Ankrd16 gene prevents Alzheimer’s disease, study finds

In a recent study, researchers found out about this gene. Scientists know that faulty proteins can cause harmful deposits or “aggregates” in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Although the causes of these protein deposits remain a mystery, it is known that abnormal aggregates can result when cells fail to transmit proper genetic information to proteins.

Usually, the information transfer from gene to protein is carefully controlled–biologically “proofread” and corrected–to avoid the production of improper proteins. Researchers found that the Ankrd16 gene rescued specific neurons–called Purkinje cells –that die when proofreading fails.

Without normal levels of Ankrd16, these nerve cells, located in the cerebellum, incorrectly activate the amino acid serine, which is then improperly incorporated into proteins and causes protein aggregation.

“Simplified, you may think of Ankrd16 as acting like a sponge or a ‘failsafe’ that captures incorrectly activated serine and prevents this amino acid from being improperly incorporated into proteins, which is particularly helpful when the ability of nerve cells to proofread and correct mistakes declines,” said a researcher, Ackerman.