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A meta-analysis of gene expression data highlights synaptic dysfunction in the hippocampus of brains with Alzheimer's disease
Hosseinian S, Arefian E, Rakhsh-Khorshid H, Eivani M, Rezayof A, Pezeshk H, Marashi SA.. Scientific reports, 2020-05-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Since the world population is ageing, dementia is going to be a growing concern. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is extensively studied, yet unknown remains. Therefore, we aimed to extract new knowledge from existing data. We analysed about 2700 upregulated genes and 2200 downregulated genes from three studies on the CA1 of the hippocampus of brains with Alzheimer's disease. We found that only the calcium signalling pathway enriched by 48 downregulated genes was consistent between all three studies. We predicted miR-129 to target nine out of 48 genes. Then, we validated miR-129 to regulate six out of nine genes in HEK cells. We noticed that four out of six genes play a role in synaptic plasticity. Finally, we confirmed the upregulation of miR-129 in the hippocampus of brains of rats with scopolamine-induced amnesia as a model of Alzheimer's disease. We suggest that future research should investigate the possible role of miR-129 in synaptic plasticity and Alzheimer's disease. This paper presents a novel framework to gain insight into potential biomarkers and targets for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Key findings
- We found that only the calcium signalling pathway enriched by 48 downregulated genes was consistent between all three studies.
- We suggest that future research should investigate the possible role of miR-129 in synaptic plasticity and Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
Re-analysing gene activity from three studies of the Alzheimer's hippocampus, researchers found only one consistent pathway, calcium signalling, made up of 48 genes that were turned down. They predicted and confirmed in lab-grown HEK cells that a small regulatory molecule, miR-129, controls six of these genes, and found it raised in rats with drug-induced memory loss. This is early lab work, pointing to miR-129 as a candidate for further study in synapse function and Alzheimer's rather than a treatment.
Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Scientific reports) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Scientific Reports: journal h-index 463 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 32 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 4.0 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 1.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 9 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Sayed‐Amir Marashi: h-index 22 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Tehran University of Medical Sciences: institution h-index 810 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32433480) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64452-z
- PubMed: 32433480
- Original source →
- Free full text: Scientific Reports →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Hosseinian, S., Arefian, E., Rakhsh-Khorshid, H., Eivani, M., Rezayof, A., Pezeshk, H., et al. (2020). A meta-analysis of gene expression data highlights synaptic dysfunction in the hippocampus of brains with Alzheimer's disease. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64452-z
Vancouver
Hosseinian S, Arefian E, Rakhsh-Khorshid H, Eivani M, Rezayof A, Pezeshk H, et al. A meta-analysis of gene expression data highlights synaptic dysfunction in the hippocampus of brains with Alzheimer's disease. Scientific reports. 2020. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64452-z. PMID: 32433480.
BibTeX
@article{hosseinian2020-32433480,
author = {Hosseinian, S. and Arefian, E. and Rakhsh-Khorshid, H. and Eivani, M. and Rezayof, A. and Pezeshk, H. and Marashi, S. A.},
title = {{A meta-analysis of gene expression data highlights synaptic dysfunction in the hippocampus of brains with Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-020-64452-z},
pmid = {32433480},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64452-z}
}
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