DYRK1A genetic variants are not linked to Alzheimer's disease in a Spanish case-control cohort

Background: As dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) has been implicated in the abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain, and the development of neurofibrillary tangles, we examined the contribution of this gene to the susceptibility for AD. Methods: We examined genetic variations of DYRK1A by genotyping haplotype tagging SNPs (htSNPs) (rs11701483, rs2835740, rs1137600, rs2835761, rs2835762, rs2154545 and rs8132976) in a group of 634 Spanish AD cases and 733 controls. Results: There were no differences in the genotypic, allelic or haplotypic distributions between cases and controls in the overall analysis or after stratification by APOE epsilon 4 allele. Conclusion: Our negative findings in the Spanish population argue against the hypothesis that DYRK1A genetic variations are causally related to AD risk. Still, additional studies using different sets of patients and control subjects deserve further attention, since supporting evidence for association between DYRK1A gene and AD risk in the Japanese population exists.