Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Abstract

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is best known for its involvement in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer�s disease. We have previously demonstrated that APP intracellular domain (AICD) regulates neurogenesis; however, the mechanisms underlying AICD-mediated regulation of neuronal differentiation are not yet fully characterized. Using genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation approaches, we found that AICD is specifically recruited to the regulatory regions of several microRNA genes, and acts as a transcriptional regulator for miR-663, miR-3648 and miR-3687 in human neural stem cells. Functional assays show that AICD negatively modulates neuronal differentiation through miR-663, a primate-specific microRNA. Microarray data further demonstrate that miR-663 suppresses the expression of multiple genes implicated in neurogenesis, including FBXL18 and CDK6. Our results indicate that AICD has a novel role in suppression of neuronal differentiation via transcriptional regulation of miR-663 in human neural stem cells.

Biography

Zhi-cheng Xiao received a Doctor of Natural Science Degree from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. He is current Professor in Monash University. He is the CEO & CFO of iNovaFarm, a premier Bio-Tech company.   He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and serving as editorial board members of more than 10 journals.