Mouse gene tests explore Alzheimer’s and the mechanics of smell

Alzheimer’s disease is thought to have a significant link to reduced generation of neurons.

To investigate this link, the researchers, led by Yacine Tensaouti, studied the mechanisms involved in the production of new hippocampus neurons, looking at the role of a gene called Apolipoprotein E (ApoE). A variant of this gene, called ApoE4, is present in 10 to 20% of the human population and is associated with the development of late-onset Alzheimer’s.

Mice were genetically modified to either be completely deficient of ApoE, produce human ApoE4, or produce ApoE3 – the most common form of ApoE in humans and not associated with any disease risk.

They found that both the ApoE-deficient and ApoE4-expressing mice had severely reduced complexity in their newly produced hippocampus neurons, compared to both normal mice and those which expressed ApoE3.

This, they suggest, shows the central role ApoE expression plays in hippocampus neuron growth and development.

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