Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
7-1-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
First Advisor
Jesus Melgarejo
Second Advisor
Gladys E. Maestre
Third Advisor
Marcio Almeida
Abstract
Blood-based Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) biomarkers and genetics remain relatively unexplored in population-based Hispanic cohorts. We investigated the association of blood and brain imaging markers of AD in Mexican Americans and evaluated single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with both markers via whole genome-wide association (WGA). We analyzed 1,044 participants aged 18 – 85 years old from the GOBS study, a population-based cohort of Mexican American families, using mixed-linear regressions in SOLAR software accounting for heritability. AD-blood biomarkers included Aβ-40, Aβ-42, Aβ-42/40, neurofilament light chain (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Brain MRI AD- signatures included thickness of the superior frontal, precuneus, supramarginal, superior and inferior parietal, temporal pole, middle and inferior temporal, entorhinal, fusiform gyri, and amygdala and hippocampal volume. Greater NfL was associated with thinning of six cortical regions, and subcortical volumes. Higher GFAP was associated with thicker inferior temporal and parietal gyri, and GFAP and Aβ-42 were both associated with fusiform thickness. In WGA, rs6252422 (LRRCC1) was associated with fusiform and Aβ-42/40, rs753638837 (UPB1) was associated with fusiform and NfL, whereas rs7990383 (COL4A2) was associated with precuneus and Aβ-42.
Recommended Citation
Garza, S. (2025). Association and Shared Genetic Variants Between AD Blood-Based Biomarkers and MRI AD-Signatures in Mexican Americans [Master's thesis, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley]. ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1859
Comments
Copyright 2025 Shana Bethany Garza. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3314871770