Difference in Methylation and Expression of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Kouter, Katarina; Nikolac Perković, Matea; Nedić Erjavec, Gordana; Miloš, Tina; Tudor, Lucija; Uzun, Suzana; Mimica, Ninoslav; Pivac, Nela; Videtič Paska, Alja (2023) Difference in Methylation and Expression of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Biomedicines, 11 (2). ISSN 2227-9059

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Abstract

Due to the increasing number of progressive dementias in the population, numerous studies are being conducted that seek to determine risk factors, biomarkers and pathological mechanisms that could help to differentiate between normal symptoms of aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association of levels of BDNF and COMT gene expression and methylation in peripheral blood cells with the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our results revealed higher expression levels of BDNF (p < 0.001) in MCI subjects compared to individuals diagnosed with AD. However, no difference in COMT gene expression (p = 0.366) was detected. DNA methylation of the CpG islands and other sequences with potential effects on gene expression regulation revealed just one region (BDNF_9) in the BDNF gene (p = 0.078) with marginally lower levels of methylation in the AD compared to MCI subjects. Here, we show that the level of BDNF expression in the periphery is decreased in subjects with AD compared to individuals with MCI. The combined results from the gene expression analysis and DNA methylation analysis point to the potential of BDNF as a marker that could help distinguish between MCI and AD patients.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	epigenetics; DNA methylation; gene expression; dementia; Alzheimer’s dementia; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; BDNF; catechol-o-methyltransferase; COMT; cognitive impairment
Subjects:	BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE > Clinical Medical Sciences
Divisions:	Division of Molecular Medicine
Depositing User:	Kristina Ciglar
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2026 11:08
URI:	http://fulir.irb.hr/id/eprint/11466
DOI:	10.3390/biomedicines11020235

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