- Small interfering RNAs can silence the machinery that translates certain mRNAs, meaning they can also be used to stop the production of some proteins.
- Researchers have looked at the possibility of reducing neuroinflammation — inflammation in the brain — by stopping the translation of a particular protein known to play a key role.
- The delivery system they developed for it could be used in future research looking at knocking out certain genes in microglia.
Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) target the process by which mRNAs are translated into proteins. mRNA is involved in the translation of DNA, and codes for the proteins that the body needs to make.
One limitation in drug development is that many drugs only travel through the bloodstream, meaning it is difficult to get them to the brain, due to the
This can make treating neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, difficult.
Despite the fact that Alzheimer’s disease is becoming an increasingly prevalent condition, there are still no effective treatments for it.
This year saw the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve the drug aducanumab, which targets beta-amyloid — a key marker of dementia — despite a lack of evidence for its efficacy.
While beta-amyloid remains the primary target for many researchers, there are other potential drug targets that researchers are considering.
Previous research has shown that inflammation is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Many studies have linked the neuroinflammation seen in Alzheimer’s disease to a transcription factor — a protein that turns genes on and off — called PU.1.
In fact, many of the areas of the genome associated with variants that can affect risk of Alzheimer’s disease code for genes regulated by PU.1. It is largely expressed in the microglia, immune cells that exist in the brain, and regulates the expression of genes essential for microglia function.
Now, a team of researchers…
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