Three new gene variants, found in a genome wide association study of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by lead author Dr. Gerard Schellenberg, point to the brain’s immune cells in the onset of the disorder. These genes encode three proteins that are found in microglia, cells that are part of the brain’s injury response system. The study "rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease" is an international collaboration of four AD research consortia that analyzed DNA from 85,000 subjects. Department co-authors include Drs. John Q. Trojanowski, Vivianna M. Van Deerlin, and Li-San Wang. The results are reported online this week in Nature Genetics.
Read the Department of Communications press release.