Noninvasive Characterization of Alzheimer’s Disease by Circulating, Cell-Free Messenger RNA Next-Generation Sequencing

Posted on June 18, 2025, 08:54 AM EDT | By Double-Strand LLC Research Team

A transformative 2020 study published in Science Advances (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abb1654) by Swarup et al. introduces a noninvasive approach to characterize Alzheimer’s disease using circulating cell-free messenger RNA (cf-mRNA) analyzed via next-generation sequencing. This research, led by Vivek Swarup, demonstrates that cf-mRNA in blood plasma can reflect molecular changes associated with Alzheimer’s, offering a potential diagnostic tool without invasive procedures like brain biopsies.

The study identified specific cf-mRNA signatures linked to Alzheimer’s pathology, including markers of neurodegeneration and inflammation. By leveraging advanced sequencing technologies, the team showed that these biomarkers could differentiate Alzheimer’s patients from healthy controls, opening new avenues for early detection and monitoring. At Double-Strand LLC, we draw inspiration from this work, applying similar noninvasive techniques to our biomarker discovery efforts for cancer and other diseases.

Key Highlights

• Circulating cf-mRNA provides a noninvasive window into Alzheimer’s disease.
• Next-generation sequencing reveals disease-specific RNA signatures.
• Double-Strand LLC explores parallel approaches for cancer diagnostics.

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Access the full study at Science Advances.

Citation: Swarup, V., et al. (2020). Noninvasive characterization of Alzheimer’s disease by circulating, cell-free messenger RNA next-generation sequencing. Science Advances, 6(22), eabb1654. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb1654.