Abstract
We previously reported TOMM40 was significantly down-regulated in whole blood of Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects. In this study, we examined whole blood gene profiling differences over a one-year period comparing early AD subjects based on disease progression. 6-monthly assessments and blood sampling on 29 probable AD subjects compared with age- and gender-matched controls were performed. AD subjects with change in Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score of ≥2 points/year were classified as fast-progressors and those with CDR-SB change of <2 points/year were classified as slow-progressors. We found statistically significant upregulation in KIR2DL5A, SLC2A8, and PLOD1 for fast- (n = 8) compared with slow-progressors (n = 21) across the time-points. TOMM40 gene expression remained significantly lower in AD patients at all time-points compared to controls, supporting our previous findings. Our novel findings of specific gene expression differences between fast- and slow-progressors in combination with consistently lower TOMM40 expression, suggest their potential role as prognostic blood biomarkers to predict progression in early AD.
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