Interplay between stress-related genes may influence Alzheimer’s disease development: The results of genetic interaction analyses of human data

•Interactions between the GCN2/EIF2AK4 and APP genes were associated with AD in the analysis of human data.•Detection of these associations is a step forward in translation of evidence from experimental studies to humans.•Properties of newly constructed composite indices support an idea about involvement of stress related genes in AD.•Studies of candidate medications for AD might benefit from inclusion of stress related genes in the analyses.•Stress related conceptual framework can serve as a research guideline for studying multifactorial AD regulation.