Base excision repair, initiated by DNA glycosylases, preserves genomic integrity by removing damaged bases. DNA glycosylases Ogg1 and Mutyh were shown to alter the hippocampal transcriptome independently of DNA damage repair. However, the role of DNA glycosylases as transcriptional regulators and their involvement in cognition remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Polygenic hazard score (PHS) models can be used to predict the age-associated risk for complex diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we present an improved PHS model for AD that incorporates a large number of genetic variants and demonstrates enhanced predictive accuracy for age of onset in European populations compared to alternative models.
Methods: We used the genotyped European Alzheimer & Dementia Biobank (EADB) sample (n=42,120) to develop and evaluate the performance of the PHS model.
Among the more than 90 identified genetic risk loci for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias, the apolipoprotein E gene () ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism remains the longstanding benchmark for genetic disease risk with a consistently large effect across studies. Despite this massive signal, the exact mechanisms for how ε4 increases and for how ε2 decreases dementia risk is not well-understood. Importantly, recent trials of anti-amyloid therapies suggest less efficacy and higher risks of severe side effects in s4 carriers, hampering the treatment of those with the highest unmet need.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg
April 2025
Diagnostics of mitochondrial disease requires a combination of clinical evaluations and biochemical characterization. However, the large normal variation in mitochondrial complex activity limits the precision of biochemical diagnostics. Thus, identifying factors that contribute to such variations could enhance diagnostic accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult neurogenesis in the hippocampus, involving the generation and integration of new neurons, is essential for behavioral pattern separation, which supports accurate memory recall and cognitive plasticity. Here, we explore the role of the DNA repair protein NEIL3 in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and behavioral pattern separation. NEIL3 is required for efficient proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neonatal NSPCs and adult-born NPCs in the hippocampus following a behavioral pattern separation task.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG) is one of the most abundant oxidative lesions in the genome and is associated with genome instability. Its mutagenic potential is counteracted by a concerted action of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) and mutY homolog DNA glycosylase (MUTYH). It has been suggested that OG and its repair has epigenetic-like properties and mediates transcription, but genome-wide evidence of this interdependence is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe NTHL1 and NEIL1-3 DNA glycosylases are major enzymes in the removal of oxidative DNA base lesions, via the base excision repair (BER) pathway. It is expected that lack of these DNA glycosylases activities would render cells vulnerable to oxidative stress, promoting cell death. Intriguingly, we found that single, double, triple, and quadruple DNA glycosylase knockout HAP1 cells are, however, more resistant to oxidative stress caused by genotoxic agents than wild type cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Given that exercise training reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), induces changes in the blood composition and has widespread systemic benefits, it is reasonable to hypothesise that exercised plasma (ExPlas) may have rejuvenative properties. The main objective is to test safety and tolerability of transfusing ExPlas from young, healthy, fit adults to patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early AD. The study is a pilot for a future efficacy study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Identification of proteins and genetic factors that reduce Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology is of importance when searching for novel AD treatments. Heterozygosity of the KL-VS haplotype has been associated with reduced amyloid and tau burden. Whether this association is mediated by the Klotho protein remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative stress generating DNA damage has been shown to be a key characteristic in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, how it affects the pathogenesis of AD is not yet fully understood. Neil3 is a DNA glycosylase initiating repair of oxidative DNA base lesions and with a distinct expression pattern in proliferating cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human brain requires a high rate of oxygen consumption to perform intense metabolic activities, accounting for 20% of total body oxygen consumption. This high oxygen uptake results in the generation of free radicals, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, at physiological levels, are beneficial to the proper functioning of fundamental cellular processes. At supraphysiological levels, however, ROS and associated lesions cause detrimental effects in brain cells, commonly observed in several neurodegenerative disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative DNA damage in the brain has been implicated in neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. DNA glycosylases initiate base excision repair (BER), the main pathway for oxidative DNA base lesion repair. NEIL1 and NEIL3 DNA glycosylases affect cognition in mice, while the role of NEIL2 remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Atherogenesis involves a complex interaction between immune cells and lipids, processes greatly influenced by the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotype. The DNA glycosylase NEIL3 has previously been shown to have a role in atherogenesis, though whether this is due to its ability to repair DNA damage or to other non-canonical functions is not yet clear. Hereby, we investigate the role of NEIL3 in atherogenesis, specifically in VSMC phenotypic modulation, which is critical in plaque formation and stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComput Struct Biotechnol J
October 2020
DNA methylation (5mC) and hydroxymethylation (5hmC) are chemical modifications of cytosine bases which play a crucial role in epigenetic gene regulation. However, cost, data complexity and unavailability of comprehensive analytical tools is one of the major challenges in exploring these epigenetic marks. Hydroxymethylation-and Methylation-Sensitive Tag sequencing (HMST-seq) is one of the most cost-effective techniques that enables simultaneous detection of 5mC and 5hmC at single base pair resolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe DNA glycosylase Neil2 is a member of the base excision repair (BER) family of enzymes, which are important for repair of oxidative DNA damage. Specifically, Neil2 participates in repair of oxidized bases in single-stranded DNA of transcriptionally active genes. Mice with genetic ablation of Neil2 (Neil2) display no overt phenotypes, but an age-dependent accumulation of oxidative DNA damage and increased inflammatory responsiveness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDNA Repair (Amst)
September 2019
Endogenous and exogenous oxidative agents continuously damage genomic DNA, with the brain being particularly vulnerable. Thus, preserving genomic integrity is key for brain health and neuronal function. Accumulation of DNA damage is one of the causative factors of ageing and increases the risk of a wide range of neurological disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Following birth asphyxia there is a robust inflammatory response. NLRP3 is a receptor of the innate immune system. Upon activation, NLRP3 forms an inflammasome together with ASC and procaspase-1 to mediate release of IL-1β and IL-18.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDNA Repair (Amst)
January 2018
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) resides in close proximity to metabolic reactions, and is maintained by the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (Ogg1) and other members of the base excision repair pathway. Here, we tested the hypothesis that changes in liver metabolism as under fasting/feeding conditions would be sensed by liver mtDNA, and that Ogg1 deficient mice might unravel a metabolic phenotype. Wild type (WT) and ogg1 mice were either fed ad libitum or subjected to fasting for 24h, and the corresponding effects on liver gene expression, DNA damage, as well as serum values were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBase excision repair (BER) is a major pathway for removal of DNA base lesions and maintenance of genomic stability, which is essential in cancer prevention. DNA glycosylases recognize and remove specific lesions in the first step of BER. The existence of a number of these enzymes with overlapping substrate specificities has been thought to be the reason why single knock-out models of individual DNA glycosylases are not cancer prone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyocardial infarction (MI) triggers a reparative response involving fibroblast proliferation and differentiation driving extracellular matrix modulation necessary to form a stabilizing scar. Recently, it was shown that a genetic variant of the base excision repair enzyme NEIL3 was associated with increased risk of MI in humans. Here, we report elevated myocardial NEIL3 expression in heart failure patients and marked myocardial upregulation of Neil3 after MI in mice, especially in a fibroblast-enriched cell fraction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBase excision repair (BER) is the major pathway for repair of oxidative DNA damage. Mice with genetic knockout of the BER enzyme Neil3 display compromised neurogenesis in the sub-ventricular zone of the lateral ventricle and sub-granular layer of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. To elucidate the impact of oxidative DNA damage-induced neurogenesis on prion disease we applied the experimental prion disease model on Neil3-deficient mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegulation of innate immune responses and activation of tissue regenerative processes are key elements in the pathophysiology of brain injuries. The promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene was originally identified on a breakpoint of chromosomal translocation t(15;17) associated with acute PML. We have studied the role of PML protein during acute and regenerative phases after hypoxia-ischemia (HI) in brains of neonatal mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Lesional and systemic oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, potentially leading to accumulation of DNA base lesions within atherosclerotic plaques. Although base excision repair (BER) is a major pathway counteracting oxidative DNA damage, our knowledge on BER and accumulation of DNA base lesions in clinical atherosclerosis is scarce. Here, we evaluated the transcriptional profile of a wide spectrum of BER components as well as DNA damage accumulation in atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic arteries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreasing evidence suggests that oxidative DNA damage accumulates in atherosclerosis. Recently, we showed that a genetic variant in the human DNA repair enzyme NEIL3 was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction. Here, we explored the role of Neil3/NEIL3 in atherogenesis by both clinical and experimental approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOgg1 and Mutyh DNA glycosylases cooperate to prevent mutations caused by 8-oxoG, a major premutagenic DNA lesion associated with cognitive decline. We have examined behavior and cognitive function in mice deficient of these glycosylases. Ogg1(-/-)Mutyh(-/-) mice were more active and less anxious, with impaired learning ability.
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