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<\/p>\n
Summary<\/p>\n
- \n
- A new study from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine explores how the APOE and ABCA7 genes interact to influence the age at onset of Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a> in individuals of African ancestry.<\/li>\n
- The researchers analyzed data from 3,510 African-ancestry individuals, including Alzheimer\u2019s disease cases and cognitively healthy individuals.<\/li>\n
- The study offers insights into how genetic variation shapes Alzheimer\u2019s disease and may lead to new approaches to treatment and prevention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A new study from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine explores how two genes\u2014APOE and ABCA7\u2014interact to influence the age at onset of Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a> in individuals of African ancestry.<\/p>\n
This research was led by:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Senior author Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Ph.D.,<\/a> director of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics<\/a> and Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Professor of Human Genetics<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Senior author Farid Rajabli, Ph.D.,<\/a> assistant professor of human genetics in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2022 Bilcag Akgun, MD, Ph.D.,<\/a> assistant scientist of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics<\/p>\n
They led a global team of collaborators in a project that offers critical insights into how genetic variation shapes Alzheimer\u2019s disease and may lead to new approaches to treatment and prevention.<\/p>\n
APOE, ABCA7 and Alzheimer\u2019s Disease<\/p>\n
The APOE gene<\/a> is the strongest known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, an association identified by Dr. Pericak-Vance and colleagues in 1993. The \u03b54 allele of APOE (a version of the gene) increases the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and is associated with earlier age at onset, though its effect varies across populations.<\/p>\n
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img-Pericak-Vance.jpg\")
Dr. Margaret Pericak-Vance originally identified the APOE gene as the strongest known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\nResearchers at the Hussman Institute have previously identified a missing segment of DNA specific to African ancestry in another gene, ABCA7, which is associated with increased Alzheimer\u2019s disease risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cABCA7 and APOE are both involved in lipid metabolism, which is important for brain function and Alzheimer disease pathology,\u201d said Dr. Akgun.<\/p>\n
This study investigates whether these two genetic factors interact to influence the age at onset of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
Study Methodology<\/p>\n
The researchers analyzed data from 3,510 African-ancestry individuals, including Alzheimer\u2019s disease cases and cognitively healthy individuals. Participants came from several large cohorts within the Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) and partner initiatives.<\/p>\n
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img-biorepository-ribbon-cutting.jpg\")
Dr. Margaret Pericak-Vance (center) at the ribbon cutting for the Hussman Institute biorepository, which played a significant role in the ABCA7 study.<\/p>\nThe team examined how interaction of APOE e4 and the ABCA7 deletion influenced age at onset of Alzheimer\u2019s disease using survival analysis models.<\/p>\n
Key Findings<\/p>\n
The research team made a number of enlightening discoveries. They found that among individuals who carry the APOE \u03b54, those with the ABCA7 deletion tend to develop Alzheimer\u2019s disease at an earlier age than those without the deletion. This suggests a possible interaction between the two genes that may accelerate disease onset. Interestingly, the effect was more noticeable in women.<\/p>\n
For Dr. Akgun, the discovery sets the stage for what comes next.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who carried both the APOE \u03b54 and the ABCA7 deletion developed Alzheimer\u2019s disease about five years earlier than those with only the APOE \u03b54,\u201d he said. \u201cUnderstanding such gene-gene interactions helps reveal the biological mechanisms that drive Alzheimer\u2019s disease and can guide the development of targeted therapies.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study also emphasizes the importance of a global approach to understanding Alzheimer\u2019s disease and will facilitate our understanding of differential ancestral effects on Alzheimer\u2019s disease risk resulting in improved universal diagnosis, treatment and prevention,\u201d said Dr. Pericak-Vance.<\/p>\n
Future Research<\/p>\n
The next step for the team at the Hussman Institute is to perform functional studies that will help explain how the interaction between ABCA7 and APOE influences brain biology and contributes to Alzheimer\u2019s disease development. A new biorepository<\/a> at the Hussman Institute will supply high-quality, biological samples from a broad range of participants to support these efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to translate genetic discoveries into biological understanding of Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d said Dr. Akgun. \u201cThat\u2019s how we move closer to targets for treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Microsoft Copilot contributed to this article, which was reviewed and approved by Dr. Pericak-Vance and Dr. Akgun.<\/p>\n
Tags:<\/strong> Alzheimer’s disease<\/a>, APOE gene<\/a>, cognitive decline<\/a>, Dr. Bilcag Akgun<\/a>, Dr. Farid Rajabli<\/a>, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics<\/a>, Dr. Margaret Pericak-Vance<\/a>, genetics<\/a>, genomics<\/a>, John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By: Chad Hanson | September 04, 2025 | 6 min. read\u00a0|\u00a0 Share Summary A new study from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[272],"tags":[869,33004,5195,33005,33006,33007,33008,18,458,6872,19,17,33009,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-43804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-alzheimers-disease","9":"tag-apoe-gene","10":"tag-cognitive-decline","11":"tag-dr-bilcag-akgun","12":"tag-dr-farid-rajabli","13":"tag-dr-john-t-macdonald-foundation-department-of-human-genetics","14":"tag-dr-margaret-pericak-vance","15":"tag-eire","16":"tag-genetics","17":"tag-genomics","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-john-p-hussman-institute-for-human-genomics","21":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}