AAIC 2021 | Overlapping genes in neurodegenerative diseases highlighted by transcriptomic analysis

Konstantin Senkevich, MD, PhD of the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Canada, gives an overview of the use of transcriptome analysis to identify common genes and pathways associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Given the pleiotropy across these traits identified in recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the study aimed to identify possible shared biological pathways across the disorders. Gene expression correlation analyses, transcriptome-wide association studies, and common pathway analyses were conducted. The findings showed a strong genetic correlation between AD and PD, and PD and DLB. Individual tissue expression investigations found significant correlations between AD and PD in the amygdala and spinal cord, whereas the strongest correlations between PD and DLB were found in the substantia nigra, cerebellum, and hippocampus. Several genes were identified as overlapping across the three traits in the cross-tissue analysis. Notably, Dr Senkevich highlights the KAT8 locus, which could serve as a novel target for drug development. This interview took place during the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), 2021.