Discovery of Genes Increasing in Alzheimer's... A New Target

There is a forecast that Alzheimer's disease will spread like an epidemic. (The above photo is not related to the article content). Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A gene that uniquely increases in the blood of Alzheimer's disease patients has been discovered by a domestic research team. This gene is involved in producing or degrading proteins in our body and has been confirmed to regulate the expression of previously unidentified Alzheimer's-inducing proteins. The research team expects that this could present a new target for Alzheimer's disease treatment.

The Korea Brain Research Institute announced on the 19th that Drs. Jae-Yeol Joo and Ki-Hwan Lim were the first to discover the gene (Ube2h) that specifically increases in the blood of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Senior Researcher Joo Jae-yeol and Researcher Lim Ki-hwan are observing the genetic sequencing analysis results of an Alzheimer's disease patient.

The research team identified that among the three enzymes E1, E2, and E3 involved in 'ubiquitination'?which plays a role in producing and degrading proteins to maintain homeostasis in our body?the E2 enzyme was uniquely increased in the blood of Alzheimer's disease patients. Furthermore, through transcriptome analysis, they confirmed that the gene Ube2h, belonging to the E2 enzyme group, was elevated in the blood of Alzheimer's patients. The same change was observed in experimental mice induced with Alzheimer's.

On the other hand, when the expression of the Ube2h gene was artificially suppressed in normal cells, there was little change in the expression of known Alzheimer's causative proteins such as tau and parkin. The research team stated, "The Ube2h gene may regulate the expression of Alzheimer's-inducing proteins that have not yet been identified and suggests that it could serve as a new Alzheimer's disease-specific marker."

A graph illustrating the specific increase in Ube2h gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Dr. Jae-Yeol Joo said, "By utilizing next-generation sequencing technology, we discovered genes that specifically change in Alzheimer's disease and aim to utilize this as big data. We hope to provide a platform for follow-up research in the academic community and to be used as an accurate and rapid dementia diagnosis and treatment target in the industry."

Meanwhile, the research team has filed a patent to utilize the detection of the Ube2h gene in blood for Alzheimer's diagnosis and treatment. They plan to develop a dementia diagnostic kit targeting Ube2h in blood through future technology transfer. The results of this study were published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.