H4K16ac is a key modification in human health because it regulates cellular responses to stress and DNA damage.
In addition, the team discovered an association between the location of H4K16ac changes and genetic variants identified in prior AD genome-wide association studies.
“We found that while normal aging leads to H4K16ac enrichment, AD entails dramatic losses of H4K16ac in the proximity of genes linked to aging and AD.
This finding indicates that certain normal aging changes in the epigenome may actually protect against AD and when these go awry, a person may become predisposed to AD.
Our results establish the basis for an epigenetic link between aging and AD,” the authors concluded.
Posts tagged as “Epigentics”
But the way in which molecular processes of ageing predispose people to AD, or become impaired in AD remains a mystery.
Changes to the way H4K16ac is modified along the genome in disease versus normal ageing brains may signify places for future drug development.
Because changes in H4K16ac govern how genes are expressed, the location and amount of epigenetic alterations is called the "epigenetic landscape."
This finding indicates that certain normal ageing changes in the epigenome may actually protect against AD and when these goes awry, a person may become predisposed to AD.
Publication: Dysregulation of the epigenetic landscape of normal aging in Alzheimer’s disease.