A significant breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research has emerged from a study conducted by scientists at the Boston University School of Medicine. In a comprehensive analysis of brain tissue from over 200 donors, researchers found that the ADAMTS2 gene exhibited markedly higher activity in individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared to those without the disease. This finding suggests a potential common biological pathway for Alzheimer’s across different racial backgrounds.
Alzheimer’s disease affects African Americans at approximately twice the rate observed in individuals of European ancestry in the United States. Researchers attribute this disparity to various social and structural factors, including unequal access to healthcare, educational disparities, and inherent biases in cognitive testing. Additionally, higher prevalence rates of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes among African Americans further exacerbate the risk of developing AD.
Most previous genetic studies on Alzheimer’s have primarily focused on European ancestry or mixed-ancestry groups, often excluding sufficient African American participants. This gap has limited the understanding of genetic patterns specific to this demographic.
Largest Study Identifies New Genetic Links
In what is now recognized as the largest Alzheimer’s study utilizing brain tissue from African American donors, the research team identified numerous genes that exhibited varying expressions between those with and without AD. Among these, the ADAMTS2 gene stood out. Its activity was found to be 1.5 times higher in brain tissue from individuals with confirmed Alzheimer’s compared to control samples.
The study analyzed gene expression data from post-mortem prefrontal cortex tissue of 207 African American brain donors, which included 125 individuals with pathologically confirmed AD and 82 controls. The samples were collected from 14 NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Research Centers across the United States. The significant expression levels of ADAMTS2 were not only prominent in this group but also aligned with findings from an independent study of European ancestry individuals.
In this independent study, conducted by the same research team, ADAMTS2 ranked as the most significantly differentially expressed gene when comparing individuals with confirmed Alzheimer’s pathology who exhibited clinical symptoms before death to those who remained cognitively resilient despite similar brain conditions.
Implications for Future Research
Lindsay A. Farrer, PhD, chief of biomedical genetics at Boston University and corresponding author of the study, stated, “To our knowledge, this is the first time in similarly designed AD genetics studies that the most significant finding was the same in both white and African Americans.” This result indicates a promising avenue for understanding the genetic factors influencing Alzheimer’s risk across diverse populations.
The findings could lead to new treatment strategies by highlighting a shared biological process underlying Alzheimer’s. Farrer noted that while many known AD risk variants tend to be population-specific, the significant overlap in the expression of ADAMTS2 among both African American and European ancestry individuals raises the priority for further research on this gene. Investigating its potential as a therapeutic target could play a crucial role in developing effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study has been published online in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association and received funding from multiple National Institute of Health grants, ensuring a robust financial backing for its findings. The research team emphasized that the funding sources had no role in the study’s design, data collection, analysis, or publication decisions.
As this research unfolds, it not only enhances the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease in African Americans but also underscores the importance of inclusive research in genetics. The hope is that this study will catalyze further investigations into Alzheimer’s and lead to improved outcomes for affected individuals, irrespective of their racial or ethnic backgrounds.
