BST1 rs4698412 allelic variant increases the risk of gait or balance deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease and the risk of gastrointestinal cancers: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Background

The association between Parkinson's disease (PD) and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers remains unknown. This study aims to assess the causal effect of PD on colon cancer (CC), gastric cancer (GC), esophageal cancer (EC), and rectal cancer (RC) using the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method.

Methods

Five pairs of summary datasets of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) from publicly available studies [Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) OpenGWAS project, FinnGen, and GWAS Catalog database] were enrolled. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the primary outcome for MR analysis. Cochran Q-derived, MR-Egger intercept test, MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) methods, and leave-one-out analysis were used to test heterogeneity and directional pleiotropy.

Results

For the European population, no significant causal effect of PD on the risk of CC was found [odds ratio (OR) =0.9; 95%, confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.11; P=0.42]. The same applied to the East Asian population (OR =1.05; 95% CI: 0.66-1.66; P=0.63). As for GC, no causal effect was found (OR =0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-0.99; P=0.22). Moreover, the genetic liability for PD was not associated with EC (OR =1.00; 95% CI: 0.99-1.00; P=0.32). Finally, no evidence was found for any causal effect of genetic liability for PD on an increased risk of RC (OR =1.00; 95% CI: 0.99-1.00; P=0.71).

Conclusions

There is no causal effect of genetic liability for PD on an increased risk of GI cancer.

Genetic polymorphisms of bone marrow stromal cell antigen-1 (BST-1/CD157): implications for immune/inflammatory dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders

Bone marrow stromal cell antigen-1 (BST-1/CD157) is an immune/inflammatory regulator that functions as both nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-metabolizing ectoenzyme and cell-surface signaling receptor. BST-1/CD157 is expressed not only in peripheral tissues, but in the central nervous system (CNS). Although its pathophysiological significance in the CNS is still unclear, clinical genetic studies over a decade have begun revealing relationships between BST-1/CD157 and neuropsychiatric diseases including Parkinson's disease, autism spectrum disorders, sleep disorders, depressive disorders and restless leg syndrome. This review summarizes the accumulating evidence for the involvement of BST-1/CD157 in these disorders.

Genome-wide Association and Meta-analysis of Age at Onset in Parkinson Disease: Evidence From the COURAGE-PD Consortium

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Considerable heterogeneity exists in the literature concerning genetic determinants of the age at onset (AAO) of Parkinson disease (PD), which could be attributed to a lack of well-powered replication cohorts. The previous largest genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified SNCA and TMEM175 loci on chromosome (Chr) 4 with a significant influence on the AAO of PD; these have not been independently replicated. This study aims to conduct a meta-analysis of GWAS of PD AAO and validate previously observed findings in worldwide populations.

METHODS

A meta-analysis was performed on PD AAO GWAS of 30 populations of predominantly European ancestry from the Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson's Disease (COURAGE-PD) Consortium. This was followed by combining our study with the largest publicly available European ancestry dataset compiled by the International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC).

RESULTS

The COURAGE-PD Consortium included a cohort of 8,535 patients with PD (91.9%: Europeans and 9.1%: East Asians). The average AAO in the COURAGE-PD dataset was 58.9 years (SD = 11.6), with an underrepresentation of females (40.2%). The heritability estimate for AAO in COURAGE-PD was 0.083 (SE = 0.057). None of the loci reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10-8). Nevertheless, the COURAGE-PD dataset confirmed the role of the previously published TMEM175 variant as a genetic determinant of the AAO of PD with Bonferroni-corrected nominal levels of significance (p < 0.025): (rs34311866: β(SE)COURAGE = 0.477(0.203), p COURAGE = 0.0185). The subsequent meta-analysis of COURAGE-PD and IPDGC datasets (Ntotal = 25,950) led to the identification of 2 genome-wide significant association signals on Chr 4, including the previously reported SNCA locus (rs983361: β(SE)COURAGE+IPDGC = 0.720(0.122), p COURAGE+IPDGC = 3.13 × 10-9) and a novel BST1 locus (rs4698412: β(SE)COURAGE+IPDGC = -0.526(0.096), p COURAGE+IPDGC = 4.41 × 10-8).

DISCUSSION

Our study further refines the genetic architecture of Chr 4 underlying the AAO of the PD phenotype through the identification of BST1 as a novel AAO PD locus. These findings open a new direction for the development of treatments to delay the onset of PD.

A large-scale polygenic risk score analysis identified candidate proteins associated with anxiety, depression and neuroticism

Psychiatric disorders and neuroticism are closely associated with central nervous system, whose proper functioning depends on efficient protein renewal. This study aims to systematically analyze the association between anxiety / depression / neuroticism and each of the 439 proteins. 47,536 pQTLs of 439 proteins in brain, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were collected from recent genome-wide association study. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) of the 439 proteins were then calculated using the UK Biobank cohort, including 120,729 subjects of neuroticism, 255,354 subjects of anxiety and 316,513 subjects of depression. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between each protein and each of the mental traits by using calculated PRSs as the instrumental variables of protein. In general population, six correlations were identified in plasma and CSF such as plasma protease C1 inhibitor (C1-INH) with neuroticism score (r = - 0.011, P = 2.56 × 10^- 9) in plasma, C1-INH with neuroticism score (r = -0.010, P = 3.09 × 10^- 8) in CSF, and ERBB1 with self-reported depression (r = - 0.012, P = 4.65 × 10^- 5) in CSF. C1-INH and ERBB1 may induce neuroticism and depression by affecting brain function and synaptic development. Gender subgroup analyses found that BST1 was correlated with neuroticism score in male CSF (r = - 0.011, P = 1.80 × 10^- 5), while CNTN2 was correlated with depression score in female brain (r = - 0.013, P = 6.43 × 10^- 4). BST1 and CNTN2 may be involved in nervous system metabolism and brain health. Six common candidate proteins were associated with all three traits (P < 0.05) and were confirmed in relevant proteomic studies, such as C1-INH in plasma, CNTN2 and MSP in the brain. Our results provide novel clues for revealing the roles of proteins in the development of anxiety, depression and neuroticism.

Genetic correlation between thyroid hormones and Parkinson's disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) was reported to be connected with thyroid diseases clinically, which might be a critical clew to immune pathogenesis of PD. However, there was no further research to study the pathogenesis correlation between PD and thyroid diseases. In this study, except for investigating the difference in thyroid hormone between PD and the control group, we explored genetic correlation between thyroid and PD. We tried to find their shared molecular pathway by analyzing the effect of PD risk genes on thyroid function. Interestingly, most of those 12 meaningful SNPs we found could affect PD and thyroid function through immune mechanism, which is consistent with our original conjecture and provides significant evidence for the immune pathogenesis of PD.

Disrupted dynamic pattern of regional neural activity in early-stage cognitively normal Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND

Neuroimaging studies on Parkinson's disease (PD) mainly focus on static neural activity. However, the dynamic pattern of regional brain activity in early-stage cognitively normal PD has rarely been elucidated.

PURPOSE

To identify altered dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) in PD before the onset of cognitive impairment and verify its differentiating ability between patients with PD and healthy controls (HC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

dALFF and static ALFF (sALFF) derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 51 patients with PD and 50 matched HCs were analyzed. The correlations between aberrant regions and clinical performance were investigated using Spearman correlation analysis. Multivariate pattern analysis was conducted to detect the differentiating ability of both ALFF features.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs, patients with PD demonstrated reduced dALFF variance in bilateral lingual gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, left postcentral gyrus (PcG), and right supplementary motor area (SMA); and increased dALFF variability in bilateral parahippocampal gyrus. Besides overlapping with these distributions of altered dALFF, the aberrant regions of sALFF were more extensive with decreased sALFF in the right middle temporal gyrus and right PcG, and increased sALFF in the left inferior temporal gyrus and left thalamus were observed in patients with PD. dALFF values in right SMA and left PcG were correlated with UPDRS-III scores (ρ =  -0.29, P = 0.041; ρ =  -0.33, P = 0.018, respectively).

CONCLUSION

This study provides novel insights into the neural basis underlying PD as well as the potential role of dynamic neural activity in the diagnosis and prediction of the disease.

Quality of life in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies

BACKGROUND

Studies regarding the impact of Parkinson's disease (PD) on quality of life (QOL) have reported conflicting results, and the underlying QOL domains require further study. In order to understand the association between PD and QOL, we conducted this meta-analysis to systematically compare QOL between PD patients and healthy controls.

METHOD

The PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched. Data were analyzed using the random-effects model.

RESULTS

Twenty studies covering 2707 PD patients and 150,661 healthy controls were included in the study. Compared with healthy controls, PD patients had significantly poorer QOL overall and in most domains with moderate to large effects sizes. Different QOL measures varied in their association with quality of life, with the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) having the largest effect size (standard mean difference, SMD = -1.384, 95% CI: -1.607, -1.162, Z = 12.189, P < 0.001), followed by the Europe Quality of Life Questionnaire-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) (SMD = -1.081, 95% CI: -1.578, -0.584, Z = -4.265, P < 0.001), Europe Quality of Life Questionnaire-5D (EQ-5D) (SMD = -0.889, 95% CI: -1.181, -0.596, Z = -5.962, P < 0.001), and the Short-form Health Survey (SF) scales (physical dimension: SMD = -0.826, 95% CI: -1.529, -0.123, Z = -2.303, P = 0.021; mental dimension: SMD = -0.376, 95% CI: -0.732, -0.019, Z = -2.064, P = 0.039).

CONCLUSION

PD patients had lower QOL compared with healthy controls in most domains, especially in physical function and mental health. Considering the negative impact of poor QOL on daily life and functional outcomes, effective measures should be developed to improve QOL in this population.

Dysfunction in superior frontal gyrus associated with diphasic dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease

Alterations in brain function in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with diphasic dyskinesia have not been investigated. We aimed to explore the alterations in regional brain function. Each of 53 levodopa (LD)-treated PD patients had two resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans in the same morning, before and after taking LD. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) approach was used to reveal local synchronization changes. Two-way factorial repeated measures analysis of covariance, with group as a between-subject factor and LD effect as a within-subject factor, was performed to explore the two main effects and interaction. Interactive analysis was used to show outcomes that combined disease status and LD effect. Spearman's correlations were used to detect associations between interactive brain regions and severity of dyskinetic symptoms, assessed by the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDyRS) scores, along with moderation analyses. There was no significant difference in the main group effect analysis. Significantly different clusters obtained from main LD effect analysis were in left caudate nucleus and putamen. ReHo values decreased in the caudate nucleus and increased in the putamen during the ON state after taking LD. Interaction between group and LD effect was found in left medial superior frontal gyrus (mSFG), where there were the lowest ReHo values, and was negatively correlated with UDyRS scores in the diphasic dyskinetic group during the ON state. The relationship was independent of LD dose. Abnormal local synchronization in the mSFG is closely associated with the development of diphasic dyskinesia in PD patients.

Identification of CD38 as a potential biomarker in skin cutaneous melanoma using bioinformatics analysis

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, with a high rate of metastasis and mortality; however, identification of biomarkers for the treatment of SKCM is required. Cluster of differentiation (CD)38 has emerged as an effective target for therapeutic drugs in several types of cancer, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma. In the present study, to determine the contribution of CD38 to the diagnosis of SKCM, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2 and University of Alabama Cancer Database online tools were used to analyze The Cancer Genome Atlas-SKCM dataset. Moreover, Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins and GeneMANIA databases were used to determine protein-protein interaction networks and potential functions. To the best of our knowledge, the results of the present study indicated for the first time that high expression levels of CD38 were a favorable diagnostic factor for SKCM. Moreover, a correlation between CD38 expression levels and the survival probability of patients with SKCM was identified. Integrative analysis predicted that nine genes were correlated with CD38 in SKCM, and the similarity of these genes in SKCM expression and a survival heatmap was verified. Gene ontology enrichment analysis using the Metascape tool revealed that CD38 and its correlated genes were significantly enriched in lymphocyte activation and T cell differentiation regulation. Collectively, the bioinformatics analysis revealed that CD38 might serve as a potential diagnostic predictor for SKCM.

SNCA rs11931074 polymorphism correlates with spontaneous brain activity and motor symptoms in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease

The α-synuclein (SNCA) gene is thought to be involved in levels of α-synuclein and influence the susceptibility for the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of the present study is to explore the association among SNCA rs1193074 polymorphism, spontaneous brain activity and clinical symptoms in PD patients. 62 PD patients and 47 healthy controls (HC) were recruited and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. Also blood sample of each participant was genotyped for rs11931074 polymorphism (PD: TT = 19, GT = 32, GG = 11; HC: TT = 10, GT = 25, GG = 12) and then examined to ascertain the influence of different genotypes on regional brain activity with amplitude low-frequency fluctuation analysis (ALFF). Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship among genotypes, interactive brain region and clinical symptoms in PD. Compared with HC subjects, PD patients showed decreased ALFF values in right lingual gyrus and increased ALFF values in right cerebellum posterior lobe. Significant interaction of ''groups × genotypes'' was found in the right angular gyrus, where there were higher ALFF values in TT genotype than in GT or GG genotype in the PD group and there was a contrary trend in the HC group. And further Spearman's correlative analyses revealed that ALFF values in right angular gyrus were negatively associated with unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) III score in PD-TT genotype. Our study shows for the first time that SNCA rs11931074 polymorphism might modulate brain functional alterations and correlate with motor symptoms in Chinese PD patients.

BST1 rs4698412 allelic variant increases the risk of gait or balance deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease

Aims

We aimed to explore effects of bone marrow stromal cell antigen‐1 (BST1) rs4698412 allelic variant on brain activation and associative clinical symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Methods

A total of 49 PD patients and 47 healthy control (HC) subjects were recruited for clinical evaluations, blood samples collection for genotypes, and resting‐state functional MRI (rs‐fMRI) scans. Based on BST1 rs4698412 allelic variant (G → A), participants were further divided into 18 PD‐GG, 31 PD‐GA/AA, 20 HC‐GG, and 27 HC‐GA/AA carriers, which respectively indicated subjects carrying ancestral or risk allele in that locus in PD or HC. Two‐way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to investigate main effects and interactions between PD and BST1 rs4698412 allelic variant on brain function via amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuations (ALFF). Spearman’s correlations were then utilized to detect associations between interactive brain regions and clinical symptoms.

Results

Compared to HC subjects, PD patients exhibited increased ALFF values in left cerebellum_8 and cerebellum_9. Significant interaction was in right lingual gyrus, where there were the lowest ALFF values and ALFF values were only negatively associated with Timed Up and Go (TUG) test time in PD‐GA/AA subgroup.

Conclusion

BST1 rs4698412‐modulated lingual gyrus functional alterations could be related to gait and balance dysfunction in PD.