Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Neurodegenerative disease

APOE4 homozygosity is a new genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease

New data confirm that APOE4 homozygosity is a major genetic cause of Alzheimer’s disease, warranting the development of specialized research strategies, treatment approaches and clinical trials.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Defining genetic forms of Alzheimer’s disease.

References

  1. Huang, Y. & Mucke, L. Cell 148, 1204–1222 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Long, J. M. & Holtzman, D. M. Cell 179, 312–339 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Fortea, J. et al. Lancet Neurol. 20, 930–942 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Corder, E. H. et al. Science 261, 921–923 (1993).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Farrer, L. A. et al. JAMA 278, 1349–1356 (1997).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Blumenfeld, J. et al. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 25, 91–110 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Fortea, J. et al. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02931-w (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Genin, E. et al. Mol. Psychiatry 16, 903–907 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Wang, Y. Y. et al. J. Alzheimers Dis. 81, 1331–1339 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Chemparathy, A. et al. Neuron https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.008 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang, C. et al. Nat. Med. 24, 647–657 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Mahley, R. W. & Huang, Y. Neuron 76, 871–885 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is partially supported by grants P01AG073082 and RF1AG076647 to Y.H. from the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank R. Mahley, L. Mucke and J. Blumenfeld for their feedback on the article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yadong Huang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Y.H. is a co-founder and scientific advisory board member of GABAeron, Inc. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, Q., Liang, Z. & Huang, Y. APOE4 homozygosity is a new genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02923-w

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02923-w

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing