Research led by the Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology group of the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has identified a new Alzheimer’s biomarker that would be present in the early stages of this type of dementia when those affected are not yet manifest symptoms, which would allow the disease to be diagnosed early in asymptomatic stages.
This is the miR-519a-3p molecule, a micro RNA that is directly related to the expression of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) and is deregulated in people who suffer from some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The discovery of stable and easy-to-detect biomarkers in biofluids (such as microRNAs) offers new options for the detection of Alzheimer’s in the initial asymptomatic stages, which could help diagnose and treat this disease that affects more than 35 people from the beginning. millions of people around the world.
“Currently, tests to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease are usually performed after the first symptoms appear, when there is already an underlying cognitive impairment,” explained Professor José Antonio del Río, from the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) of the UB, who is principal investigator of IBEC and co-leader of the study.
“We believe that the detection of this micro RNA can help establish additional criteria for a more precise diagnosis in the initial phases of the disease,” adds del Río, who is also a member of the Networked Biomedical Research Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED). .
First study linking the miR-519a-3p molecule with Alzheimer’s
It is known that the expression of some microRNAs is deregulated in patients with Alzheimer’s. The new study has been published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Basis of Disease and is the first to specifically relate this micro RNA to the decrease in the production of cellular prion protein during the progression of the disease.
“We confirm that the changes in the miR-519a-3p molecule are specific to Alzheimer’s disease”
The researchers have also comparatively analyzed the presence of the biomarker in samples of other neurodegenerative diseases. “If our goal is to use miR-519a-3p as a biomarker to detect Alzheimer’s dementia in hypothetically healthy people, it is key to ensure that its levels are not altered in other neurodegenerative diseases. In our study, we compared the levels of this biomarker in samples from other tauopathies and Parkinson’s, and we confirmed that the changes in the miR-519a-3p molecule are specific to Alzheimer’s disease,” details Professor Rosalina Gavín (UB-UBneuro -IBEC-CIBERER), who is co-leader of the study.
The team will continue to advance in this line of study, as indicated by Dayaneth Jácome, member of the research group led by José Antonio del Río and first author of the study. “The next step is to validate miR-519a-3p as a biomarker in blood samples from different patient cohorts, in order to begin using it in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in peripheral samples.”
Sources: Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the University of Barcelona
