On Tuesday, the University of Aveiro announced the discovery of an enzyme responsible for chemical changes in transporter ribonucleic acid (tRNA) molecules, which “opens the way to new diagnoses and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Achieving an earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and at the same time a possible therapeutic alternative to this dementia are the main and promising results of the discovery,” the press release said.
The work of a team of researchers from the University of Aveiro (UA) focused on studying chemical modifications in molecules of a certain type of transport ribonucleic acid “essential for protein synthesis.”
“We found that the expression of an enzyme called ELP3, which is responsible for certain chemical changes in tRNA molecules, is reduced in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as in animal and cellular models of the disease,” the researchers explain.
“This decrease in enzyme expression results in a decrease in the level of chemical modifications that the enzyme catalyzes on specific tRNAs and therefore causes problems in protein production,” they add.
They also found that “by increasing tRNA levels, which are affected by ELP3 reduction, normal protein production in neuronal cells can be restored.”
“These results suggest that tRNA modifications may play an important role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, opening new opportunities for diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this devastating neurodegenerative condition,” they conclude.
According to the research team, the findings “have significant implications for both diagnosis and treatment of the disease.”
The work, led by Ana Raquel Soares, involved scientists Marisa Pereira, Diana Ribeiro, in collaboration with the University of Frankfurt (Germany), Stanford University (USA) and Indiana University (USA).
Following the study, the team received significant recognition from the Alzheimer’s Association, which provided funding to the AD-EpiMark project to continue research, contributing to the development of new treatments and diagnostic tools.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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