A team of researchers, led by Chunshui Yu and Mulin Jun Li of Tianjin Medical University, has identified two new genes possibly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. It was discovered by examining which genes were turned on and off in the hippocampus of people who suffered from the disease. Furthermore, in order to better understand the contribution of various genes in the progression of this heritable disease, the researchers recognized genes expressed at higher or lower levels in the hippocampus of people with Alzheimer’s disease compared to healthy brains.
Through the study, the researchers had discovered 24 Alzheimer’s-related genes that seem to influence the hippocampus, using previous genomic and hippocampus gene expression data. While many genes were already known to contribute to the disease, two new genes, PTPN9 and PCDHA4 were identified as well. Additionally, multiple genes are included in regards to biological processes related to Alzheimer’s disease, such as plaque formation and cell death. Overall, the new findings enhance our perception of the genetic and cellular mechanisms that cause Alzheimer’s disease.
To Know More, You May Refer To:
Nana Liu, Jiayuan Xu, Huaigui Liu, Shijie Zhang, Miaoxin Li, Yao Zhou, Wen Qin, Mulin Jun Li, Chunshui Yu. Hippocampal transcriptome-wide association study and neurobiological pathway analysis for Alzheimer’s disease. PLOS Genetics, 2021; 17 (2): e1009363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009363 1 Liu, N., Xu, J., Liu, H., Zhang, S., Li, M., Zhou, Y., Qin, W., Li, M. J., & Yu, C. (2021). Hippocampal transcriptome-wide association study and neurobiological pathway analysis for Alzheimer’s disease. PLOS Genetics, 17(2), e1009363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009363