Identifying microRNAs related to Alzheimer's disease from differential methylation signatures

• We aimed to pinpoint key miRNAs that might bear significant relation to the cause of AD.
• We observed differential methylation patterns in AD subjects against the normal individuals.
• The differential methylation signatures revealed 19 miRNAs that regulate genes related to AD.

Understanding the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still a challenge because of the many layers of complexity that involves gene regulation and control. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a kind of regulatory molecules that are responsible for the precise control of genes through translational inhibition or mRNA degradation. DNA methylation on the other hand, is a dynamic chemical modification primarily on the cytosine of a CG dinucleotide. These modifications are mostly found in the promoter regions of genes and aid in their tissue-specific silencing. Abnormal methylation patterns can therefore give rise to unwanted gene expression and silencing leading to a disease phenotype. Our study is aimed to pinpoint key miRNAs that might bear significant relation to the cause of AD, through the identification of differential methylation patterns in AD subjects against the normal individuals. By studying the differential methylation signatures, our analyses revealed 19 miRNAs that regulate genes which are directly or indirectly related to the disease manifestation.

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