The Wang Lab recently published a paper in Nature Communications. The paper, “Epigenetic dysregulation of enhancers in neurons is associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathology and cognitive symptoms,” shows that “AD neurons have a large cluster of significantly hypomethylated enhancers in the DSCAML1 gene that targets BACE1. Hypomethylation of these enhancers in AD is associated with an upregulation of BACE1 transcripts and an increase in amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and cognitive decline,” the authors write in the paper. Ting Wang, Professor of Genetics, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Sanford and Karen Loewentheil Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is senior author on the paper.
The Wang Lab collaborated with researchers from Van Andel Research Institute for the study. Their work was highlighted in a recent ScienceDaily article. Congratulations, all!