Genetic evidence for serum amyloid P component as a drug target in neurodegenerative disorders

The mechanisms responsible for neuronal death causing cognitive loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and many other dementias are not known. Serum amyloid P component (SAP) is a constitutive plasma protein, which is cytotoxic for cerebral neurones and also promotes formation and persistence of cerebral Aβ amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles. Circulating SAP, which is produced exclusively by the liver, is normally almost completely excluded from the brain. Conditions increasing brain exposure to SAP increase dementia risk, consistent with a causative role in neurodegeneration. Furthermore, neocortex content of SAP is strongly and independently associated with dementia at death. Here, seeking genomic evidence for a causal link of SAP with neurodegeneration, we meta-analysed three genome-wide association studies of 44 288 participants, then conducted cis-Mendelian randomization assessment of associations with neurodegenerative diseases. Higher genetically instrumented plasma SAP concentrations were associated with AD (odds ratio 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02; 1.11, p = 1.8 × 10−3), Lewy body dementia (odds ratio 1.37, 95%CI 1.19; 1.59, p = 1.5 × 10−5) and plasma tau concentration (0.06 log2(ng l−1) 95%CI 0.03; 0.08, p = 4.55 × 10−6). These genetic findings are consistent with neuropathogenicity of SAP. Depletion of SAP from the blood and the brain, by the safe, well tolerated, experimental drug miridesap may thus be neuroprotective.