# A Peripheral Blood Biomarker for Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH R43** · TOPOGEN, INC. · 2020 · $395,044

## Abstract

DNA methylation is a central epigenetic process. All diseases have genetic and/or epigenetic
foundations; however only epigenetics can be altered pharmacologically. Thus, epigenetic pathway
components are not only excellent epi-therapeutic drug targets, they are also established biomarkers in
many acute and chronic diseases. The information stored in 5-methyl-C (mC) is passed down in a
heritable and stable fashion; yet, we know that DNA methylation profiles are frequently altered in a
number of diseases including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) where differentially methylated regions (DMRs)
have been identified in blood that are similarly found in brain. This means an AD specific pathway or
mechanism exists that is mediating alterations in the methylome specifically in peripheral leucocytes,
brain and presumably other tissues. Over the past 10y the PI has been working on mC revision
pathways and has published numerous papers on the topic. Despite convincing evidence for DMRs in
peripheral blood of AD patients, the mechanism of mC re-programming in is unknown. We describe new
tools to interrogate mC revisions in neurologically derived cell lines. We devised a screen that uses a
neutral GFP gene (i.e., one with no selective pressure) to track changes in DNA methylation in a cellular
context. Any forward (more DNA methylation) or backward (less methylation) alters gene expression in
a permanent fashion. Cytofluorimetry and cell imaging using engineered reporters, quantifies GFP
expression as an indirect readout for mC changes. The method was developed as a screen to identify
epi-therapeutics and has been used successfully in this capacity. It is cost effective, simple, robust and
will detect biological effectors that alter DNA methylation. We call this the ADEE (AD Epigenetic
Effector) screen since it detects epigenetic bio-effectors in AD sera that revise DNA methylation patterns.
Also, the ADEE screen works in a lineage specific cell context giving high physiological relevance.
Most agree that there is an acute need for peripheral blood biomarkers in AD. We demonstrate that
small amounts of serum (5µl corresponding to 5%) induced a strong uptick in GFP expression of a
heavily methylated reporter gene, revealing the presence of a potent hypomethylating activity in the
peripheral blood of AD patients but not in age-match controls. Since ADEEs appear highly active in AD
serum, they may represent early tractable biomarkers for early AD onset, disease progression and
management. In support of this, epigenome-wide association studies clearly show that changes in DNA
methylation are an early antecedent event to clinical manifestation and are tightly associated with AD
neuropathology.
Archived serum samples (>600) from the GEMS (Gingko biloba Memory Study) will be used to test
reliability of the ADEE biomarker. A subset of the patients in the GEM study displayed no cognitive
impairment at baseline (at the start of the trial). Over the course of the next 8y in tr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10078759
- **Project number:** 1R43AG069523-01
- **Recipient organization:** TOPOGEN, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Muller
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $395,044
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10078759

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10078759, A Peripheral Blood Biomarker for Alzheimer's Disease (1R43AG069523-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10078759. Licensed CC0.

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