Ultimately, we are hopeful it will lead to the development of IDE-based drugs for the treatment of the late-onset form of AD characterized by an overall impairment of Aβ clearance.
These results demonstrate that the polymorphisms rs1887922 and rs1999764 of the IDE gene are associated with LOAD susceptibility in the Xinjiang Han population.
Genetic linkage and association studies in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) or its endophenotypes have pointed to several regions on chromosome 10q, among these the ∼ 250 kb linkage disequilibrium (LD) block harboring the genes IDE, KIF1, and HHEX.
These results provide strong evidence that IDE is a late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) gene with variants that modify risk of LOAD by influencing IDE expression.
To systematically evaluate the role of variation in IDE in the risk for LOAD, we genotyped 18 SNPs spanning a 276 kb region in and around IDE, including three "tagging" SNPs identified in an earlier study.
Four IDE polymorphisms (three in 5'-untranslated region and one in intron 21) were analyzed, using a population of 210 patients with LOAD and 200 control subjects well matched for age, sex, and ethnic background.
The gene encoding IDE is located on chromosome 10 close to a region of linkage for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) and thus is a functional and positional candidate for this disorder.