👤 Annakaisa Haapasalo

The Using genotype and clinical endpoint data from the FinnGen genomic research project, we conducted Kaplan–Meier survival analyses and Cox proportional hazards models to assess the ages of onset for AD, anxiety, and type 2 diabetes. The key findings were replicated in the UK Biobank datasets. Additionally, we assessed several metabolic and inflammatory plasma biomarkers in relation to In FinnGen, both the These findings indicate that protective The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13195-026-01957-1. Show less

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been postulated to involve defects in the clearance of amyloid-β (Aβ). Activation of liver X receptor α (LXRα) increases the expression of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) as well as cholesterol transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1, leading to augmented clearance of Aβ. We have previously shown that the C allele of rs7120118 in the NR1H3 gene encoding LXRα reduces the risk of AD. Here, we wanted to assess whether the rs7120118 variation affects the progression of AD and modulates the expression of NR1H3 and its downstream targets APOE, ABCA1 and ABCG1.We utilized tissue samples from the inferior temporal cortex of 87 subjects, which were subdivided according to Braak staging into mild, moderate and severe AD groups on the basis of AD-related neurofibrillary pathology. APOE ε4 allele increased soluble Aβ42 levels in the tissue samples in a dose-dependent manner, but did not affect the expression status of APOE. In contrast, the CC genotype of rs7120118 was underrepresented in the severe group, although this result did not reach statistical significance. Also, patients with the CC genotype of rs7120118 showed significantly decreased soluble Aβ42 levels as compared to the patients with TT genotype. Although the severity of AD did not affect NR1H3 expression, the mRNA levels of NR1H3 among the patients with CT genotype of rs7120118 were significantly increased as compared to the patients with TT genotype. These results suggest that genetic variation in NR1H3 modulates the expression of LXRα and the levels of soluble Aβ42. Show less

The accumulation of amyloid-β-containing neuritic plaques and intracellular tau protein tangles are key histopathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This type of pathology clearly indicates that the mechanisms of neuronal housekeeping and protein quality control are compromised in AD. There is mounting evidence that the autophagosome-lysosomal degradation is impaired, which could disturb the processing of APP and provoke AD pathology. Beclin 1 is a molecular platform assembling an interactome with stimulating and suppressive components which regulate the initiation of the autophagosome formation. Recent studies have indicated that the expression Beclin 1 is reduced in AD brain. Moreover, the deficiency of Beclin 1 in cultured neurons and transgenic mice provokes the deposition of amyloid-β peptides whereas its overexpression reduces the accumulation of amyloid-β. There are several potential mechanisms, which could inhibit the function of Beclin 1 interactome and thus impair autophagy and promote AD pathology. The mechanisms include (i) reduction of Beclin 1 expression or its increased proteolytic cleavage by caspases, (ii) sequestration of Beclin 1 to non-functional locations, such as tau tangles, (iii) formation of inhibitory complexes between Beclin 1 and antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins or inflammasomes, (iv) interaction of Beclin 1 with inhibitory neurovirulent proteins, e.g. herpex simplex ICP34.5, or (v) inhibition of the Beclin 1/Vps34 complex through the activation of CDK1 and CDK5. We will shortly introduce the function of Beclin 1 interactome in autophagy and phagocytosis, review the recent evidence indicating that Beclin 1 regulates autophagy and APP processing in AD, and finally examine the potential mechanisms through which Beclin 1 dysfunction could be involved in the pathogenesis of AD. Show less

Accumulation of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) in the brain of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients has been postulated to reflect defects in Aβ degradation or clearance. Here, we selected 12 genes (MMEL1, ECE1, ECE2, AGER, PLG, PLAT, NR1H3, MMP3, LRP1, TTR, NR1H2, and MMP9) involved in Aβ catabolism on the basis of PubMed-based literature search and elucidated their genetic role in AD among Finnish case-control cohort consisting of total ∼1,300 AD patients and control subjects. Thirty one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected for genotyping. In a smaller subset of AD patients, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of Aβ42 (n = 124), total-tau (n = 59), and phospho-tau (n = 54) analyses were performed with respect to SNPs. Moreover, age of onset analyses with respect to the studied SNPs were conducted among the AD patient cohort (n = 642). Association analysis of the liver X receptor α (NR1H3) gene SNPs showed a protective effect for C allele carriers of rs7120118 (OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.53-0.93), while the total-tau and phospho-tau levels in CSF were decreased in AD patients carrying the C allele. Also, a decrease in the age of onset was observed in AD patients carrying the A allele of rs723744 and the C allele of rs3794884 in transthyretin (TTR) gene. However, after adjusting the p-values for multiple comparisons, these results were not statistically significant, suggesting that genetic variations in MMEL1, ECE1, ECE2, AGER, PLG, PLAT, NR1H3, MMP3, LRP1, TTR, NR1H2, and MMP9 genes do not play major role among the Finnish AD patient cohort. Show less