Browsing by Author "Chui, Helena"

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    Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) pilot study on genetic and non-genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease among Asian Americans and Canadians
    (Wiley, 2024) Ho, Pei-Chuan; Yu, Wai Haung; Tee, Boon Lead; Lee, Wan-Ping; Li, Clara; Gu, Yian; Yokoyama, Jennifer S.; Reyes-Dumeyer, Dolly; Choi, Yun-Beom; Yang, Hyun-Sik; Vardarajan, Badri N.; Tzuang, Marian; Lieu, Kevin; Lu, Anna; Faber, Kelley M.; Potter, Zoë D.; Revta, Carolyn; Kirsch, Maureen; McCallum, Jake; Mei, Diana; Booth, Briana; Cantwell, Laura B.; Chen, Fangcong; Chou, Sephera; Clark, Dewi; Deng, Michelle; Hong, Ting Hei; Hwang, Ling-Jen; Jiang, Lilly; Joo, Yoonmee; Kang, Younhee; Kim, Ellen S.; Kim, Hoowon; Kim, Kyungmin; Kuzma, Amanda B.; Lam, Eleanor; Lanata, Serggio C.; Lee, Kunho; Li, Donghe; Li, Mingyao; Li, Xiang; Liu, Chia-Lun; Liu, Collin; Liu, Linghsi; Lupo, Jody-Lynn; Nguyen, Khai; Pfleuger, Shannon E.; Qian, James; Qian, Winnie; Ramirez, Veronica; Russ, Kristen A.; Seo, Eun Hyun; Song, Yeunjoo E.; Tartaglia, Maria Carmela; Tian, Lu; Torres, Mina; Vo, Namkhue; Wong, Ellen C.; Xie, Yuan; Yau, Eugene B.; Yi, Isabelle; Yu, Victoria; Zeng, Xiaoyi; St. George-Hyslop, Peter; Au, Rhoda; Schellenberg, Gerard D.; Dage, Jeffrey L.; Varma, Rohit; Hsiung, Ging-Yuek R.; Rosen, Howard; Henderson, Victor W.; Foroud, Tatiana; Kukull, Walter A.; Peavy, Guerry M.; Lee, Haeok; Feldman, Howard H.; Mayeux, Richard; Chui, Helena; Jun, Gyungah R.; Ta Park, Van M.; Chow, Tiffany W.; Wang, Li-San; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Introduction: Clinical research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) lacks cohort diversity despite being a global health crisis. The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) was formed to address underrepresentation of Asians in research, and limited understanding of how genetics and non-genetic/lifestyle factors impact this multi-ethnic population. Methods: The ACAD started fully recruiting in October 2021 with one central coordination site, eight recruitment sites, and two analysis sites. We developed a comprehensive study protocol for outreach and recruitment, an extensive data collection packet, and a centralized data management system, in English, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. Results: ACAD has recruited 606 participants with an additional 900 expressing interest in enrollment since program inception. Discussion: ACAD's traction indicates the feasibility of recruiting Asians for clinical research to enhance understanding of AD risk factors. ACAD will recruit > 5000 participants to identify genetic and non-genetic/lifestyle AD risk factors, establish blood biomarker levels for AD diagnosis, and facilitate clinical trial readiness. Highlights: The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) promotes awareness of under-investment in clinical research for Asians. We are recruiting Asian Americans and Canadians for novel insights into Alzheimer's disease. We describe culturally appropriate recruitment strategies and data collection protocol. ACAD addresses challenges of recruitment from heterogeneous Asian subcommunities. We aim to implement a successful recruitment program that enrolls across three Asian subcommunities.
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    Circular RNA detection identifies circPSEN1 alterations in brain specific to autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease
    (BMC, 2022-03-04) Chen, Hsiang‑Han; Eteleeb, Abdallah; Wang, Ciyang; Fernandez, Maria Victoria; Budde, John P.; Bergmann, Kristy; Norton, Joanne; Wang, Fengxian; Ebl, Curtis; Morris, John C.; Perrin, Richard J.; Bateman, Randall J.; McDade, Eric; Xiong, Chengjie; Goate, Alison; Farlow, Martin; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Schofield, Peter R.; Chui, Helena; Harari, Oscar; Cruchaga, Carlos; Ibanez, Laura; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Background: Autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) is caused by pathogenic mutations in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2, which usually lead to an early age at onset (< 65). Circular RNAs are a family of non-coding RNAs highly expressed in the nervous system and especially in synapses. We aimed to investigate differences in brain gene expression of linear and circular transcripts from the three ADAD genes in controls, sporadic AD, and ADAD. Methods: We obtained and sequenced RNA from brain cortex using standard protocols. Linear counts were obtained using the TOPMed pipeline; circular counts, using python package DCC. After stringent quality control (QC), we obtained the counts for PSEN1, PSEN2 and APP genes. Only circPSEN1 passed QC. We used DESeq2 to compare the counts across groups, correcting for biological and technical variables. Finally, we performed in-silico functional analyses using the Circular RNA interactome website and DIANA mirPath software. Results: Our results show significant differences in gene counts of circPSEN1 in ADAD individuals, when compared to sporadic AD and controls (ADAD = 21, AD = 253, Controls = 23-ADADvsCO: log2FC = 0.794, p = 1.63 × 10-04, ADADvsAD: log2FC = 0.602, p = 8.22 × 10-04). The high gene counts are contributed by two circPSEN1 species (hsa_circ_0008521 and hsa_circ_0003848). No significant differences were observed in linear PSEN1 gene expression between cases and controls, indicating that this finding is specific to the circular forms. In addition, the high circPSEN1 levels do not seem to be specific to PSEN1 mutation carriers; the counts are also elevated in APP and PSEN2 mutation carriers. In-silico functional analyses suggest that circPSEN1 is involved in several pathways such as axon guidance (p = 3.39 × 10-07), hippo signaling pathway (p = 7.38 × 10-07), lysine degradation (p = 2.48 × 10-05) or Wnt signaling pathway (p = 5.58 × 10-04) among other KEGG pathways. Additionally, circPSEN1 counts were able to discriminate ADAD from sporadic AD and controls with an AUC above 0.70. Conclusions: Our findings show the differential expression of circPSEN1 is increased in ADAD. Given the biological function previously ascribed to circular RNAs and the results of our in-silico analyses, we hypothesize that this finding might be related to neuroinflammatory events that lead or that are caused by the accumulation of amyloid-beta.
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    Metabolomic and lipidomic signatures in autosomal dominant and late-onset Alzheimer's disease brains
    (Wiley, 2023) Novotny, Brenna C.; Fernandez, Maria Victoria; Wang, Ciyang; Budde, John P.; Bergmann, Kristy; Eteleeb, Abdallah M.; Bradley, Joseph; Webster, Carol; Ebl, Curtis; Norton, Joanne; Gentsch, Jen; Dube, Umber; Wang, Fengxian; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Perrin, Richard J.; McDade, Eric; Xiong, Chengjie; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) Study Group; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Alzheimer's Disease Metabolomics Consortium (ADMC); Goate, Alison; Farlow, Martin; Schofield, Peter; Chui, Helena; Karch, Celeste M.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Benitez, Bruno A.; Harari, Oscar; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Introduction: The identification of multiple genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggests that many pathways contribute to AD onset and progression. However, the metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in carriers of distinct genetic risk factors are not fully understood. The metabolome can provide a direct image of dysregulated pathways in the brain. Methods: We interrogated metabolomic signatures in the AD brain, including carriers of pathogenic variants in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 (autosomal dominant AD; ADAD), APOE ɛ4, and TREM2 risk variant carriers, and sporadic AD (sAD). Results: We identified 133 unique and shared metabolites associated with ADAD, TREM2, and sAD. We identified a signature of 16 metabolites significantly altered between groups and associated with AD duration. Discussion: AD genetic variants show distinct metabolic perturbations. Investigation of these metabolites may provide greater insight into the etiology of AD and its impact on clinical presentation. Highlights: APP/PSEN1/PSEN2 and TREM2 variant carriers show distinct metabolic changes. A total of 133 metabolites were differentially abundant in AD genetic groups. β-citrylglutamate is differentially abundant in autosomal dominant, TREM2, and sporadic AD. A 16-metabolite profile shows differences between Alzheimer's disease (AD) genetic groups. The identified metabolic profile is associated with duration of disease.
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    A Multiancestral Genome-Wide Exome Array Study of Alzheimer Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
    (2015-04) Chen, Jason A.; Wang, Qing; Davis-Turak, Jeremy; Li, Yun; Karydas, Anna M.; Hsu, Sandy C.; Sears, Renee L.; Chatzopoulou, Doxa; Huang, Alden Y.; Wojta, Kevin J.; Klein, Eric; Lee, Jason; Beekly, Duane L.; Boxer, Adam; Faber, Kelley M.; Haase, Claudia M.; Miller, Josh; Poon, Wayne W.; Rosen, Ami; Rosen, Howard; Sapozhnikova, Anna; Shapira, Jill; Varpetian, Arousiak; Foroud, Tatiana M.; Levenson, Robert W.; Levey, Allan I.; Kukull, Walter A.; Mendez, Mario F.; Ringman, John; Chui, Helena; Cotman, Carl; DeCarli, Charles; Miller, Bruce L.; Geschwind, Daniel H.; Coppola, Giovanni; Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, IU School of Medicine
    Importance Previous studies have indicated a heritable component of the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). However, few have examined the contribution of low-frequency coding variants on a genome-wide level. Objective To identify low-frequency coding variants that affect susceptibility to AD, FTD, and PSP. Design, Setting, and Participants We used the Illumina HumanExome BeadChip array to genotype a large number of variants (most of which are low-frequency coding variants) in a cohort of patients with neurodegenerative disease (224 with AD, 168 with FTD, and 48 with PSP) and in 224 control individuals without dementia enrolled between 2005-2012 from multiple centers participating in the Genetic Investigation in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease (GIFT) Study. An additional multiancestral replication cohort of 240 patients with AD and 240 controls without dementia was used to validate suggestive findings. Variant-level association testing and gene-based testing were performed. Main Outcomes and Measures Statistical association of genetic variants with clinical diagnosis of AD, FTD, and PSP. Results Genetic variants typed by the exome array explained 44%, 53%, and 57% of the total phenotypic variance of AD, FTD, and PSP, respectively. An association with the known AD gene ABCA7 was replicated in several ancestries (discovery P = .0049, European P = .041, African American P = .043, and Asian P = .027), suggesting that exonic variants within this gene modify AD susceptibility. In addition, 2 suggestive candidate genes, DYSF (P = 5.53 × 10−5) and PAXIP1 (P = 2.26 × 10−4), were highlighted in patients with AD and differentially expressed in AD brain. Corroborating evidence from other exome array studies and gene expression data points toward potential involvement of these genes in the pathogenesis of AD. Conclusions and Relevance Low-frequency coding variants with intermediate effect size may account for a significant fraction of the genetic susceptibility to AD and FTD. Furthermore, we found evidence that coding variants in the known susceptibility gene ABCA7, as well as candidate genes DYSF and PAXIP1, confer risk for AD.
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    Proteomics of brain, CSF, and plasma identifies molecular signatures for distinguishing sporadic and genetic Alzheimer's disease
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2023) Sung, Yun Ju; Yang, Chengran; Norton, Joanne; Johnson, Matt; Fagan, Anne; Bateman, Randall J.; Perrin, Richard J.; Morris, John C.; Farlow, Martin R.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Schofield, Peter R.; Chui, Helena; Wang, Fengxian; Novotny, Brenna; Eteleeb, Abdallah; Karch, Celeste; Schindler, Suzanne E.; Rhinn, Herve; Johnson, Erik C. B.; Oh, Hamilton Se-Hwee; Rutledge, Jarod Evert; Dammer, Eric B.; Seyfried, Nicholas T.; Wyss-Coray, Tony; Harari, Oscar; Cruchaga, Carlos; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Proteomic studies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are instrumental in identifying AD pathways but often focus on single tissues and sporadic AD cases. Here, we present a proteomic study analyzing 1305 proteins in brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and plasma from patients with sporadic AD, TREM2 risk variant carriers, patients with autosomal dominant AD (ADAD), and healthy individuals. We identified 8 brain, 40 CSF, and 9 plasma proteins that were altered in individuals with sporadic AD, and we replicated these findings in several external datasets. We identified a proteomic signature that differentiated TREM2 variant carriers from both individuals with sporadic AD and healthy individuals. The proteins associated with sporadic AD were also altered in patients with ADAD, but with a greater effect size. Brain-derived proteins associated with ADAD were also replicated in additional CSF samples. Enrichment analyses highlighted several pathways, including those implicated in AD (calcineurin and Apo E), Parkinson's disease (α-synuclein and LRRK2), and innate immune responses (SHC1, ERK-1, and SPP1). Our findings suggest that combined proteomics across brain tissue, CSF, and plasma can be used to identify markers for sporadic and genetically defined AD.
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    Segregation of functional networks is associated with cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease
    (Oxford University Press, 2021) Ewers, Michael; Luan, Ying; Frontzkowski, Lukas; Neitzel, Julia; Rubinski, Anna; Dichgans, Martin; Hassenstab, Jason; Gordon, Brian A.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Levin, Johannes; Schofield, Peter; Benzinger, Tammie L.S; Morris, John C.; Goate, Alison; Karch, Celeste M.; Fagan, Anne M.; McDade, Eric; Allegri, Ricardo; Berman, Sarah; Chui, Helena; Cruchaga, Carlos; Farlow, Marty; Graff-Radford, Neill; Jucker, Mathias; Lee, Jae-Hong; Martins, Ralph N.; Mori, Hiroshi; Perrin, Richard; Xiong, Chengjie; Rossor, Martin; Fox, Nick C.; O’Connor, Antoinette; Salloway, Stephen; Danek, Adrian; Buerger, Katharina; Bateman, Randall J.; Habeck, Christian; Stern, Yaakov; Franzmeier, Nicolai; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Cognitive resilience is an important modulating factor of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, but the functional brain mechanisms that support cognitive resilience remain elusive. Given previous findings in normal ageing, we tested the hypothesis that higher segregation of the brain's connectome into distinct functional networks represents a functional mechanism underlying cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease. Using resting-state functional MRI, we assessed both resting-state functional MRI global system segregation, i.e. the balance of between-network to within-network connectivity, and the alternate index of modularity Q as predictors of cognitive resilience. We performed all analyses in two independent samples for validation: (i) 108 individuals with autosomal dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease and 71 non-carrier controls; and (ii) 156 amyloid-PET-positive subjects across the spectrum of sporadic Alzheimer's disease and 184 amyloid-negative controls. In the autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease sample, disease severity was assessed by estimated years from symptom onset. In the sporadic Alzheimer's sample, disease stage was assessed by temporal lobe tau-PET (i.e. composite across Braak stage I and III regions). In both samples, we tested whether the effect of disease severity on cognition was attenuated at higher levels of functional network segregation. For autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease, we found higher functional MRI-assessed system segregation to be associated with an attenuated effect of estimated years from symptom onset on global cognition (P = 0.007). Similarly, for patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease, higher functional MRI-assessed system segregation was associated with less decrement in global cognition (P = 0.001) and episodic memory (P = 0.004) per unit increase of temporal lobe tau-PET. Confirmatory analyses using the alternate index of modularity Q revealed consistent results. In conclusion, higher segregation of functional connections into distinct large-scale networks supports cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease.
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    Serum neurofilament dynamics predicts neurodegeneration and clinical progression in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease
    (Nature Research, 2019-02) Preische, Oliver; Schultz, Stephanie A.; Apel, Anja; Kuhle, Jens; Kaeser, Stephan A.; Barro, Christian; Gräber, Susanne; Kuder-Buletta, Elke; LaFougere, Christian; Laske, Christoph; Vöglein, Jonathan; Levin, Johannes; Masters, Colin L.; Martins, Ralph; Schofield, Peter R.; Rossor, Martin N.; Graff-Radford, Neill R.; Salloway, Stephen; Ghetti, Bernardino; Ringman, John M.; Noble, James M.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Goate, Alison M.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Wang, Guoqiao; Fagan, Anne M.; McDade, Eric M.; Gordon, Brian A.; Jucker, Mathias; Alzheimer Network; Allegri, Ricardo; Amtashar, Fatima; Bateman, Randall; Benzinger, Tammie; Berman, Sarah; Bodge, Courtney; Brandon, Susan; Brooks, William; Buck, Jill; Buckles, Virginia; Chea, Sochenda; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Chrem, Patricio; Chui, Helena; Cinco, Jake; Clifford, Jack; Cruchaga, Carlos; D’Mello, Mirelle; Donahue, Tamara; Douglas, Jane; Edigo, Noelia; Erekin-Taner, Nilufer; Fagan, Anne; Farlow, Marty; Farrar, Angela; Feldman, Howard; Flynn, Gigi; Fox, Nick; Franklin, Erin; Fujii, Hisako; Gant, Cortaiga; Gardener, Samantha; Ghetti, Bernardino; Goate, Alison; Goldman, Jill; Gordon, Brian; Graff-Radford, Neill; Gray, Julia; Gurney, Jenny; Hassenstab, Jason; Hirohara, Mie; Holtzman, David; Hornbeck, Russ; DiBari, Siri Houeland; Ikeuchi, Takeshi; Ikonomovic, Snezana; Jerome, Gina; Jucker, Mathias; Karch, Celeste; Kasuga, Kensaku; Kawarabayashi, Takeshi; Klunk, William; Koeppe, Robert; Kuder-Buletta, Elke; Laske, Christoph; Lee, Jae-Hong; Levin, Johannes; Marcus, Daniel; Martins, Ralph; Mason, Neal Scott; Masters, Colin; Maue-Dreyfus, Denise; McDade, Eric; Montoya, Lucy; Mori, Hiroshi; Morris, John; Nagamatsu, Akem; Neimeyer, Katie; Noble, James; Norton, Joanne; Perrin, Richard; Raichle, Marc; Ringman, John; Roh, Jee Hoon; Salloway, Stephen; Schofield, Peter; Shimada, Hiroyuki; Shiroto, Tomoyo; Shoji, Mikio; Sigurdson, Wendy; Sohrabi, Hamid; Sparks, Paige; Suzuki, Kazushi; Swisher, Laura; Taddei, Kevin; Wang, Jen; Wang, Peter; Weiner, Mike; Wolfsberger, Mary; Xiong, Chengjie; Xu, Xiong; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising fluid biomarker of disease progression for various cerebral proteopathies. Here we leverage the unique characteristics of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network and ultrasensitive immunoassay technology to demonstrate that NfL levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (n = 187) and serum (n = 405) are correlated with one another and are elevated at the presymptomatic stages of familial Alzheimer's disease. Longitudinal, within-person analysis of serum NfL dynamics (n = 196) confirmed this elevation and further revealed that the rate of change of serum NfL could discriminate mutation carriers from non-mutation carriers almost a decade earlier than cross-sectional absolute NfL levels (that is, 16.2 versus 6.8 years before the estimated symptom onset). Serum NfL rate of change peaked in participants converting from the presymptomatic to the symptomatic stage and was associated with cortical thinning assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, but less so with amyloid-β deposition or glucose metabolism (assessed by positron emission tomography). Serum NfL was predictive for both the rate of cortical thinning and cognitive changes assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination and Logical Memory test. Thus, NfL dynamics in serum predict disease progression and brain neurodegeneration at the early presymptomatic stages of familial Alzheimer's disease, which supports its potential utility as a clinically useful biomarker.