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Clusterin as a therapeutic target
Wilson MR, Zoubeidi A.. Expert opinion on therapeutic targets, 2016-12-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Introduction Clusterin (CLU) is a stress-activated, ATP-independent molecular chaperone, normally secreted from cells, that is up-regulated in Alzheimer disease and in many cancers. It plays important roles in protein homeostasis/proteostasis, inhibition of cell death pathways, and modulation of pro-survival signalling and transcriptional networks. Changes in the CLU gene locus are highly associated with Alzheimer disease, and many therapy-resistant cancers over-express CLU.
Key findings
- It plays important roles in protein homeostasis/proteostasis, inhibition of cell death pathways, and modulation of pro-survival signalling and transcriptional networks.
- Changes in the CLU gene locus are highly associated with Alzheimer disease, and many therapy-resistant cancers over-express CLU.
- The extensive post-translational processing and heterogeneous oligomerization of CLU have so far prevented any definitive structure determination.
- This in turn has meant that targeting CLU with small molecule inhibitors is challenging.
Why it matters
This review discusses clusterin as a possible therapeutic target, noting that changes in the CLU gene locus are highly associated with Alzheimer's disease. It reports no tested treatment, and notes that structural work needed to target clusterin has so far not been possible.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Expert opinion on therapeutic targets) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets: journal h-index 129 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 145 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 13.2 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 27 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Amina Zoubeidi: h-index 62 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of British Columbia: institution h-index 1,424 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 27978767) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Wilson, M. R., & Zoubeidi, A. (2017). Clusterin as a therapeutic target. Expert opinion on therapeutic targets. https://doi.org/10.1080/14728222.2017.1267142
Vancouver
Wilson MR, Zoubeidi A. Clusterin as a therapeutic target. Expert opinion on therapeutic targets. 2017. doi:10.1080/14728222.2017.1267142. PMID: 27978767.
BibTeX
@article{wilson2017-27978767,
author = {Wilson, M. R. and Zoubeidi, A.},
title = {{Clusterin as a therapeutic target}},
journal = {Expert opinion on therapeutic targets},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1080/14728222.2017.1267142},
pmid = {27978767},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/14728222.2017.1267142}
}
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