Breast cancer gene BRCA1 may be practicing in Alzheimer's disease

The researchers, from the nonprofit Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, CA, and the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF), savings account their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

Senior author Lennart Mucke, a professor of neuroscience once roles in both organizations, says:

"It's certainly fascinating that one molecule can be critically operational in two apparently opposing conditions: cancer, in which too many cells are born and neurodegenerative sickness, in which too many brain cells die off."

The discovery of the BRCA1 gene forward-thinking than 20 years ago was a turning reduction in cancer research. It led to a blood test to see for family mutations related to breast and ovarian cancers. According to the most recent estimates, surrounded by women who comply a harmful BRCA1 mutation, 55-65% will fabricate breast cancer and 39% will manufacture ovarian cancer by the age of 70.

BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor gene that plays an important role in DNA repair. Inside cells, DNA exists as a double helix comprising two strands, considering a twisted ladder. Now and gone behind more, breaks occur in the DNA strands, which are normally resolved by repair proteins related to BRCA1. Broken strands that are not repaired normally put into charity cell suicide.

There is a view that defects in DNA repair may contribute to brain disorders bearing in mind Alzheimer's - a sickness that causes death of brain cells and is in addition to characterized by construct-occurring of faulty amyloid proteins in and happening for brain cells. However, it is not sure whether these proteins cause the brain cells to die or whether they are a byproduct of some adding taking place cause of the illness.

Amyloid clumps log on BRCA1 and DNA repair, causing cell loss

In their scrutiny, the researchers found shortened levels of BRCA1 protein - but not connection DNA repair proteins - in the brains of patients who had died when Alzheimer's revolution and then in the brains of mice bred to manufacture a form of Alzheimer's.

Also, later they out cold the BRCA1 gene in parts of the brains of healthy mice, it led to increased breaks in DNA and various neurological impairments.

And in substitute portion of the psychiatry, the team found that reducing brain levels of BRCA1 in healthy mice caused them to fabricate problems once learning and memory.

Further psychiatry as soon as mouse models of Alzheimer's revealed even greater problems as soon as learning and memory behind reductions in BRCA1.

The researchers with found that calculation amyloid protein precursor molecules to brain cells growing in culture shortened levels of BRCA1.

The team suggests that the accretion of the faulty amyloid protein in the brain lowers levels of BRCA1 protein, which results in increased DNA strange in brain cells, and this in position leads to dementia.