Forschungen an Ratten identifizierten altersbedingte molekulare Veränderungen im Gehirn und passten sie an, um das Gedächtnis zu verbessern

> In two complementary studies, Timothy Jarome, associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Animal Sciences, and his graduate students used gene-editing tools to target those age-related changes to improve memory performance in older subjects. The work was conducted on rats, a standard model for studying how memory changes with age

> Jarome and his team found that aging disrupts K63 polyubiquitination in two distinct areas of the brain. In the hippocampus, which helps form and retrieve memories, levels of K63 polyubiquitination increase with age. Using the CRISPR-dCas13 RNA editing system to reduce these levels, the researchers were able to improve memory in older rats

> A second study, published in the Brain Research Bulletin and led by Jarome with doctoral student Shannon Kincaid, focused on IGF2, a growth-factor gene that supports memory formation. As the brain ages, IGF2 activity drops as the gene becomes chemically silenced in the hippocampus.

> The researchers found that this silencing happens through DNA methylation, a natural process in which chemical tags accumulate on the gene and switch it off. Using a precise gene-editing tool, CRISPR-dCas9, they removed those tags and reactivated the gene. The result was better memory in older rats

[Age-related dysregulation of proteasome-independent K63 polyubiquitination in the hippocampus and amygdala – Neuroscience](https://www.ibroneuroscience.org/article/S0306-4522(25)00714-6/abstract)

[Increased DNA methylation of Igf2 in the male hippocampus regulates age-related deficits in synaptic plasticity and memory – ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923025003211?via%3Dihub)