# Scientists Discover Alzheimer's Disrupts the 3D Folding of DNA in Brain Cells

*2026-09-14 06:01 UTC · Science · 1 min read*

> Scientists found that Alzheimer's disease scrambles the 3D folding of DNA in brain cells, revealing a new regulatory layer of the disease beyond amyloid plaques and tau tangles.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the University of Washington, led by computational biologist Jian Ma, found that Alzheimer's disease disrupts the three-dimensional organization of DNA inside brain cells — not just the amyloid plaques and tau tangles long blamed for the disease.

Using the single-cell GAGE-seq technique, spatial transcriptomic mapping, and a new deep-learning model called Hicformer, the team analyzed postmortem prefrontal cortex tissue from Alzheimer's patients and healthy controls. Affected brain cells showed increased "compartment mingling," where normally separate active and inactive genome regions blur together, alongside weaker gene-regulatory interactions and reduced activity in neuronal and synaptic genes.

"Alzheimer's disease cannot be understood one layer at a time," Ma said, noting that the genome's 3D structure is a fundamental regulatory layer. The findings, published in Science, open a previously overlooked avenue for understanding — and potentially treating — the disease.

## Sources

- [sciencedaily.com](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2369-scientists-discover-alzheimer-s-disrupts-the-3d-folding-of-dna-in-brain-cells
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