Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Alzheimer's Disease Features Dialed Down in Mice Missing Methylation-Related Gene

In PLOS Biology, researchers at the Fourth Military Medical University and other centers in China present findings from a mouse model study that found diminished Alzheimer's disease (AD) features in animals missing a methyltransferase enzyme, highlighting the potential importance of m6A RNA methylation in the neurodegenerative condition. By dialing down expression of the methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) in monocyte-derived macrophage immune cells, the team initially found that it could ease some of the cognitive symptoms in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Then in a series of follow-up cell line experiments, they demonstrate that the absence of METTL3 kicks off a series of events affecting DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) translation, downstream alpha-tubulin modification, and subsequent migration by amyloid beta-clearing macrophage cells via altered m6A methylation. "We found that METTL3 ablation enhances the infiltration of monocyte-derived macrophages in an [amyloid beta-induced Alzheimer's disease] mouse model," the authors report, adding that the findings "suggest that m6A modifications are potential targets for the treatment of AD," the authors report, adding that "upstream regulation of METTL3 in AD remains to be explored in the future."

The Scan

ChatGPT Does As Well As Humans Answering Genetics Questions, Study Finds

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics had ChatGPT answer genetics-related questions, finding it was about 68 percent accurate, but sometimes gave different answers to the same question.

Sequencing Analysis Examines Gene Regulatory Networks of Honeybee Soldier, Forager Brains

Researchers in Nature Ecology & Evolution find gene regulatory network differences between soldiers and foragers, suggesting bees can take on either role.

Analysis of Ashkenazi Jewish Cohort Uncovers New Genetic Loci Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

The study in Alzheimer's & Dementia highlighted known genes, but also novel ones with biological ties to Alzheimer's disease.

Tara Pacific Expedition Project Team Finds High Diversity Within Coral Reef Microbiome

In papers appearing in Nature Communications and elsewhere, the team reports on findings from the two-year excursion examining coral reefs.