Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2026, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (6): 2553-2562.doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-24-01165

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RBAD: The first database dedicated alterations of blood RNA in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their clinical relevance

Tingting Duan1, 2, 3, #, Jinyu Chu2, 3, #, Jinquan Li2, 3, Shiyao Pan2, 3, Dan Liu2, 3, Guirong Cheng2, 3, Yu Luo2, 3, Wen Zhou2, 3, Zhiming Wang2, 3, Wei Tan4, Qiong Wu2, 3, *, Yan Zeng1, 2, 3, 4, *, Feifei Hu1, 2, 3, 4, *   

  1. 1Department of Internal Medicine, Wuhan Asia General Hospital, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China; 
    2Brain Science and Advanced Technology Institute, School of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China; 
    3School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China; 
    4Community Health Service Center, Geriatric Hospital, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • Online:2026-06-15 Published:2026-04-18
  • Contact: Feifei Hu, PhD, hufeifei@wust.edu.cn; Yan Zeng, PhD, zengyan68@wust.edu.cn; Qiong Wu, PhD, qiongwu@wust.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by Research and Innovation Foundation of Wuhan Asia General Hospital, No. 2022KYCX1-B10 (to FH); the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, No. 2023AFB550 (to FH); the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nos. 32400554 (to FH), 82371444 (to YZ); the Guiding Project of the Scientific Research Program of the Department of Education of Hubei Province, No. B2021016 (to FH); and the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, No. 2024AFB853 (to QW).

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Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease-associated transcriptomic landscapes have been defined in brain tissue. However, changes in blood RNA and their clinical relevance remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed an RNA profile based on 1468 blood samples from both human and mouse studies, which include bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), microRNA-seq, and single-cell RNA-seq data. We developed a comprehensive analysis pipeline that conducted over 11 million comparisons and correlations to identify more than 20,000 blood features. With these findings, we established a blood RNA database related to Alzheimer’s disease, RNAs in Blood of AD (RBAD, http://www.bioinform.cn/RBAD/). Using RBAD, we initially validated well-established Alzheimer’s disease-related pathways, including olfactory transduction. We then observed a decrease in both the proportion and functionality of erythroid cells, likely attributed to their elevated CD45 levels and interactions with GZMK+ CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, we identified 449 blood RNAs linked to patients’ overall survival, along with two mRNAs (H4C3 and CTU1) associated with cognitive decline. In summary, RBAD is the first web-based analysis platform dedicated to investigating blood RNA changes in Alzheimer’s disease, and provides valuable insights into potential peripheral biomarkers and pathogenic mechanisms related to Alzheimer’s disease. 

Key words: Alzheimer’s disease, biomarker, blood, clinical relevance, erythroid cells, GZMK+ CD8+ T cells, high throughput sequencing, mild cognitive impairment, olfactory transduction, RNA