アルツハイマー病で知られる遺伝子変異が女性の高い生殖能力と関連していることを示す新たな研究結果(New research shows genetic mutation known for Alzheimer’s disease is associated with higher fertility in women)

2023-08-10 カリフォルニア大学サンタバーバラ校(UCSB)

<関連情報>

• https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2023/021170/new-research-shows-genetic-mutation-known-alzheimers-disease-associated-higher
• https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade9797

アポリポ蛋白質ε4は、自然繁殖集団における高い繁殖力と関連している。 Apolipoprotein-ε4 is associated with higher fecundity in a natural fertility population

Benjamin C. Trumble,Mia Charifson,Tom Kraft,Angela R. Garcia,Daniel K. Cummings,Paul Hooper,Amanda J. Lea,Daniel Eid Rodriguez,Stephanie V. Koebele,Kenneth Buetow,Bret Beheim,Riana Minocher,Maguin Gutierrez,Gregory S. Thomas,Margaret Gatz,Jonathan Stieglitz,Caleb E. Finch,Hillard Kaplan, and Michael Gurven
Science Advances  Published:9 Aug 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade9797

Abstract

In many populations, the apolipoprotein-ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele increases the risk for several chronic diseases of aging, including dementia and cardiovascular disease; despite these harmful effects at later ages, the APOE-ε4 allele remains prevalent. We assess the impact of APOE-ε4 on fertility and its proximate determinants (age at first reproduction, interbirth interval) among the Tsimane, a natural fertility population of forager-horticulturalists. Among 795 women aged 13 to 90 (20% APOE-ε4 carriers), those with at least one APOE-ε4 allele had 0.3 to 0.5 more children than (ε3/ε3) homozygotes, while those with two APOE-ε4 alleles gave birth to 1.4 to 2.1 more children. APOE-ε4 carriers achieve higher fertility by beginning reproduction 0.8 years earlier and having a 0.23-year shorter interbirth interval. Our findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting a need for studies of populations living in ancestrally relevant environments to assess how alleles that are deleterious in sedentary urban environments may have been maintained by selection throughout human evolutionary history.