Short report: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) gene polymorphism and risk of Alzheimer's disease in Italians

• Published in: Experimental gerontology 2004-08, Vol.39 (8), p.1249-1252
• Main Authors: Pola, Roberto, Flex, Andrea, Gaetani, Eleonora, Proia, Anna S, Papaleo, Pierangelo, Di Giorgio, Angela, Straface, Giuseppe, Pecorini, Giovanni, Serricchio, Michele, Pola, Paolo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0531-5565
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2004.05.001

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a key molecule for monocyte chemotaxis and tissue extravasation and for the modulation of leukocyte function during inflammation. Upregulation of MCP-1 may occur in the brain of subjects affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) and MCP-1 levels in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid have been proposed as biological markers for the inflammatory process that accompanies AD pathogenesis. Importantly, serum levels and biological activity of MCP-1 protein are strongly influenced by a single nucleotide polymorphism occurring at position -2518 of the MCP-1 gene promoter. A recent study has investigated the possible association between this gene polymorphism and AD in a Spanish population, with negative results. Here, we performed a case-control study to test whether the risk for AD might be influenced by the -2518 A/G polymorphism of the MCP-1 gene in an ethnically homogeneous Italian population. The GG genotype and the G allele of the MCP-1 gene polymorphism were significantly more common in the AD group than in control individuals (P