Immune cell genes linked to Alzheimer's risk and drug repurposing targets identified

A new study integrating genetic and immune cell data has identified specific immune cell types and genes linked to Alzheimer's disease susceptibility, also proposing potential drug repurposing candidates. The research prioritized genes like CTSH and FCER1G within T-cell and monocyte populations. Using Mendelian randomization and colocalization on OneK1K and genome-wide association study data, the study found naïve/central memory T-cells and monocytes are key contexts for Alzheimer's genetic signals. Independent datasets and single-cell RNA sequencing supported the reproducibility of several prioritized gene signals. The analysis further combined drug-signature resources, blood-brain barrier permeability predictions, and molecular docking to generate exploratory compound-gene hypotheses. These findings offer a framework for interpreting Alzheimer's susceptibility and suggest candidate targets requiring experimental validation before therapeutic application.