Gene expression profiles of metabolic enzyme transcripts in Alzheimer's disease

Brain Res. 2007 Jan 5;1127(1):127-35. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2006.09.106. Epub 2006 Nov 15.

Abstract

The successfully functioning brain is a heavy user of metabolic energy. Alzheimer's disease, in which cognitive faculties decline, may be due, at least in part, to metabolic insufficiency. Using microarray analysis and quantitative RT-PCR, the expression of mRNA transcripts involved in glucose metabolism was investigated in Alzheimer's diseased post-mortem human hippocampal samples. Of the 51 members of the glycolytic, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and associated pathways investigated by qPCR, 15 were confirmed to be statistically significantly (p<0.05) down-regulated in Alzheimer's disease. This finding suggests that reductions in the levels of transcripts encoded by genes that participate in energy metabolism may be involved in Alzheimer's disease.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alzheimer Disease / enzymology*
  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics*
  • Alzheimer Disease / physiopathology
  • Brain / enzymology*
  • Brain / physiopathology
  • Citric Acid Cycle / genetics
  • Down-Regulation / genetics
  • Energy Metabolism / genetics
  • Enzymes / genetics*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / genetics*
  • Glycolysis / genetics
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Metabolic Networks and Pathways / genetics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Oxidative Phosphorylation
  • RNA, Messenger / analysis
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Substances

  • Enzymes
  • RNA, Messenger