneration atlas (PanNDA). This resource represents the first large-scale, deep analysis of its kind, covering more than 10,000 proteins in the human brain. By mapping protein levels, modifications, and interactions, the atlas provides a comprehensive outlook on how misfolded proteins disrupt biological networks, upstream effectors, and downstream pathways across the neurological landscape.

Identifying Hidden Subtypes Within Major Diseases

One of the most significant revelations from the PanNDA project is that many conditions previously thought of as single diseases are actually composed of distinct molecular subtypes. The research team analyzed the proteomes of 2,279 individuals and discovered three major subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease, four in Lewy body dementia, and four in frontotemporal degeneration. According to senior author Dr. Junmin Peng, these findings are a major step toward precision medicine. The team identified over 20 proteins that can serve as specific biomarkers to separate Alzheimer’s into these three newly defined categories, providing a vital tool for clinical trials and diagnostic accuracy.

Building Predictive Networks for Therapeutic Targeting

The atlas does more than catalog proteins; it builds complex networks that link disease drivers to other affected proteins. This allows researchers to distinguish between common "fingerprints" shared by all neurodegenerative diseases and those unique to a specific condition. Dr. Bin Zhang noted that these protein subnetworks reveal the global landscape of interactions in the brain, pointing to key "candidate driver proteins" that likely play a causal role in the progression of the disease. By identifying these drivers, scientists can move beyond treating symptoms and begin developing therapeutic interventions that target the actual roots of pathogenesis.