• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, October 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Common antiretroviral drug improves cognition in mouse model of Down syndrome

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 28, 2022
in Health
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Antiretroviral medication lamivudine
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Lamivudine, a commonly-used antiretroviral drug for treating HIV, improves cognition in a mouse model of Down syndrome, according to the findings of a joint new study by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, a centre jointly promoted by the “la Caixa” Foundation and the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The research is published today in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Antiretroviral medication lamivudine

Credit: IrsiCaixa

Lamivudine, a commonly-used antiretroviral drug for treating HIV, improves cognition in a mouse model of Down syndrome, according to the findings of a joint new study by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, a centre jointly promoted by the “la Caixa” Foundation and the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The research is published today in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Though clinical studies are necessary to confirm that the drug elicits a similar effect in humans, the initial research highlights the potential of using pharmacological interventions such as lamivudine – or other drugs capable of blocking the same therapeutic target – as a treatment for ameliorating cognitive impairment of people with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of these, the 21st chromosome. This results in mild to moderate intellectual disability, affecting general cognition traits such as memory, attention span and speaking ability. Adults with Down syndrome also experience accelerated aging, resulting in relatively rapid cognitive decline more commonly seen in much older adults in the general population.

People with Down syndrome are also at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Chromosome 21 plays an important role in this relationship as it carries a gene – amyloid precursor protein (APP) – that produces amyloid proteins that build up in the brain and are associated with disrupting brain function. Amyloid accumulation is common in most adults over the age of 40 with Down syndrome.

To aid independent living, most people with Down syndrome undergo psychosocial interventions such as cognitive stimulation therapy, one of the only treatment options currently available. However, no pharmacological interventions exist to date. Targeting retrotransposons is a new unexplored option for Down syndrome that this work demonstrates is of great therapeutic interest.

Retrotransposons are segments of DNA that change their location within the genome by making RNA copies of themselves that jump back into DNA at another location. Retrotransposons can insert themselves into specific areas of the genome and, by chance, position themselves in gene-promoting regions associated with neurodegenerative diseases, enhancing their activity. Rates of retrotransposition increase with age and cellular senescence.

Retrotransposons show some similarities to HIV, rapidly replicating within cells, though not necessarily with pathological implications. The authors of the study hypothesized that using existing inhibitors that currently target the replication of HIV – such as the enzyme reverse transcriptase – could also work to block retrotransposons.

“Both HIV and retrotransposons need the same molecule to make copies of themselves: the reverse transcriptase enzyme,” explains Dr. Bonaventura Clotet, Director of IrsiCaixa. “We know that lamivudine, a reverse transcriptase inhibitor used against HIV, was shown in aged mice to decrease the activation of retrotransposons which could be linked to age-associated disorders.

Therefore, we thought that it could be useful to counteract the cognitive impairment associated with Down syndrome,” he adds. 

The researchers used Ts65Dn mice, the most widely-studied Down syndrome animal model to date. For a period of four months, mice were treated with lamivudine, with another control group receiving water. The researchers then carried out various behavioural experiments designed to test locomotor activity, recognition memory and anxiety. 

They found that mice receiving lamivudine showed improved cognition. The authors of the study hypothesise that the observed benefits of lamivudine could be due to its effect on one or more variants of the APP gene.

“Our work aims to support people with Down syndrome and their families by providing them more options to live independent lives, particularly those affected by early-stage Alzheimer’s disease”, says Dr. Mara Dierssen, researcher at the CRG and co-author of the study.

“We still need pharmacological treatments that consistently help improve memory, attention and language functions, or prevent cognitive decline associated with ageing. This study is one step aiming to change that, revealing retrotransposition as an interesting mechanism to pursue not only in ageing but also in neurodevelopmental disorders,” concludes Dr. Dierssen.

Lamivudine is a prescription medicine approved by both the United States and European Union medical authorities for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children. The researchers’ next plan to initiate clinical trials with the drug for people with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.



Journal

Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

DOI

10.1111/jcmm.17411

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Lamivudine, a Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor, Rescues Cognitive Deficits in a Mouse Model of Down Syndrome

Article Publication Date

28-Jun-2022

COI Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Nurses’ Insights on Implementing Patient-Reported Outcomes

October 5, 2025

Acupuncture Use for Low Back Pain in China

October 5, 2025

Magnetic Auricular Acupuncture Eases Newborn Eye Exam Pain

October 5, 2025

EZH2 modulates T cell activation in liver cancer

October 5, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    94 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Insights Suggest ALS May Be an Autoimmune Disease

    70 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Nurses’ Insights on Implementing Patient-Reported Outcomes

Exploring NK Cell Therapies for Solid Tumors

Acupuncture Use for Low Back Pain in China

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 62 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.