Serum proteomics reveal APOE-ε4-dependent and APOE-ε4-independent protein signatures in Alzheimer’s disease

Elisabet A. Frick, Valur Emilsson, Thorarinn Jonmundsson, Anna E. Steindorsdottir, Erik C.B. Johnson, Raquel Puerta, Eric B. Dammer, Anantharaman Shantaraman, Amanda Cano, Mercè Boada, Sergi Valero, Pablo García-González, Elias F. Gudmundsson, Alexander Gudjonsson, Rebecca Pitts, Xiazi Qiu, Nancy Finkel, Joseph J. Loureiro, Anthony P. Orth, Nicholas T. SeyfriedAllan I. Levey, Agustin Ruiz, Thor Aspelund, Lori L. Jennings, Lenore J. Launer, Valborg Gudmundsdottir*, Vilmundur Gudnason*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A deeper understanding of the molecular processes underlying late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) could aid in biomarker and drug target discovery. Using high-throughput serum proteomics in the prospective population-based Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility–Reykjavik Study (AGES) cohort of 5,127 older Icelandic adults (mean age, 76.6 ± 5.6 years), we identified 303 proteins associated with incident LOAD over a median follow-up of 12.8 years. Over 40% of these proteins were associated with LOAD independently of APOE-ε4 carrier status, were implicated in neuronal processes and overlapped with LOAD protein signatures in brain and cerebrospinal fluid. We identified 17 proteins whose associations with LOAD were strongly dependent on APOE-ε4 carrier status, with mostly consistent associations in cerebrospinal fluid. Remarkably, four of these proteins (TBCA, ARL2, S100A13 and IRF6) were downregulated by APOE-ε4 yet upregulated due to LOAD, a finding replicated in external cohorts and possibly reflecting a response to disease onset. These findings highlight dysregulated pathways at the preclinical stages of LOAD, including those both independent of and dependent on APOE-ε4 status.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1446-1464
Number of pages19
JournalNature Aging
Volume4
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024. corrected publication 2024.

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