Decoding the underlying neural activity of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

SUMMARYAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most prevalent chronic neurodegenerative disease, affecting more than 55 million people worldwide. AD is clinically characterized by a progressive loss of memory and other cognitive functions, which implicate the cholinergic system. Activity-induced neuroprotection based on gamma oscillation–audiovisual stimuli–is shown to be possible. Bulk RNA-seq data from treatment involving sensory stimuli were obtained, and bioinformatics analyses were performed. Activity-induced neuroprotection was found to be strongly associated with the downregulation of synaptic calcium signaling and cholinergic transmission. Candidate genes were screened in consultation with the Allen Brain Atlas Transcriptomics Explorer. We propose that Chrnb4 and Plcb4 are potential therapeutic targets for AD treatment. Chrnb4 has already been identified as a potential immune-relevant drug target gene using ontology inference, network analysis, and methylation signal, while multiple studies suggest that primary phospholipase C proteins play an integral role in inducing cell death in AD. Hence, both Chrnb4 and Plcb4 should be considered for future in vitro and in vivo studies as candidate genes.