A genome-wide association study with 1,126,563 individuals identifies new risk loci for Alzheimer's disease

Nat Genet. 2021 Sep;53(9):1276-1282. doi: 10.1038/s41588-021-00921-z. Epub 2021 Sep 7.

Abstract

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease is a prevalent age-related polygenic disease that accounts for 50-70% of dementia cases. Currently, only a fraction of the genetic variants underlying Alzheimer's disease have been identified. Here we show that increased sample sizes allowed identification of seven previously unidentified genetic loci contributing to Alzheimer's disease. This study highlights microglia, immune cells and protein catabolism as relevant to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, while identifying and prioritizing previously unidentified genes of potential interest. We anticipate that these results can be included in larger meta-analyses of Alzheimer's disease to identify further genetic variants that contribute to Alzheimer's pathology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics*
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study*
  • Humans
  • Microglia / cytology
  • Multifactorial Inheritance / genetics
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics
  • Proteins / metabolism
  • Proteolysis
  • Sample Size

Substances

  • Proteins