Celera identifies gene linked to AD

USA-based company Celera Genomics, which is owned by Applera, says that it has characterized allelic variations of the DAPK1 (death-associated protein kinase 1) gene that are associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. The research, which was presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Madrid, Spain, identified two single-nucleotide polymorphisms which showed a significant link to development of the condition.

The research team, which examined six sample sets of data from 2,012 cases of the disease against 2,336 control samples, also found that the disease-associated variants modulate the expression of DAPK1, thereby suggesting a potential biological explanation for its role in AD.

Michael Owen, professor of psychiatry at the University of Cardiff, in Wales, said that the DAPK1 gene has been a target for drug discovery in several other diseases, adding that the new data enabled the testing of therapeutic compounds for their effect on learning and memory in animal models of AD. The research will be published in the August edition of the journal Human Molecular Genetics.