Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease
Sims R, van der Lee SJ, Naj AC, Bellenguez C, Badarinarayan N, Jakobsdottir J, Kunkle BW, Boland A, Raybould R, Bis JC, Martin ER, Grenier-Boley B, Heilmann-Heimbach S, Chouraki V, Kuzma AB, Sleegers K, Vronskaya M, Ruiz A, Graham RR, Olaso R, Hoffmann P, Grove ML, Vardarajan BN, Hiltunen M, Nöthen MM et al. Schellenberg GD. Nat Genet. 2017 Jul 17. doi: 10.1038/ng.3916. [Epub ahead of print]
Summary
A team led by Gerard Schellenberg, PhD discovered three genetic variants that may enhance the immune system’s ability to fight Alzheimer’s – and that may be targetable with drugs. The variants are found in microglia, brain cells that surround amyloid plaques found in the brains of patients.
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