A Campbell Sullivan, Gabrielle Zuniga, Paulino Ramirez, Roman Fernandez, Chen-Pin Wang, Ji Li, Lisa Davila, Kristine Pelton, Sandra Gomez, Claira Sohn, Elias Gonzalez, Marisa Lopez-Cruzan, David A Gonzalez, Alicia Parker, Eduardo Zilli, Gabriel A de Erausquin, Sudha Seshadri, Sara Espinoza, Nicolas Musi, Bess Frost
Retrotransposons are viral-like DNA sequences that constitute approximately 41% of the human genome. Studies in Drosophila, mice, cultured cells, and human brain indicate that retrotransposons are activated in settings of tauopathy, including Alzheimer's disease, and causally drive neurodegeneration. The anti-retroviral medication 3TC (lamivudine), a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor, limits retrotransposon activation and suppresses neurodegeneration in tau transgenic Drosophila, two mouse models of tauopathy, and in brain assembloids derived from patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease...
February 28, 2024: medRxiv