The BRCA1 gene mutation that some now call “the Angelina Jolie gene” since the actress announced that she had itincreases the risk of develop breast cancer before the age of menopause and also the risk of developing ovarian cancer before the age of 40. But scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Diseases in California (USA) have just discovered that this BRCA1 protein is also depleted in patients with Alzheimer’s diseasewhich suggests that it would be essential for maintaining healthy brain cells.
An essential protein for repairing brain cells
BRCA1 helps repair certain types of DNA damage that can occur when cells are “injured”. It thus intervenes in the remodeling of cells when we learn something new. By conducting trials in mice, scientists found that without this repair, DNA damage caused memory and learning problems.
Since Alzheimer’s disease is associated with similar cognitive problems, scientists wondered if they could be due to a lack of BRCA1 proteins. When they studied the brains of Alzheimer’s patients post-mortem, they found that the BRCA1 protein was reduced by up to 75% in some patients.
The researchers will now test whether increasing the level of BRCA1 protein, after therapeutic manipulation in mice, could prevent or reverse neurodegeneration and memory problems.
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