Genetic and functional studies have identified the APOE*4 allele as a strong susceptibility marker for both early- and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the observation that the APOE*4 allele is neither necessary nor sufficient for the expression of AD suggest the possible involvement of additional genetic factors which, either alone or in conjunction with the APOE*4 allele, increase an individual's risk of developing AD. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the role of genetic variations in other candidate (susceptibility) genes that may alter the risk of AD in the presence or absence of the APOE*4 allele. The chosen candidate genes are involved either in inflammation and the reaction of neuritic plaque or in the cellular pathology of the disease. The objectives of the study will be achieved by fulfilling the following specific aims: 1) to confirm our preliminary observation that a common genetic variation in the signal peptide of ACT is involved in altering the AD risk associated with the APOE*4 allele, 2) to determine ACT levels in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in controls and AD patients and determine the impact of the ACT signal peptide polymorphism in affecting ACT levels ina the two groups. 3) to estimate the extent of neuritic and diffuse plaque formation among the ACT genotypes, 4) in autopsy confirmed AD cases with the ACT/AA genotype, to sequence the exons and flanking intron-exon boundaries of the ACT gene to determine the location of the putative functional mutation, 5) to evaluate the role of known polymorphisms in the c-FOS CTSG, CTSD, UBC, IL1A, IL1B and IL1RN genes and their joint effects with the APOE and ACT polymorphisms in affecting the risk of AD, and 6) to establish new genetic polymorphisms in the HSPA2 and MAPT genes and evaluate their relationships with AD risk alone as well as in combination with APOE, ACT and other polymorphisms as defined in aim 5. The proposed focused genetic and epidemiological studies will enable us to delineate the role of several candidate genes in further refining and defining the role of genes in determining the risk and natural history of AD.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AG013672-03
Application #
2699799
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Project Start
1996-05-29
Project End
2001-04-30
Budget Start
1998-05-01
Budget End
1999-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Genetics
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
053785812
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Chapuis, J; Hot, D; Hansmannel, F et al. (2009) Transcriptomic and genetic studies identify IL-33 as a candidate gene for Alzheimer's disease. Mol Psychiatry 14:1004-16
Figgins, Jessica A; Minster, Ryan L; Demirci, F Yesim et al. (2009) Association studies of 22 candidate SNPs with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 150B:520-6
Minster, Ryan L; DeKosky, Steven T; Kamboh, M Ilyas (2009) No association of DAPK1 and ABCA2 SNPs on chromosome 9 with Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 30:1890-1
Conley, Yvette P; Mukherjee, Ankur; Kammerer, Candace et al. (2009) Evidence supporting a role for the calcium-sensing receptor in Alzheimer disease. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 150B:703-9
Minster, Ryan L; DeKosky, Steven T; Kamboh, M Ilyas (2008) No association of SORL1 SNPs with Alzheimer's disease. Neurosci Lett 440:190-2
Minster, Ryan L; DeKosky, Steven T; Kamboh, M Ilyas (2008) No association of dynamin binding protein (DNMBP) gene SNPs and Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 29:1602-4
Ozturk, Ayla; Minster, Ryan L; DeKosky, Steven T et al. (2007) Association of tagSNPs in the urokinase-plasminogen activator (PLAU) gene with Alzheimer's disease and associated quantitative traits. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 144B:79-82
Sundar, Purnima Desai; Feingold, Eleanor; Minster, Ryan L et al. (2007) Gender-specific association of ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1) polymorphisms with the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 28:856-62
Kamboh, M I; Minster, R L; Feingold, E et al. (2006) Genetic association of ubiquilin with Alzheimer's disease and related quantitative measures. Mol Psychiatry 11:273-9
Minster, Ryan L; DeKosky, Steven T; Kamboh, M Ilyas (2006) Lack of association of two chromosome 10q24 SNPs with Alzheimer's disease. Neurosci Lett 408:170-2

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