Celera reports discovery of gene variants linked to Alzheimer's

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., July 17 - Celera Genomics said new research studies suggest that variants in the death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) gene on human chromosome 9 correlate strongly with risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

In Celera's research studies, two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in DAPK1 that showed significant association with late-onset Alzheimer's disease in an analysis of up to six research sample sets with a total of 2,012 cases and 2,336 controls.

In addition to the genetic finding, the company said this study also showed that the disease-associated SNPs directly or indirectly modulate the expression of the DAPK1 gene. The company said this observation provides a potential biological explanation for the association of the DAPK1 variants with Alzheimer's disease.

DAPK1 is an enzyme involved in the programmed cell death cascade, and evidence suggests that one of its functions is to control the death of nerve cells, and it is predominantly expressed in regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus and cortex, that are most severely affected by Alzheimer's disease, according to a news release.

Increased DAPK1 activity or expression has been observed in nerve cell death, and nerves lacking DAPK1 are less susceptible to cell death in cell cultures and in certain animal models, the release said.

Located in Rockville, Md., Celera, an Applera Corp. business, uses proprietary genomics and proteomics discovery platforms to develop molecular diagnostic products and to identify and validate novel drug targets.

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