MAP2K3

Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (EC 2.7.12.2) (MAP kinase kinase 3) (MAPKK 3) (MAPK/ERK kinase 3) (MEK 3) (Stress-activated protein kinase kinase 2) (SAPK kinase 2) (SAPKK-2) (SAPKK2) [MEK3] [MKK3] [PRKMK3] [SKK2]

Publications

Associations of [i]MAP2K3[/i] Gene Variants With Superior Memory in SuperAgers.

PubMed

Full text

SuperAgers are adults age 80 with episodic memory performance that is [i]at least[/i] as good as that of average middle-aged adults. Understanding the biological determinants of SuperAging may have relevance to preventing age-related cognitive decline and dementia. This study aimed to identify associations between genetic variations and the SuperAging phenotype using Whole Exome Sequencing (WES).  : Sequence Kernel Association Combined (SKAT-C) test was conducted at the gene level including both rare and common variants in 56 SuperAgers and 22 cognitively-average controls from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).  : The SuperAging phenotype was associated with variants in the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase 3 [i](MAP2K3)[/i] gene. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributed to the significance (rs2363221 [intron 1], rs2230435 [exon 5], rs736103 [intron 7]).  : MAP2K3 resides in a biological pathway linked to memory. It is in a signaling cascade associated with beta-amyloid mediated apoptosis and has enriched expression in microglia. This preliminary work suggests MAP2K3 may represent a novel therapeutic target for age-related memory decline and perhaps Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Keywords

• Alzheimer’s
• Alzheimer’s dementia
• Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
• aging
• cognition
• episodic memory
• genetics
• successful aging
• whole exome sequencing