Lead researcher Huaxi Xu started to unravel this mystery a few years back when he and his colleagues began examining the function of a brain cell protein called sorting nexin 27 (SNX27). Mice that were missing the gene for this protein were found to present similar brain characteristics to individuals with Down’s syndrome, and humans with this condition presented depleted SNX27 levels. Further digging revealed that this protein is necessary for the maintenance of a crucial cell surface receptor that is necessary for neurons to communicate. Without SNX27, neuronal activity is reduced and thus learning and memory is compromised.
But the complex story doesn’t end there. In the new study, the researchers revealed that the extra chromosome present in individuals with Down’s syndrome, chromosome 21, results in increased levels of a small RNA molecule called miRNA-155. This molecule doesn’t contain the instructions for the production of a protein like many stretches of RNA, but instead decreases the production of SNX27.
Lead researcher Huaxi Xu started to unravel this mystery a few years back when he and his colleagues began examining the function of a brain cell protein called sorting nexin 27 (SNX27). Mice that were missing the gene for this protein were found to present similar brain characteristics to individuals with Down’s syndrome, and humans with this condition presented depleted SNX27 levels. Further digging revealed that this protein is necessary for the maintenance of a crucial cell surface receptor that is necessary for neurons to communicate. Without SNX27, neuronal activity is reduced and thus learning and memory is compromised.But the complex story doesn’t end there. In the new study, the researchers revealed that the extra chromosome present in individuals with Down’s syndrome, chromosome 21, results in increased levels of a small RNA molecule called miRNA-155. This molecule doesn’t contain the instructions for the production of a protein like many stretches of RNA, but instead decreases the production of SNX27.
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