Alpha-2 macroglobulin I1000 V polymorphism in Chinese sporadic Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease

Several lines of evidence have revealed some overlapping pathologies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Although the alpha-2 macroglobulin gene (A2M) might be a risk factor of these two neurodegenerative diseases, conclusions from different studies have remained conflicting. Here we studied the role of A2M I1000 V polymorphism in both AD and PD in a Chinese Han population. We found that the A2M I/V genotype is associated with both AD (odds ratio (OR)=2.55, 95% confidential interval (95% CI): 1.20-5.43, attributable fraction (AF)=13.65%) and PD (OR=3.03, 95% CI: 1.30-7.02, AF=16.51%). After classifying according to the age of onset, this association is only detected in early-onset AD patients (OR=3.96, 95% CI: 1.28-12.26) and late-onset PD patients (OR=2.61, 95% CI: 0.97-7.09). Therefore, we conclude that in our samples, the A2M I/V genotype might be a susceptibility variant, even with minor effect, for both sporadic AD and PD.