Neurobiology of Aging
Neurobiology of Aging
5 years ago

Systems genetics identifies Hp1bp3 as a novel modulator of cognitive aging

An individual's genetic makeup plays an important role in determining susceptibility to cognitive aging. Identifying the specific genes that contribute to cognitive aging may aid in early diagnosis of at-risk patients, as well as identify novel therapeutics targets to treat or prevent development of symptoms. Challenges to identifying these specific genes in human studies include complex genetics, difficulty in controlling environmental factors, and limited access to human brain tissue. Here, we identify Hp1bp3 as a novel modulator of cognitive aging using a genetically diverse population of mice and confirm that HP1BP3 protein levels are significantly reduced in the hippocampi of cognitively impaired elderly humans relative to cognitively intact controls. Deletion of functional Hp1bp3 in mice recapitulates memory deficits characteristic of aged impaired mice and humans, further supporting the idea that Hp1bp3 and associated molecular networks are modulators of cognitive aging. Overall, our results suggest Hp1bp3 may serve as a potential target against cognitive aging and demonstrate the utility of genetically diverse animal models for the study of complex human disease.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0197458016301087

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.