BDNF Val66Met moderates episodic memory decline and tau biomarker increases in early sporadic Alzheimer’s disease

OBJECTIVE: Allelic variation in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism has been shown to moderate rates of cognitive decline in preclinical sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD; i.e., Aβ + older adults), and pre-symptomatic autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD).

In ADAD, Met66 was also associated with greater increases in CSF levels of total-tau (t-tau) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau(181)).

This study sought to determine the extent to which BDNF Val66Met is associated with changes in episodic memory and CSF t-tau and p-tau(181) in Aβ + older adults in early-stage sporadic AD.

METHOD: Aβ + Met66 carriers (n = 94) and Val66 homozygotes (n = 192) enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative who did not meet criteria for AD dementia, and with at least one follow-up neuropsychological and CSF assessment, were included.

A series of linear mixed models were conducted to investigate changes in each outcome over an average of 2.8 years, covarying for CSF Aβ(42), APOE ε4 status, sex, age, baseline diagnosis, and years of education.

RESULTS: Aβ + Met66 carriers demonstrated significantly faster memory decline (d = 0.33) and significantly greater increases in CSF t-tau (d = 0.30) and p-tau(181) (d = 0.29) compared to Val66 homozygotes, despite showing equivalent changes in CSF Aβ(42).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that reduced neurotrophic support, which is associated with Met66 carriage, may increase vulnerability to Aβ-related tau hyperphosphorylation, neuronal dysfunction, and cognitive decline even prior to the emergence of dementia.

Additionally, these findings highlight the need for neuropsychological and clinicopathological models of AD to account for neurotrophic factors and the genes which moderate their expression.