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Comparative Study
. 2010;19(1):69-77.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-2010-1212.

Genome-wide scan of copy number variation in late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Genome-wide scan of copy number variation in late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Erin L Heinzen et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is a complex and progressive neurodegenerative disease leading to loss of memory, cognitive impairment, and ultimately death. To date, six large-scale genome-wide association studies have been conducted to identify SNPs that influence disease predisposition. These studies have confirmed the well-known APOE epsilon4 risk allele, identified a novel variant that influences disease risk within the APOE epsilon4 population, found a SNP that modifies the age of disease onset, as well as reported the first sex-linked susceptibility variant. Here we report a genome-wide scan of Alzheimer's disease in a set of 331 cases and 368 controls, extending analyses for the first time to include assessments of copy number variation. In this analysis, no new SNPs show genome-wide significance. We also screened for effects of copy number variation, and while nothing was significant, a duplication in CHRNA7 appears interesting enough to warrant further investigation.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A quantile-quantile-plot of transformed P-values (using the inverse chi-square distribution with 1 degree of freedom) against the expected transformed p values. The solid black line indicates the correlation expected by random chance. High correlation of expected versus observed for > 90% of p values indicates full correction for population stratification. (Colours are visible in the electronic version of the article at www.iospress.nl.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Genome overview of −log p values for all SNPs evaluated in this scan. Red dot on chromosome 9 is a SNP located in the TOMM40, a gene upstream of APOE ε4. This SNP, located in a gene upstream of APOε4 gene, tags the previously documented APOE ε4 risk haplotype. (Colours are visible in the electronic version of the article at www.iospress.nl.)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A) 15q13.3 duplication enriched in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. (B) Representative image of the b allele frequency and log R ratios (quantitative assessments of genotyping used to determine CNV) for a patient with a duplication of CHRNA7. SNPs included in the duplication are highlighted in red. (Colours are visible in the electronic version of the article at www.iospress.nl.)

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