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Integrated genomic approaches identify major pathways and upstream regulators in late onset Alzheimer's disease
Li X, Long J, He T, Belshaw R, Scott J.. Scientific reports, 2015-07-23
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Previous studies have evaluated gene expression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains to identify mechanistic processes, but have been limited by the size of the datasets studied. Here we have implemented a novel meta-analysis approach to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in published datasets comprising 450 late onset AD (LOAD) brains and 212 controls. We found 3124 DEGs, many of which were highly correlated with Braak stage and cerebral atrophy.
Key findings
- Here we have implemented a novel meta-analysis approach to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in published datasets comprising 450 late onset AD (LOAD) brains and 212 controls.
- We found 3124 DEGs, many of which were highly correlated with Braak stage and cerebral atrophy.
- Pathway Analysis revealed the most perturbed pathways to be (a) nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species in macrophages (NOROS), (b) NFkB and (c) mitochondrial dysfunction.
- NOROS was also up-regulated, and mitochondrial dysfunction down-regulated, in healthy ageing subjects.
Why it matters
By analyzing gene expression across many brain samples, this meta-analysis identified thousands of differentially expressed genes and highlighted pathways such as nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species in macrophages, NFkB, and mitochondrial dysfunction. It identifies possible disease processes but does not test or show any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 61 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 64 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Scientific reports) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Scientific Reports: journal h-index 463 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 140 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 8 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 22 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Imperial College London: institution h-index 1,744 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26202100) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 61 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 61 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 64 out of 100. |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Li, X., Long, J., He, T., Belshaw, R., & Scott, J. (2015). Integrated genomic approaches identify major pathways and upstream regulators in late onset Alzheimer's disease. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12393
Vancouver
Li X, Long J, He T, Belshaw R, Scott J. Integrated genomic approaches identify major pathways and upstream regulators in late onset Alzheimer's disease. Scientific reports. 2015. doi:10.1038/srep12393. PMID: 26202100.
BibTeX
@article{li2015-26202100,
author = {Li, X. and Long, J. and He, T. and Belshaw, R. and Scott, J.},
title = {{Integrated genomic approaches identify major pathways and upstream regulators in late onset Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1038/srep12393},
pmid = {26202100},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12393}
}
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