Newfound Link Between Alzheimer’s and Iron Could Lead to New Medical Interventions

April 19, 2023 • by Marc Airhart

A novel imaging method using DNA-based fluorescent sensors is yielding new insights about the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

A doctor shows a brain scan image to a woman in a blue hospital gown

Series of images showing how different forms of iron are collocated with amyloid beta plaques in a slice of mouse brain

Researchers developed DNA-based fluorescent sensors that can detect two different forms of iron (Fe2+ and Fe3+) at the same time in cell cultures and in brain slices from mice genetically modified to mimic Alzheimer’s (green image at right). One sensor glows green for Fe2+ and the other glows red for Fe3+. This method has for the first time shown that in the same regions of the brain where the amyloid beta plaques associated with Alzheimer’s occur (blue), there is also an increase in the ratio of Fe2+ and Fe3+. Image credit: University of Texas at Austin.

Schematic diagram of a novel iron sensor

Schematic of a novel iron sensor. When a short strand of DNA called a DNAzyme (green) binds to a specific form of iron (e.g., Fe3+ or Fe2+), the DNAzyme cuts a second strand of DNA (red) and releases a fluorescent signal (yellow) that indicates visually the presence of the specific form of iron. Illustration credit: David Steadman/University of Texas at Austin.

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