Your father’s exercise routine may have made you smarter according to EU-funded researchers studying how lifestyle choices affect brain activity and memory. The findings could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The groundbreaking research in the DEPICODE project, supported by the European Research Council, deepens our understanding of epigenetics: how external influences such as physical activity, mental stimulation, diet and stress lead to influence on how our cells read genetic information. While it is widely recognized that exercise is good for our brains – strengthens neural connections to sharpen thinking and strengthen memory – DEPICODE team findings suggest that some of these benefits can be for our children.
This research has important implications not only for prospective parents but also for the identification of biological signatures, or biomarkers, of epigenetic changes that may predict disease. , and for developing new therapies.
We have gained a better understanding of the epigenetic processes that control mental function. Our data will help develop therapeutic strategies to treat mental illness in two ways: firstly, by identifying novel drug targets, and secondly, by providing evidence that symptoms may be epigenetic as appropriate biomarkers to assess disease risk and initiate immunosuppressive therapies. “
André Fischer, DEPICODE Principal Investigator, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen
The team’s work has already led to one ongoing phase 2a clinical trial in Germany to assess whether Vorinostat, a cancer drug that affects gene expression, could also be a safe and effective treatment for patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
‘The DEPICODE project is rooted within our holistic research approach to find epigenetic therapies and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, which causes great social and economic burden worldwide,’ Fischer says.
Brain-stimulating microroNAs
In this context, the circulation of microRNAs is particularly important. These tiny molecules circulate in the blood and are known to affect the internal functioning of genes. Several of them, known as miRNAs 212/132, are linked to brain and memory development, and thus may be potential biomarkers of brain disease.
In laboratory studies with mice, levels of 212/132 miRNAs have been found to increase in the hippocampus region of the brain after exercise, which may strengthen neural connections between brain cells involved in memory and learning. Energetic mice with 212/132 higher miRNAs levels tend to perform better on cognitive tests than their sedentary peers – and, it turns out, so do their children.
The DEPICODE researchers found that these microRNAs are present in sperm as well as blood, and can provide epigenetic benefits to offspring even if the mothers are infertile and even if the pups on a running wheel cannot -ever.
‘We analyzed exercise as a protective measure in mental illness and could show for the first time that parents who exercise provide mental benefit to the next generation. This is mediated through epigenetic processes, namely the alteration of microRNA expression in sperm, which exerts the beneficial transgenic effect, ‘Fischer says.
So far, the research has been done with mice, but it is possible that the same effects occur in humans – a theory that is to be further explored by Fischer and his team.
While this discovery may inspire fathers to visit the gym, the broader findings about the role of microRNAs and the new insights found in DEPICODE into epigenetic processes could lead to novel therapies for a range of conditions. brain, which has the potential to benefit millions of people worldwide.