These findings suggest immunotherapeutic potential for MS4A4A antibodies in targeting alternatively activated macrophages such as tumor-associated macrophages, and in the treatment of multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma.
The total number of CGS-derived CpG dinucleotides in the window near MS4A4A was associated with AD risk (p = 2.67 × 10<sup>-10</sup> ), brain DNA methylation (p = 2.15 × 10<sup>-10</sup> ), and gene expression in brain (p = 0.03) and blood (p = 2.53 × 10<sup>-4</sup> ).
Thus, MS4A4A is a tetraspan molecule selectively expressed in macrophages during differentiation and polarization, essential for dectin-1-dependent activation of NK cell-mediated resistance to metastasis.
Among the prioritized genes identified by virtue of literature-based knowledge, most are immune-relevant genes (EPHA1, MS4A4A, UBE2L3 and TREM2), implicating crucial roles of the immune system in the pathogenesis of AD and IS.