Effect of the functional toll-like receptor 4 Asp299Gly polymorphism on susceptibility to late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Experimental data have shown an upregulated expression of toll-like receptors, particularly toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), in neurodegeneration. The Asp299Gly polymorphism of the TLR4 gene has been associated with an attenuated receptor signalling and a blunted inflammatory response. In the present study, we sought to determine whether this common genetic variant could influence susceptibility to late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) in an Italian population sample.

Genetic association of alpha2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein polymorphism with late-onset Alzheimer's disease in Italians.

Alpha2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG), also known as fetuin-A, is a highly glycosylated protein which has been recently reported to be decreased in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease. AHSG is genetically polymorphic and two common alleles, AHSG*1 and AHSG*2, have been described. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of AHSG gene polymorphism in 235 Caucasian Italian patients with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) and 235 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.