Using Genetic and Blood Metabolites to Understand the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease in Latinos

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R21 · $36,622 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

U.S. Latinos are highly diverse, with individuals originating from central and south America, as well as the Caribbean. Latinos are socioeconomically disadvantaged compared to U.S. Whites, and suffer from a higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. Genetic determinants of Alzheimer’s disease may be somewhat different in Latinos compared to Whites: in preliminary results, we found that genetic background, in the form of proportion of genome inherited from Amerindian (Native American) ancestors mitigates the detrimental effect of the APOE-𝜖𝜖4 variants on cognitive decline in individuals from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). This suggests heterogeneity in genetically-based mechanisms underlying neurocognitive decline in Latinos. Untargeted metabolomics is a promising approach to develop potential biomarkers for human disease. Previous metabolomics studies identified potential biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and for cognitive traits in a cross- sectional manner, however, very little work was done specifically in Latinos, and the genetics and metabolomics have not been integrated for risk prediction, apart from using APOE-𝜖𝜖4. Here, we propose to utilize a dataset including ~1,500 older Latino adults from the HCHS/SOL with untargeted metabolomics measured at a baseline visit, and neurocognitive function estimated in both the baseline and a follow-up visit. Our goals are: (1) develop preliminary biomarkers for aging-related cognitive decline phenotypes (e.g. change in global cognitive function, mild cognitive impairment); (2) study the genetic basis of the association of metabolites with cognitive decline, and study potential heterogeneity by genetic background; and (3) form recommendations and a grant application to support a larger research program utilizing genetics and metabolomics, and potentially other ‘omics, to develop biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in diverse populations, and study underlying mechanisms.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10845817
Project number
7R21AG070644-02
Recipient
BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
Principal Investigator
Tamar Sofer
Activity code
R21
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2021
Award amount
$36,622
Award type
7
Project period
2021-09-30 → 2023-08-31