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Tesi N, van der Lee S, Hulsman M, van Schoor NM, Huisman M, Pijnenburg Y, van der Flier WM, Reinders M, Holstege H. Cognitively healthy centenarians are genetically protected against Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement 2024. [PMID: 38634500 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevalence increases with age, yet a small fraction of the population reaches ages > 100 years without cognitive decline. We studied the genetic factors associated with such resilience against AD. METHODS Genome-wide association studies identified 86 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with AD risk. We estimated SNP frequency in 2281 AD cases, 3165 age-matched controls, and 346 cognitively healthy centenarians. We calculated a polygenic risk score (PRS) for each individual and investigated the functional properties of SNPs enriched/depleted in centenarians. RESULTS Cognitively healthy centenarians were enriched with the protective alleles of the SNPs associated with AD risk. The protective effect concentrated on the alleles in/near ANKH, GRN, TMEM106B, SORT1, PLCG2, RIN3, and APOE genes. This translated to >5-fold lower PRS in centenarians compared to AD cases (P = 7.69 × 10-71), and 2-fold lower compared to age-matched controls (P = 5.83 × 10-17). DISCUSSION Maintaining cognitive health until extreme ages requires complex genetic protection against AD, which concentrates on the genes associated with the endolysosomal and immune systems. HIGHLIGHTS Cognitively healthy cent enarians are enriched with the protective alleles of genetic variants associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The protective effect is concentrated on variants involved in the immune and endolysosomal systems. Combining variants into a polygenic risk score (PRS) translated to > 5-fold lower PRS in centenarians compared to AD cases, and ≈ 2-fold lower compared to middle-aged healthy controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niccolo' Tesi
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Section Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Aging, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sven van der Lee
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Section Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Aging, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marc Hulsman
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Section Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Aging, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Natasja M van Schoor
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Sciences, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Mental Health Program, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Huisman
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Sciences, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Mental Health Program, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yolande Pijnenburg
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wiesje M van der Flier
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Sciences, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel Reinders
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Henne Holstege
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Section Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Aging, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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