OLR1 and its regulatory miR-369-3p: genetics and expression analysis

Aims and methods: An association analysis of Oxidised LDL Receptor 1 (OLR1) was carried out in a population of 443 patients with Alzheimer???s disease (AD) compared with 391 age-matched controls. In addition, we performed an expression analysis of OLR1 and its regulatory hsa-miR-369-3p in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC). Results: An increased frequency of OLR1 rs10502 83C allelewas observed in patients compared with controls (43% versus 46%, p = 0.011, OR: 1.48, 95% CI:1.10???2.00). Stratifying according to gender, a statistically increased frequency of OLR1 rs1050283C allele was observed in female patients compared with female controls (37% versus 51%, p < 0.001, OR: 2.8982, 95% CI: 1.97???4.24), but not in males. Significantly decreased relative expression levels of OLR1 in PBMC was observed in patients carrying the rs1050283C allele as compared with non-carriers (0.23±0.13 versus 0.92±0.8, p = 0.04). A trend towards increased relative expression levels of the hsa-miRNA-369-3p were observed in patients carrying the rs1050283C allele (2.23±1.35 versus 1.16±0.31, p > 0.05).Atendency towards a negative correlation between OLR1 and hsa-miRNA-369-3p gene expression was found in patients carrying the rs1050283C allele (r =???0.313, p = 0.05). Conclusions: The OLR1 rs1050283C allele is a risk factor for sporadic AD; OLR1 and its transcriptional regulatory factor hsa-miR-369-3p are de-regulated in patients carrying the rs1050283C allele.