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Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access published online on October 28, 2003

Human Molecular Genetics, doi:10.1093/hmg/ddg361
© 2003 by Oxford University Press
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©2003 Oxford University Press

Article

Glucocorticoid-related genetic susceptibility for Alzheimer's disease

Dominique J.-F. de Quervain 1*, Raphael Poirier 1, M. Axel Wollmer 1, Luigi M.E. Grimaldi 2, Magdalini Tsolaki 3, Johannes R. Streffer 1, Christoph Hock 1, Roger M. Nitsch 1, M. Hasan Mohajeri 1, and Andreas Papassotiropoulos 1*

1 Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zürich, Lenggstr. 31, 8029 Zürich, Switzerland
2 Department of Neuroscience, AUSL n.2, Caltanissetta, Italy; Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, IRCCS H. San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
3 Third Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: papas{at}bli.unizh.ch.


   Abstract

Because glucocorticoid excess increases neuronal vulnerability, genetic variations in the glucocorticoid system may be related to the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ten glucocorticoid-related genes in a population of 814 AD patients and unrelated control subjects. Set-association analysis revealed that a rare haplotype in the 5' regulatory region of the gene encoding 11{beta}-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1) was associated with a six-fold increased risk for sporadic AD. Results of a reporter-gene assay indicated that the rare risk-associated haplotype altered HSD11B1 transcription. HSD11B1 controls tissue levels of biologically active glucocorticoids and thereby influences neuronal vulnerability. Our results indicate that a functional variation in the glucocorticoid system increases the risk for AD which may have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.


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