Mutational screening of the mortalin gene (HSPA9) in Parkinson's disease.

Mortalin is a mitochondrial chaperone of the heat shock protein 70 family. Mortalin plays a central role in mitochondrial biogenesis through its capacity to direct the import of nuclear-encoded proteins into the mitochondria. As mitochondrial dysfunction has been involved in Parkinson's disease (PD), changes in mortalin function and expression could manifest as a higher risk of developing PD. In agreement with this, mortalin expression was decreased in the mitochondrial fraction of neurons from the substantia nigra of PD patients. We hypothesised that DNA variants in the mortalin gene (HSPA9) could contribute to the risk of developing PD. We analysed the 17 HSPA9 coding exons in 330 PD patients and 250 controls. In addition to several polymorphisms, found in patients and controls, three variants were found in 3 patients but none of the controls: two missense (R126 > W and P509 > S) and a 17 bp insertion in intron 8 (predicted to affect RNA splicing). Our study suggests that putative mutations in the mortalin, although rare, could contribute to the risk of developing PD.

Lrrk2 R1441G-related Parkinson's disease: evidence of a common founding event in the seventh century in Northern Spain.

Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene together represent the most common genetic determinant of Parkinson's disease (PD) identified to date. The vast majority of patients with LRRK2-related PD reported in the literature carry one of three pathogenic substitutions: G2019S, R1441C, or R1441G. While G2019S and R1441C are geographically widespread, R1441G is most prevalent in the Basque Country and is rare outside of Northern Spain. We sought to better understand the processes that have shaped the current distribution of R1441G. We performed a haplotype analysis of 29 unrelated PD patients heterozygous for R1441G and 85 wild-type controls using 20 markers that spanned 15.1 Mb across the LRRK2 region. Nine of the patients were of Basque origin and 20 were non-Basques. We inferred haplotypes using a Bayesian approach and utilized a maximum-likelihood method to estimate the age of the most recent common ancestor. Significant but incomplete allele sharing was observed over a distance of 6.0 Mb and a single, rare ten-marker haplotype 5.8 Mb in length was seen in all mutation carriers. We estimate that the most recent common ancestor lived 1,350 (95% CI, 1,020-1,740) years ago in approximately the seventh century. We hypothesize that R1441G originated in the Basque population and that dispersion of the mutation then occurred through short-range gene flow that was largely limited to nearby regions in Spain.

Mutational screening of the mitochondrial transcription factors B1 and B2 (TFB1M and TFB2M) in Parkinson's disease.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). The nuclear encoded transcription factors A, B1 and B2 are essential for mitochondrial DNA replication. Sequence variants at the genes encoding TFAM, TFB1M and TFB2M could contribute to the risk of developing PD. Here, we searched for TFB1M and TFB2M nucleotide variants in a cohort of PD-patients (n=300) and healthy controls (n=200) from Spain. Single strand conformation analysis and direct sequencing were used to determine the variation at all the coding exons of the two genes. In addition to previously reported polymorphisms, we found several rare variants in patients and controls. Allele frequencies for all the nucleotide changes did not differ between patients and controls. Our work suggests that DNA variants in TFB1M and TFB2M did not contribute to the risk for PD in our population.

Mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) gene variation in Parkinson's disease.

Mitochondrial function is necessary to supply the energy required for cell metabolism. Mutations/polymorphisms in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). The mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) controls the transcription of mtDNA and regulates the mtDNA-copy number, thus being important for maintaining ATP production. TFAM dysfunction may also be involved in PD, and TFAM gene mutations/polymorphisms could contribute to the risk of developing PD. We searched for gene variants in the seven TFAM-exons in a total of 250 PD-patients. We found five common polymorphisms, and only one was a missense change (S12T in exon 1). Genotype and allele frequencies did not differ between patients and healthy controls (n=225) for the five polymorphisms. Our work suggests that TFAM-variants did not contribute to the risk of developing PD.

No association between Parkinson's disease and three polymorphisms in the eNOS, nNOS, and iNOS genes.

Nitric oxide synthases (NOS) and mitochondrial DNA-polymorphisms have been associated with the risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD). In this report, we genotyped 450 PD-patients and 200 controls for three polymorphisms in the endothelial, inducible and neuronal NOS-genes, and for the T4336C and A10398G mitochondrial DNA-polymorphisms. None of the eNOS (intron 4 VNTR), iNOS (exon 22 A/G), or nNOS (exon 29T/C) were significantly associated with PD. Mitochondrial 4336C increased the PD-risk among women (OR=6.13), while the 10398G had a protective effect (OR=0.52). We did not find significantly interactions between the NOS and mitochondrial polymorphisms in the risk for PD in our population.

LRRK2 R1441G in Spanish patients with Parkinson's disease.

Pathogenic mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2; PARK8) have been implicated in autosomal dominant, late-onset Parkinson's disease (PD). The LRRK2 4321C>G (R1441G) mutation was originally identified in Spanish families originating from the Basque region. Within this ethnicity, Lrrk2 R1441G substitutions have been suggested as a frequent cause of disease. Herein we have assessed another referral-based series of 225 patients with PD from the neighboring region of Asturias, Northern Spain. The LRRK2 4321C>G mutation was found in 5 (2.7%) of sporadic, late-onset patients and was not present in control subjects. Although patients with a Lrrk2 R1441G substitution are apparently unrelated, they share a chromosome 12q12 haplotype not found in controls and indicative of a common founder.

Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms and risk of Parkinson's disease in Spanish population.

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been implicated in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mitochondrial function is necessary to supply the energy required for cell metabolism, and mutations in mitochondrial genes should have a deleterious effect in neuronal function. An association between several common mtDNA-polymorphisms and the risk of PD has been described. To test this association among Spanish patients, we genotyped 271 PD-patients and 230 healthy controls for 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by digestion with a restriction enzyme. Alleles at eight of these SNPs define nine common European haplotypes, the mitochondrial haplogroups. In our population, no haplogroup showed significantly different frequencies between patients and controls. A significant association was found for the 4336T/C SNP (a polymorphism in the tRNA gln gene), with allele 4336C having a significantly increased frequency in PD-women compared to controls (OR=4.45; 95%CI=1.23-15.96; p=0.011). We also sequenced five of the complex I genes (ND1 to ND5) in the patients who were 4336C, and no mutation in these genes was found. We also found a significantly reduced frequency of 10398G in patients (p=0.009; OR=0.53), confirming a previously described protective effect for this allele in PD. In conclusion, we provided further evidence of the involvement of mitochondrial DNA variation in PD. In agreement with previous reports, we described a higher risk for PD among women with the mitochondrial 4336C allele in our population, and a protective effect for 10398G.

Homozygous partial genomic triplication of the parkin gene in early-onset parkinsonism.

Autosomal recessive mutations in the parkin gene are the predominant cause of familial, early-onset parkinsonism; missense mutations involving one or a few nucleotides, exonic deletions and duplications have been described. Here we report a family with two affected brothers. Direct sequencing of parkin did not detect mutations, but semi-quantitative analysis identified a novel exonic rearrangement of exons 2-4. Both patients were homozygous for unique genomic triplications of the parkin gene.

Chemokines (RANTES and MCP-1) and chemokine-receptors (CCR2 and CCR5) gene polymorphisms in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, affecting about 5% of the population older than 65 years. Several works have demonstrated the involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of both, PD and LOAD. Genetic susceptibility to develop PD and LOAD has also been widely recognised. Thus, functional polymorphisms at the genes encoding inflammatory proteins could influence the overall risk of developing these neurodegenerative disorders. We examined whether DNA-polymorphisms at the genes encoding chemokines MCP-1 (-2518 A/G) and RANTES (-403 A/G), and chemokine receptors 5 (CCR5, Delta32) and 2 (CCR2,V64I), were associated with the risk and/or the clinical outcome of LOAD and PD. A total of 200 PD, 326 LOAD, and 370 healthy controls were genotyped for the four polymorphisms, and genotype frequencies statistically compared. We did not find significant differences in the frequencies of the different genotypes between both groups of patients and controls. We conclude that the four DNA polymorphisms, which have been associated with several immuno-modulated diseases, did not contribute to the risk of PD or LOAD.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region of the PARKIN gene and Parkinson's disease.

Mutations in the PARKIN gene have been identified in families with recessively inherited Parkinson disease (PD). Common DNA-polymorphisms at the PARKIN gene could contribute to the risk for PD in the general population. Here we searched for DNA-polymorphisms in the PARKIN promoter. We found two single nucleotide polymorphisms (-324 A/G and -797 A/G). In order to analyse the association of PD with these and two previously described polymorphisms (1281 G/A, Asp394Asn, and 601 G/A, Ser167Asn) we genotyped 105 patients and 150 healthy controls. Allele and genotype frequencies for the four polymorphisms did not differ between patients and controls, or between patients with an early-onset (< or =40 years; n = 20) and a late-onset (>40 years; n = 85). According to our data, the genetic variation at the PARKIN gene (including promoter polymorphisms) did not contribute to the risk of developing PD in the general population.

Association between the TNFalpha-308 A/G polymorphism and the onset-age of Alzheimer disease.

Local inflammatory processes associated with amyloid plaques would contribute to the progression of late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD). Tumor necrosis factors alpha (TNF(alpha)) and beta (LT(alpha)) are inflammatory cytokines involved in the local immune response occurring in the central nervous system of LOAD patients. Genetic variation at these genes could contribute to the risk of developing AD or influence the age at the onset of the disease. We genotyped 315 LOAD patients and 400 healthy controls for DNA-polymorphisms in the genes encoding TNF(alpha) (-308 G/A, -238G/A) and LT(alpha) (Asn26Thr). Carriers of -308A showed a mean age at onset 3 years younger than noncarriers of this allele (P = 0.019). Our data suggest an effect of the TNF(alpha)-308 polymorphism on the age at onset of late AD. This represents additional evidence of the importance of genetic variation at the proinflammatory components in the origin and progression of this common neurodegenerative disease.