Genetic association of an LBP-1c/CP2/LSF gene polymorphism with late onset Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVES The only locus unequivocally associated with late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk is APOE. However, this locus accounts for less than half the genetic variance. A recent study suggested that the A allele of the 3'UTR biallelic polymorphism in the LBP-1c/CP2/LSF gene was associated with reduced AD risk. Samples were diagnosed predominantly by clinical rather than pathological criteria. We have sought to replicate this finding in a series of necropsy confirmed, late onset AD cases and non-demented controls. METHODS The 3'UTR polymorphism in the LBP-1c/CP2/LSF gene was typed in 216 necropsy confirmed AD cases and 301 non-demented controls aged >73 years. RESULTS We found different LBP-1c/CP2/LSF allele distributions in our AD cases and controls (p=0.048); the A allele was associated with reduced AD risk. The allele and genotype frequencies observed in our cases and controls were similar to those previously reported. No significant effects emerged when the data were adjusted for age, sex, or apoE epsilon4 carrier status. CONCLUSIONS Our data support LBP-1c/CP2/LSF as a candidate gene/risk factor for AD and provide justification for future studies to investigate the role of this gene in Alzheimer's disease.