Senila möss har fått minnesförmågan åter genom att slå på produktionen av ett enda protein i hippocampus, vilket märker in vissa gener i nervcellerna, och stänger av dem. (Av Ana Oliveira, Thekla Hemstedt och Hilmar Bading, 2012)
Titel: Rescue of aging-associated decline in Dnmt3a2 expression restores cognitive abilities
Författare: Oliveira, Ana M M, Hemstedt, Thekla J, Bading, Hilmar
Publikation: Nat Neurosci
Volym: 15
Nummer: 8
Sidor: 1111-1113
Publicerad: 2012
Sammandrag: Cognitive abilities decline in normal aging, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. We found that aging was associated with a decrease in the expression of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a2 in the hippocampus and that rescuing Dnmt3a2 levels restored cognitive functions. Moreover, we found that Dnmt3a2 is an activity-regulated immediate early gene that is partly dependent on nuclear calcium signaling and that hippocampal Dnmt3a2 levels determine cognitive abilities in both young adult and aged mice.
Länk till original: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn.3151