Abbreviation:

EPI-AD

Title:

Targeting epigenetic dysregulation in the brainstem in Alzheimer’s Disease.

In short:

International collaboration on establishing the epigenetic footprint in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Tags:

Human R&D

Funding scheme:

European Joint Programme Cofund (JPcofuND)

Time frame:

1 July 2016 to 1 August 2019

Weblink:

http://www.epi-ad.eu/

Description:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder resulting in progressive cognitive impairment. Previous work indicates that so-called epigenetic mechanisms (i.e. reversible changes to the DNA induced by the environment) represent critical factors in the development and course of AD. Moreover, the early occurrence of various neuropsychological symptoms suggests a key role for the brainstem, which is a brain region known to be critically important for the regulation of the stress response, in AD. The EPI-AD consortium, therefore, hypothesized that epigenetic dysregulation in the brainstem has a critical role in the early pathogenesis of AD and aimed to elucidate the exact role of DNA (hydroxy)methylation within the brainstem in the development and progression of AD. Within that framework, GenomeScan contributed to the identification of these AD-specific DNA (hydroxy)methylome profiles in the brainstem, by processing a large number of human methylation arrays, and provided services supporting the EPIC workflow.

Acknowledgements:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under 2015 JPco-fuND call.