This project has reached the following results thus far: We have analyzed publicly available, high-throughput RNA sequencing data to identify RNA expression patterns (linear and circular) in AD and control brains. We found in public databases >170 RNA-seq samples from Alzheimers Disease (AD) patients and associated controls. However, to find circular RNAs we needed samples which were not selected for RNAs with poly(A) tail. Therefore, in the end only 47 samples (22 controls and 25 AD) from three separate studies from three different brain regions were adequate . We are currently testing if the circRNAs found to change with AD (AIM 1) are also found to be mutated in AD families studied in LNG (AIM 3). RNA will be prepared from brains (normal and AD) from LBN collections or obtained following advice from LBN to validate the circular RNAs identified (AIM 2).
