Investigating a molecular basis for Alzheimer's disease subtypes using multiomic data integration and machine-learning

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PROJECT ABSTRACT Investigating a molecular basis for AD subtypes using multiomic data integration and machine-learning Despite intense investigation into preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) disease models, all potential disease- modifying drugs have failed in clinical trials. Numerous genetic studies have proposed a number of biological mechanisms, however there has been no consensus on the genetic etiology of AD. This is likely because the prevailing view of AD as a singular disease is oversimplified and does not consider heterogeneous pathogenic variation in AD genetic architecture. High-throughput studies indicate that AD is a result of complex, nonlinear interactions within and between the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome. While genome-wide association studies have successfully revealed genes associated with AD, these genes explain disease in a small proportion of the patient population, and the question of “missing heritability” remains. Thus, in Aim 1, I propose using linear and nonlinear methods in an integrated multiomics framework with machine learning to identify pathways significant in AD. While almost all AD patients present the hallmark b-amyloid and neurofibrillary tangle pathology, they also present significant variability in cognitive symptoms, behaviors, and neurophysiology. Given this, I hypothesize that inter-individual variation in AD-associated and immune pathways drives different disease etiologies across the patient population culminating in a common pathophysiology. One source of heterogeneity may be in immune pathways differentially regulating neuroinflammatory response during AD. In Aim 2, I propose using an unsupervised classification approach to determine subtypes of AD based on patient similarity in pathway variation across omic levels, imaging data, and phenotypic data. Specifically, I hypothesize that pathogenic variation within innate immunity pathways plays a critical role in driving different disease etiologies between patients. In aim 3, I propose characterizing each omic subtype by generating protein interaction networks for drug target prioritization. Knowledge from these aims will inform a shift in the current AD drug development paradigm by informing a precision medicine approach to target specific omic subtypes of AD instead of a “one size fits all” approach that has failed to date. Investigating genomic heterogeneity in AD through these aims has the potential to impact detection of pre-symptomatic AD individuals as well as reveal more insights into the complex genetic architecture of AD.