New discovery in motor neuron disease and dementia could pave the way to novel treatments
Researchers have identified that tuning up the activity pathway of the DNA's natural repair toolkit -- which normally helps to restore breakages in our genetic material -- could help to prevent the death of nerve cells which trigger neurological diseases. Leading scientists from the University of Sheffield's Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MBB) and its Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) examined the C9orf72 gene which contains six DNA nucleotides -- the building blocks of our DNA where all important cellular information is stored. When this series of nucleotides is expanded and repeated multiple times, neurodegenerative diseases can occur. The expansions of the gene forms genetic material called 'R-loops' which make the DNA vulnerable to breakages. They found that accumulation of R-loops and increased DNA breakage in neurons lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Our cells have their own repair toolkits specially designed...