A single nucleotide polymorphism in LRP2 is associated with susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease in the Chinese population.

Background: LRP2 (also called megalin) plays a potential key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recently, one genome-wide association study has revealed that the rs3755166 (G/A) polymorphism located in the LRP2 promoter is associated with development of AD in Caucasians, while there are no studies on the association LRP2 of with AD risk in Asians.

Methods: To evaluate the relationship between the rs3755166 polymorphism of the LRP2 gene and AD in the ethnic Chinese Han, we conducted a case-control study (n=361, age>50) to determine the prevalence of one common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of LRP2 (rs3755166) in patients with AD in Chinese population of Mainland China, and clarified whether this polymorphism is a risk factor for AD.

Results: The prevalence of the minor allele (A) in the rs3755166 polymorphism was significantly different in AD patients and control subjects (P<0.05). The rs3755166 polymorphism was associated with AD in the ethnic Chinese Han (OR=1.378, 95% CI: 1.017-1.867, P=0.039), and the results were not influenced by age, gender, or APOE status (P=0.441, P=0.94, P=0.432, respectively).

Conclusion: Our data revealed the allele (A) of the rs3755166 polymorphism within LRP2 gene may contribute to AD risk in the Chinese Han Population.