New study reveals nitric oxide’s widespread impact on genetics

Genes undergo extensive editing through a process called alternative splicing, which greatly increases the size of the functional genome, the working portion of our DNA that helps make each person unique. Put simply, a single gene can be edited in different ways to produce multiple sets of instructions.

This helps explain why humans differ so significantly from fruit flies and mice, despite having a similar number of genes.

In a new study, published May 21st, 2026, in Molecular Cell, researchers from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University found that nitric oxide, a gas naturally produced in the body, can broadly regulate alternative splicing, dramatically altering how genes function.

We further showed that nitric oxide levels are decreased in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, and that this loss of control over gene splicing correlates with worse clinical outcomes. In other words, lower nitric oxide levels lead to reduced gene-splicing activity, which is associated with increased plaque buildup and more rapid memory loss."