Biotech Updates

Scientists Reveal a Gene Related to Alzheimer's Disease Using CRISPR

November 7, 2018

Cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is mostly sporadic, making it difficult for scientists to determine how the disease starts and develops. Notably, researcher Carlos Pascual-Caro from University of Extremadura in Spain and colleagues pave a step forward into finding a cure for the disease by discovering a gene linked to Alzheimer's.

In their article published in Journal of Molecular Medicine, they described the discovery of the STIM1 gene and how CRISPR helped in verifying its function and mechanism. By analyzing brain tissues from deceased AD patients and normal patients, researchers found deficiency in STIM1 in AD patients. Through CRISPR, the researchers discovered that deletion of the gene results to reduced transport of calcium ions through the plasma membrane, which causes the cell to die. 

For more information, read the articles in Synthego and Journal of Molecular Medicine.