Iron (Fe) accumulates in the cerebral cortex with age.Numerous studies have shown that progressive iron accumulation in humans substantia nigra (SN) Neuronal abnormalities in the brains of older adults are a major risk factor for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, but not everyone. This is because our bodies have plans to specifically deal with iron overload.
A recent study co-led by Prof. Taejoon Kwon and Prof. Hyung Joon Cho from UNIST’s Department of Biomedical Engineering details neuronal responses to excessive iron accumulation, which is associated with age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
By studying the responses of neurons serial number Targeting age-related iron accumulation, the team determined the transcriptome profile of age-related iron accumulation using rats of different ages and confirmed their iron accumulation using magnetic resonance images. Through additional animal experiments and cell line experiments, they found that two genes (CLU and HERPUD1) responded to age-related iron accumulation and that knockdown of these genes severely impaired cellular tolerance to iron toxicity.
“We speculate that understanding the gene expression profile during age-related iron accumulation could help us elucidate molecular pathways and putative prevention strategies against neurodegenerative diseases,” the team noted.
Their findings are published in the September 2022 issue of aging cells, an open access journal published by John Wiley & Sons. This research was supported by PhDs worldwide. Through a fellowship from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and the University Key Research Institute (UKRI) program. It also received funding from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) and UNIST.
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Material Provided by the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). Originally written by JooHyeon Heo. NOTE: Content may be edited for style and length.
