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Alzheimer's disease transcriptional landscape in ex-vivo human microglia

Panos Roussos1, Roman Kosoy1, John Fullard1

  • 1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Research Square
|February 12, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Microglia, the brain's immune cells, show significant transcriptional changes in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This study reveals how these changes impact disease severity and offers potential therapeutic targets for AD.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Microglia are crucial brain immune cells involved in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathogenesis.
  • The specific molecular and cellular mechanisms governing microglial function in AD remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the transcriptional landscape of microglia across a spectrum of human brain aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) phenotypes.
  • To identify molecular changes in microglia associated with AD severity and neuropathology.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of transcriptional profiles from 189 human postmortem brain samples, including healthy aging and various AD stages.
  • Examination of gene expression, isoform usage, and gene-gene coordination within microglia.

Main Results:

  • Identified widespread transcriptional alterations in microglia linked to multiple AD phenotypes and disease severity.
  • Discovered heterogeneous isoform usage and altered gene-gene coordination in AD microglia.
  • Revealed distinct microglial gene expression patterns corresponding to different AD subtypes.

Conclusions:

  • Microglia play a pivotal role in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) biology, with significant transcriptional dysregulation observed.
  • The study provides novel insights into microglial heterogeneity in AD.
  • Identified potential therapeutic targets for intervention in AD based on microglial gene expression changes.

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