Open AccessSex-Dependent Effects of theAPOEɛ4 Allele on Behavioral Traits and White Matter Structures in Young Adults
Author(s) -
Hikaru Takeuchi,
Hiroaki Tomita,
Ryan Browne,
Yasuyuki Taki,
Yoku Kikuchi,
Chiaki Ono,
Zhiqian Yu,
Rui Nouchi,
Ryoichi Yokoyama,
Yuka Kotozaki,
Seishu Nakagawa,
Atsushi Sekiguchi,
Kunio Iizuka,
Sugiko Hanawa,
Tsuyoshi Araki,
Carlos Makoto Miyauchi,
Kohei Sakaki,
Takayuki Nozawa,
Shigeyuki Ikeda,
Susumu Yokota,
Daniele Magistro,
Yuko Sassa,
Ryuta Kawashima
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
cerebral cortex
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.694
H-Index - 250
eISSN - 1460-2199
pISSN - 1047-3211
DOI - 10.1093/cercor/bhaa251
Subject(s) - allele , apolipoprotein e , stroop effect , genotype , psychology , white matter , cognition , developmental psychology , genetics , biology , medicine , neuroscience , disease , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , gene
The APOE ɛ4 allele is associated with a risk of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly, with the association being pronounced in females. Conversely, findings of the effects of the APOE ɛ4 allele in young adults are mixed. Here, we investigated the sex-genotype interaction effects of the APOE ɛ4 allele on cognitive functions as well as brain structures among 1258 young adults. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, there were significant effects of the interaction between sex and the number of APOE ɛ4 allele on some speed tasks (e.g., simple processing speed tasks and the reverse Stroop task) as well as on regional white matter volume (rWMV). The observed sex-genotype interaction conferred better cognitive performance and greater rWMV in the anterior frontal and precentral white matter areas in females having more APOE ɛ4 alleles and reduced rWMV in the same areas in male having more APOE ɛ4 alleles. These findings support the long-debated antagonistic pleiotropic effects of the APOE ɛ4 allele in females.