Impaired type I interferon signaling activity implicated in the peripheral blood transcriptome of preclinical Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Background: Subjective or objective subtle cognitive decline (SCD) is considered the preclinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is a potentially crucial window for preventing or delaying the progression of the disease.

Methods: To explore the potential mechanism of disease progression and identify relevant biomarkers, we comprehensively assessed the peripheral blood transcriptomic alterations in SCD, covering lncRNA, mRNA, and miRNA.

Findings: Dysregulated protein-coding mRNA at both gene and isoform levels implicated impairment in the type I interferon signaling pathway in SCD. Specifically, this pathway was regulated by the transcription factor STAT1 and ncRNAs NRIR and has-miR-146a-5p. The miRNA-mRNA-lncRNA co-expression network revealed hub genes for the interferon module. Individuals with lower interferon signaling activity and lower expression of a hub gene STAT1 exhibited a higher conversion rate to mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Interpretation: Our findings illustrated the down-regulation of interferon signaling activity would potentially increase the risk of disease progression and thus serve as a pre-disease biomarker.

Funding: This work was partly supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFA0712403), National Natural Science Foundation of China (61932008), Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project (2018SHZDZX01), the 111 Project (No. B18015) of China, Greater Bay Area Institute of Precision Medicine (Guangzhou) (Grand No. IPM21C008), Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (21ZR1403200), and Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease (AD); Peripheral blood transcriptome; Progression biomarkers; Subjective or objective subtle cognitive decline (SCD); Type I interferon signaling.