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Apolipoprotein E and Alzheimer’s disease |
Sang Thrombose Vaisseaux. Volume 10, Number 5, 281-90, Mai 1998, Mini-revues
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 Résumé
Article gratuit
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Author(s) : Philippe Amouyel |
Summary : These last ten years, the study of apolipoprotein E, a protein involved in lipid transport, known initially as a major player of cholesterol metabolism and of cardiovascular diseases, improved the knowledge of the development of neurodegenerative diseases. The existence of a frequent polymorphis, defining three isoforms, E3, E4 and E2, coded by three different alleles, 3, 4 and 2, led to numerous studies establishing a genetic susceptibility factor, easily detectable, involved in several pathological processes, of which one of the main examples is Alzheimer’s disease.
Research in the field of dementia was dramatically modified by the discovery of a strong epidemiological link between the presence of an apolipo-protein E4 allele in the genotype of a subject, and the risk of late onset Alzheimer’s disease. Conversely, the dissection of the biological mechanisms that underlay this association are complex. Most of the known hypotheses of Alzheimer’s disease physiopathology have been related directly or indirectly to the properties of the different apolipoprotein E isoforms, underlining the major role of apolipoprotein E in brain metabolism.
The use of the apolipoprotein E genotyping in clinical practice as a screening or diagnostic tool, although actively discussed, is not recommended because no preventive or curative treatment can be proposed after this test. However, in clinical research and in drug trials, the apolipoprotein E genotyping, reduces the heterogeneity of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, enables more precisely analysis of the effect of new treatments. |
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