(12 web hits)

The exact function of BLMH, a cysteine protease of the papain superfamily, is unknown, but has been associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in non-APOE4 individuals through a homozygous A->G nucleotide exchange. This variant increases the release of the proteolytic fragment, β-amyloid, in amyloid precursor proteins, which is a key event in the pathogenesis of AD. Case control studies studying the 1443V variant reported median prevalence for the A/A + A/G genotypes was 0.86. Increased AD risk with common G/G genotype was seen through higher frequency of the G/G phenotype among AD patients compared with control subjects. Increased risk for AD in individuals homozygous for the G allele confined it to non-APOE4 individuals. Although studies have found contradictory results, the potential important of this variant places it as a novel target for HD therapeutics.