Scientists have discovered that certain RNA molecules in nerve cells in the brain last a lifetime without being renewed.
Neurologists from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have now demonstrated this in research carried out in collaboration with researchers from Germany, Austria and the United States.
RNAs are generally short-lived molecules that constantly rebuild to adapt to environmental conditions.
With these findings, which were published Thursday in the journal Science, the research group hopes to decipher the complex process of brain aging and better understand related degenerative diseases. 360medical.ro.
Most cells in the human body are renewed regularly, thus maintaining their vitality.
However, there are exceptions: the heart, pancreas and brain are made up of cells that do not renew themselves throughout life and which, however, must remain in perfect working order.
“Aging neurons are an important risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” says Prof. Dr. Tomohisa Toda, professor of neural epigenomics at FAU and the Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine in Erlangen.
Understanding what underlies the aging process and the key components involved in maintaining cellular function is crucial for effective treatment concepts, the researchers say.
In a joint study with neuroscientists from Dresden, La Jolla (USA) and Klosterneuburg (Austria), the working group has now identified a key component of brain aging: the researchers were able to demonstrate for the first time that certain types of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that protects genetic material has been around as long as neurons themselves.
“This is surprising because, unlike DNA, which as a rule never changes, most RNA molecules have an extremely short lifetime and are constantly being changed,” the authors explain.
In addition, the researchers found that the long-lived RNAs, which they named LL-RNAs, tend to be located in the nuclei of cells, tightly bound to chromatin, a complex of DNA and proteins that make up chromosomes.
This indicates that LL-RNA plays a key role in chromatin regulation.
To confirm this hypothesis, the team reduced the concentration of LL-RNA in an in vitro experiment with adult neural stem cell models, with the result that chromatin integrity was severely affected.
“We are convinced that LL-RNA plays an important role in the long-term regulation of genome stability and thus in the life-long preservation of nerve cells,” explains Prof. Dr. Toda.
Future research projects should provide deeper insight into the biophysical mechanisms underlying the long-term conservation of LL-RNAs.
The team set out to learn more about their biological function in chromatin regulation and what effect aging has on all these mechanisms.
2024-04-07 06:13:32
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