Studying differences in non-gene DNA to determine whether they have a role in the development or progression of MND.
Principal Investigator: Prof John Quinn
Lead Institution: University of Liverpool
MND Association Funding: £189,210*
Funding dates: July 2021 - June 2024
*Supported by the MND Association Wirral group and Cheshire Branch
About the project
The DNA changes that influence MND may be within genes (the instructions for forming proteins) or within the intervening stretches of DNA. It used to be thought that the ‘non-gene’ DNA was unimportant – it was even called ‘junk DNA’, and was rarely studied until recently. This is partly because the tools used to study the whole genome sequence (WGS) data did not work as well for the sequences of connecting DNA, which are more likely to contain similar or repeating sequences. The researchers propose to re-analyse the WGS data from Project MinE to improve the sequence information especially for the non-gene DNA. They will specifically study sequences known as ‘transposable elements’, aiming to identify MND-associated differences in these sequences between people with MND and healthy controls. When differences are identified, they will be studied further to determine whether they have a role in the development or progression of MND.
What could this mean for MND research?
This project aims to increase current understanding of the role that non-gene DNA might play in the development and progression of MND. Identifying differences in non-gene sequences of people with MND could help us to better understand what is happening in neurons in the disease and highlight new therapeutic targets related to these differences.
Resources
Project code: 875-791