Abstract
Introduction: SuperAgers are adults age 80+ with episodic memory performance that is at least as good as that of average middle-aged adults. Understanding the biological determinants of SuperAging may have relevance to preventing age-related cognitive decline and dementia. This study aimed to identify associations between genetic variations and the SuperAging phenotype using Whole Exome Sequencing (WES). Methods: Sequence Kernel Association Combined (SKAT-C) test was conducted at the gene level including both rare and common variants in 56 SuperAgers and 22 cognitively-average controls from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Results: The SuperAging phenotype was associated with variants in the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase 3 (MAP2K3) gene. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributed to the significance (rs2363221 [intron 1], rs2230435 [exon 5], rs736103 [intron 7]). Conclusions: MAP2K3 resides in a biological pathway linked to memory. It is in a signaling cascade associated with beta-amyloid mediated apoptosis and has enriched expression in microglia. This preliminary work suggests MAP2K3 may represent a novel therapeutic target for age-related memory decline and perhaps Alzheimer's disease (AD).
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 155 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | MAY |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 29 2018 |
Funding
This work was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, including R01 AG045571 and P30 AG13854 from the National Institute on Aging as well as by a grant from the Davee Foundation. Samples from the National Cell Repository for Alzheimer's Disease (NCRAD), which receives government support under a cooperative agreement grant (U24 AG21886) awarded by the National Institute of Aging (NIA), were used in this study. We thank contributors who collected samples used in this study, as well as participants, whose help and participation made this work possible. Data collection and sharing for this project was funded by the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; National Institutes of Health Grant U01 AG024904) and DOD ADNI (Department of Defense award number W81XWH-12-2-0012). ADNI is funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and through generous contributions from the following: AbbVie, Alzheimer's Association; Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation; Araclon Biotech; BioClinica, Inc.; Biogen; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; CereSpir, Inc.; Cogstate; Eisai Inc.; Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; EuroImmun; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Limited and its affiliated company Genentech, Inc.; Fujirebio Europe; GE Healthcare; IXICO Ltd.; Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research and Development, LLC.; Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development LLC.; Lumosity; Lundbeck; Merck and Co., Inc.; Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC.; NeuroRx Research; Neurotrack Technologies; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Pfizer Inc.; Piramal Imaging; Servier; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; and Transition Therapeutics. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is providing funds to support ADNI clinical sites in Canada. Private sector contributions are facilitated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (www.fnih.org). The guarantee organization is the Northern California Institute for Research and Education, and the study is coordinated by the Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute at the University of Southern California. ADNI data are disseminated by the Laboratory for Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California.
Keywords
- Aging
- Alzheimer's
- Alzheimer's dementia
- Alzheimer's disease (AD)
- Cognition
- Episodic memory
- Genetics
- Successful aging
- Whole exome sequencing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aging
- Cognitive Neuroscience