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Vitamin D deficiency might pose a greater risk for ApoEɛ4 non-carrier Alzheimer’s disease patients

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Abstract

Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone that shares a synthetic pathway with cholesterol. ApoE, which is involved in the transport of cholesterol, is the most significant genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Surprisingly, recent studies have indicated the presence of an evolutionary juncture between these two molecules. To demonstrate this possible relationship, we investigated serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 (25OHD) in patients with early onset-AD (EOAD; n:22), late onset-AD (LOAD; n:72), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n:32) and in healthy subjects (n:70). We then analyzed the correlation between 25OHD and cytokines, BDNF and Hsp90 with respect to ApoE alleles, as these molecules were investigated in our previous studies. The LOAD patients had low levels of 25OHD, but these low levels originated only from ApoEɛ4 non-carrier patients. Negative correlations were observed between serum 25OHD and TNFα, IL-1β or IL-6 levels in healthy subjects or MCI patients, but these same correlations were positive in LOAD patients. ApoE alleles indicated that these positive correlations exist only in ɛ4 carrier LOAD patients. Consequently, our results indicate that vitamin D deficiency presents a greater risk for ApoEɛ4 non-carrier AD patients than for ɛ4 carriers. Therefore, it might be beneficial to monitor the vitamin D status of ApoEɛ4 allele non-carrier AD patients.

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Acknowledgments

Study funded by the Research Fund of Istanbul University (ONAP-28651, ONAP-4024, ONAP-21712).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, 34098, Istanbul, Turkey

    Erdinç Dursun, Merve Alaylıoğlu, Irem L. Atasoy, Esin Candaş, Ömür Selin Araz, Selma Yılmazer & Duygu Gezen-Ak

  2. Behavioral Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Başar Bilgiç, Haşmet Hanağası, Ebba Lohmann & Hakan Gürvit

  3. Department of Medical Pharmacology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Burak Önal

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  1. Erdinç Dursun
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Correspondence to Duygu Gezen-Ak.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. In addition, the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Istanbul University. Signed informed consent was obtained from all study participants.

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Dursun, E., Alaylıoğlu, M., Bilgiç, B. et al. Vitamin D deficiency might pose a greater risk for ApoEɛ4 non-carrier Alzheimer’s disease patients. Neurol Sci 37, 1633–1643 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-016-2647-1

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