Alzheimer Disease Gene Review Project

SCOPING BIOLOGY_DOMAIN

Species: human

Genes: APP PSEN1 PSEN2 APOE TREM2 SORL1 ABCA7 ADAM10 BACE1 NCSTN APH1A APH1B PSENEN CLU BIN1 PICALM CD33 CR1 CD2AP INPP5D PLCG2 ABI3 SPI1 MS4A4A MS4A6A EPHA1 FERMT2 CASS4 MAPT GSK3B CDK5 CDK5R1 LRP1 ABCA1

Alzheimer Disease Gene Review Project

Overview

This project reviews human GO annotations for genes central to Alzheimer disease
genetics and biology. The scope combines Mendelian/familial Alzheimer disease
genes, high-confidence common and rare variant risk genes, and pathway genes
needed to curate reusable disease-relevant modules.

The initial project focus is human Alzheimer disease (MONDO:0004975). Disease
scope, gene-set rationale, and prioritization belong in this project page;
reusable modules/ entries should be normal biological pathways, complexes, or
motifs rather than disease-project overviews.

Model Species

Primary: Homo sapiens (human)

Genes for Review

Priority 1: Foundational Alzheimer Genetics

Gene Rationale
APP Amyloid precursor protein; central substrate for amyloid beta production
PSEN1 Familial Alzheimer disease presenilin; gamma-secretase catalytic subunit
PSEN2 Familial Alzheimer disease presenilin; gamma-secretase catalytic subunit
APOE Major late-onset Alzheimer disease risk locus; lipid transport and amyloid clearance
TREM2 Rare-variant microglial risk gene; innate immune signaling
SORL1 Endosomal APP trafficking and amyloid processing risk gene
ABCA7 Lipid transport/phagocytosis risk gene
ADAM10 Alpha-secretase in non-amyloidogenic APP processing

Priority 2: Amyloid Processing and Tau Biology

Gene Module context
BACE1 Beta-secretase initiating amyloidogenic APP processing
NCSTN Gamma-secretase complex maturation and substrate recognition
APH1A Gamma-secretase complex subunit
APH1B Gamma-secretase complex subunit; AD-associated target signal in Open Targets
PSENEN Gamma-secretase complex stabilizing subunit
MAPT Tau pathology axis; microtubule-associated tau
GSK3B Tau phosphorylation and kinase signaling context
CDK5 Neuronal kinase implicated in tau phosphorylation biology
CDK5R1 CDK5 regulatory subunit; neuronal kinase activation context

Priority 3: Lipid, Endocytosis, Complement, and Microglial Risk Network

Gene Module context
CLU Apolipoprotein/chaperone risk gene; amyloid handling and complement context
BIN1 Endocytosis and membrane remodeling risk gene
PICALM Clathrin-mediated endocytosis and APP/ApoE trafficking risk gene
CD33 Microglial immune receptor risk gene
CR1 Complement receptor risk gene
CD2AP Endocytosis/cytoskeletal adaptor risk gene
INPP5D SHIP1; microglial phosphoinositide signaling risk gene
PLCG2 Rare coding variant microglial signaling risk gene
ABI3 Rare coding variant microglial cytoskeletal/immune risk gene
SPI1 PU.1 transcription factor; myeloid/microglial regulatory risk locus
MS4A4A MS4A locus representative; microglial/lipid biomarker genetics
MS4A6A MS4A locus representative; Alzheimer disease GWAS signal
EPHA1 Endocytosis/immune signaling risk gene
FERMT2 Integrin/cytoskeletal adaptor risk gene
CASS4 Cytoskeletal adaptor risk gene
LRP1 ApoE receptor and APP/amyloid clearance pathway component
ABCA1 ApoE lipidation and cholesterol efflux pathway component

Reusable Normal-Biology Modules

Curate reusable pathway and complex models as ModuleReview YAML files under
modules/ only when the module is a normal biological unit with a normal
biology name. Alzheimer relevance can be recorded here in the project page and
in gene reviews, but the module title/scope should stay biological rather than
disease-project scoped.

Candidate normal-biology modules for future curation include APP processing and
amyloid-beta handling, gamma-secretase-mediated intramembrane proteolysis,
apolipoprotein/lipoprotein transport, microglial lipid-debris sensing, tau
microtubule biology, and endocytic adaptor trafficking.

Validate each module with:

uv run linkml-validate -s src/ai_gene_review/schema/gene_review.yaml -C ModuleReview modules/<module>.yaml

Source Anchors


STATUS

NOTES

2026-06-19

2026-06-20