03/11/2026
For more info about lunasin: https://wealththrunutrition.com/lunasin/
KAT7 drives Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis
KAT7 (also known as HBO1) is a histone acetyltransferase that selectively acetylates the fourteenth lysine residue (H3K14) from the N-terminus of histone H3.
A new study from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has identified KAT7 as a key epigenetic driver of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by promoting pathogenic microglial activation.
(https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.19.706884v1).
KAT7 and H3K14ac levels are significantly increased in microglia from AD mouse models and human AD brains.
Elevated KAT7 and H3K14ac in microglia increase expression of Cmpk2, enhancing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) release that activates innate immunity signaling (cGAS-STING and NLRP3) , and turning microglia into a pro-inflammatory, pathogenic state that leads to chronic neuroinflammation.
Inhibition of KAT7 and H3K14ac reduces this neuroinflammation, decreases amyloid-β burden, and improves cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease models.
This study identifies microglia-driven neuroinflammation as an alternative causal mechanism for Alzheimer's disease, challenging the traditional amyloid hypothesis. Furthermore, it highlights KAT7 and the inhibition of H3K14ac as potential therapeutic targets for intervention.
The lunasin peptide is the only naturally occurring biological agent that inhibits H3K14ac, acting not through KAT7 inactivation but by binding directly to the H3K14 substrate and preventing its acetylation.