Protein–RNA Interaction Links Fragile X Syndrome and Alzheimer Disease

Richard Robinson

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050084

Abstract

Protein–RNA Interaction Links Fragile X Syndrome and Alzheimer Disease

Highlights

No two brain diseases would seem to be more different than Alzheimer disease (AD) and fragile X syndrome (FXS)
A new study by Cara Westmark and James Malter shows that the protein whose absence causes FXS is a key translation regulator of a protein implicated in AD
After amyloid precursor protein (APP) messenger RNA is synthesized, a fraction of it remains quiescent until the neuron is excited by the neurotransmitter glutamate

Summary

Introduction

No two brain diseases would seem to be more different than Alzheimer disease (AD) and fragile X syndrome (FXS). A new study by Cara Westmark and James Malter shows that the protein whose absence causes FXS is a key translation regulator of a protein implicated in AD. FXS, the most common cause of inherited mental retardation, occurs when a section of the fmr-1 gene, already containing multiple repeats of the nucleotides cytosine-guanineguanine, expands to more than 200 repeats.

Results

Conclusion