Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) research has principally focused on neurons over the years due to their known role in the production of amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. In contrast, recent genomic studies of LOAD have implicated microglia as culprits of the prolonged inflammation exacerbating the neurodegeneration observed in patient brains. Indeed, recent LOAD genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have reported multiple loci near genes related to microglial function, including

Variant-to-function mapping of late-onset Alzheimer′s disease GWAS signals in human microglial cell models implicates<i>RTFDC1</i>at the<i>CASS4</i>locus

Variant-to-function mapping of late-onset Alzheimer′s disease GWAS signals in human microglial cell models implicatesRTFDC1at theCASS4locus