A mutation in exon 4 of the human [alpha]-synuclein gene was reported recently in four families with autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD). In order to examine whether mutations in this exon or elsewhere in the gene are common in familial PD, all seven exons of the [alpha]-synuclein gene were amplified by PCR from index cases of 30 European and American Caucasian kindreds affected with autosomal dominant PD. Each product was sequenced directly and examined for mutations in the open reading frame. No mutations were found in any of the samples examined. We conclude that the A53T change described in the [alpha]-synuclein gene is a rare cause of PD or may even be a rare variant. Mutations in the regulatory or intronic regions of the gene were not excluded by this study.
A recent report described an American-Italian kindred (Contursi kindred) with autosomal dominant inheritance of a levodopa-responsive parkinsonian syndrome. Affected patients exhibited the core triad of tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia characteristic of classical Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as pathological evidence of Lewy bodies. Genomic analysis of this family ultimately led to mapping of a locus to chromosome 4q21-23, designated PD-1 (1). These authors have since identified a G -> A transition at position 209 in exon 4 of the [alpha]-synuclein gene causing an alanine to threonine substitution at position 53 [Ala53Thr (2)] and proposed this as the causative mutation necessary for the development of the parkinsonian phenotype in the kindred. Support for this hypothesis was given by the finding of the same mutation in affected members of three apparently unrelated Greek families. However, shortly before identification of the [alpha]-synuclein gene mutation, polymorphic markers spanning the locus PD-1 were examined in 13 European multigenerational PD families with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, and showed no linkage in 11 out of the 13 families (3). In two small families, positive lod scores were obtained, indicating the possibility of linkage.
Following identification of the Ala53Thr mutation in the [alpha]-synuclein gene, we sequenced all seven exons of [alpha]-synuclein in 30 index cases of familial PD. Some of these families were found previously to be unlinked to the PD-1 locus (3). Sequencing of the [alpha]-synuclein gene would allow us to confirm or refute the linkage data obtained and, more importantly, to estimate the numerical importance of the [alpha]-synuclein gene in autosomal dominant PD.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products were generated from genomic DNA from 30 index cases of familial PD using a panel of primer pairs flanking each exon of the [alpha]-synuclein gene. Each of these products were of a size consistent with published data (2). These were then sequenced directly in order to screen for the presence of polymorphisms and/or mutations, but no coding base pair differences were found relative to the published sequence in any of the 30 families.
The recent description of a mutation in the [alpha]-synuclein gene in four families with autosomal dominant PD may aid in the understanding of the genetic basis of familial PD. The mutation, if it is indeed pathogenic, is a rare cause of PD (4,5). While these authors reported the same amino acid change in the Contursi kindred and in three apparently unrelated Greek kindreds, it remains a possibility that they may share a common origin as the two locations formerly were connected by a trade route. Thus, in the absence of haplotype data, a founder effect cannot be excluded.
Table 2.
Thirty index cases from Caucasian families exhibiting apparent autosomal dominant inheritance were examined. In these families, at least two affected individuals in each family were personally examined in order to ensure fulfilment of the diagnostic criteria of idiopathic PD, in accordance with a similar study design (7). Post-mortem information was available from members of two kindreds, and this confirmed the presence of Lewy bodies in a typical distribution. Three members of family K, which previously had given a maximum multipoint lod score of 1.5 at locus PD-1, were included in the study (3). Clinical characteristics of 16 kindreds are shown (Table 1). Index cases of seven American Caucasian families were ascertained by The Mayo Clinic (onset ages of the affecteds sequenced were 69, 75, 53, 72, 67 and 45 years), and seven further families are also referenced for information (5).
Primers were designed to human genomic non-A[beta] component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid precursor protein, NACP/synuclein (sequences submitted to NCBI database; accession nos U46896-U46901). They were designed to amplify sequences flanking each exon at ~50-100 bp proximal and distal to the coding sequence. The exact exon-intron organisation of the human [alpha]-synuclein gene is not yet known. Primers were designed using Gene Runner 3.05, Hastings Software, Inc. Exons 1 and 2 (untranslated) were amplified together as one product. The 5' intron sequence flanking exon 7 is not known. Thus intron 6-7 was PCR amplified using exon 6F and exon 7R primers and Expand Long Template PCR system (Boeringer Mannheim) (for primers, see Table 2). A 2.8 kb PCR fragment was excised from an agarose gel, TA cloned (Invitrogen) and sequenced. Exon 4 primers used were as published (2). PCR conditions were denaturation at 94°C (3 min), followed by 35 cycles of 94°C (20 s), 55°C (30 s), 72°C (45 s), with a final extension at 72°C (10 min). PCR products were purified using QIAquick columns prior to sequencing using dRhodamine terminators on an ABI377. Sequence chromatograms were analysed using PolyPhredPhrap (8).
The European Consortium on Genetic Susceptibility in Parkinson's Disease (GSPD) comprises: N. Wood and J.R. Vaughan (UK); A. Brice, A. Durr, J. Tassin, M. Martinez, J. Feingold and Y. Agid (France); T. Gasser, and B. Bereznai (Munich); M. Breteler, S. Harhangi and B. Oostra (The Netherlands); and V. Bonifati, E. Fabrizio, G. Meco, G. De Michele, G. Volpe and G. Campanella (Italy). This work was supported by The Parkinson's Disease Society of Great Britain, The Italian Ministry for University, Scientific and Technological Research (MURST), Association France Parkinson, the French Health Ministry (PHRC), EC Biomed 2, the Brain Research Trust and the Doris Hillier Award (British Medical Association).
Human Molecular Genetics
Pages
Introduction
Results And Discussion
Materials And Methods
Patients
Laboratory methods
Acknowledgements
References
NACP exon
Primers 5'/3', forward and reverse
Product
size (bp)
Exons 1 and 2
GAGAAGGAGGAGGACTAGGAGG
499
CGGCGTTCTCCAGGATTTC
Exon 3
GTCTCACACTTTGGAGGGTTTC
395
CACCTACCTACACATACCTCTGACTC
Exon 4
GCTAATCAGCAATTTAAGGCTAG
215
GATATGTTCTTAGATGCTCAG
Exon 5
CGATGGCTAGTGGAAGTGG
325
CGATGGCTAGTGGAAGTGG
Exon 6
CGGAGGCATTGTGGAGTTTAG
373
CCACGTAATGAGCATGTAGAGAGC
Exon 7
GACTGGGCACATTGGAACTGAG
189
GCTGTCAGTGCTGATGCGTAATTG
REFERENCES
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