title: Confirmation of the association between bleomycin hydrolase genotype and Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Bleomycin hydrolase (BH), a cysteine protease from the papain superfamily, is considered to be a candidate for the beta-secretase, which is presumably involved in the production of beta-amyloid peptide. The G/G genotype of BH was identified as a significant risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in subjects not carrying the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele (apoE-epsilon4). However, this finding was recently challenged. We studied this polymorphism in a homogenous sample of German AD patients and controls. The over-representation of the G/G genotype in AD patients could be confirmed, however it was more pronounced in apoE-epsilon4 carriers. Additional studies should be undertaken to increase the confidence that the BH polymorphism is associated with AD and to explore the relationship between BH and apoE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papassotiropoulos
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jessen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frahnert
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heun
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D005838:Genotype; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C031262:bleomycin hydrolase