DCTN1 mutation analysis in Italian patients with PSP, MSA, and DLB
Abstract DCTN1 encodes the largest subunit of dynactin complex essential in the retrograde axonal transport and cytoplasmic transport of vesicles; mutations in DCTN1 have been reported predominantly in individuals with Perry syndrome and, recently, in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. Our genetic screening of DCTN1 in 79 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy, 100 patients with multiple system atrophy, and 28 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies from Italy revealed only synonymous and intronic variants, suggesting that DCTN1 mutations do not have a key role in the development of atypical parkinsonism in the Italian population.
Analysis of the LRP10 gene in patients with Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies from Southern Italy
Recently, the LRP10 gene has been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of mutations of the LRP10 gene in patients with PD or DLB from Southern Italy. Sequencing analysis revealed only 2 missense and 3 synonymous variants in patients and control subjects and a rare variant p.L622F in a PD case. These results suggest that LRP10 mutations are not a frequent cause of PD and DLB in Southern Italy.
ANXA1 mutation analysis in Italian patients with early onset PD
: Recently, a novel pathogenic variant in Annexin A1 protein (c.4G > A, p.Ala2Thr) has been identified in an Iranian consanguineous family with autosomal recessive parkinsonism. The deficiencies of ANXA1 could lead to extracellular SNCA accumulation, defects in intracellular signaling pathways and synaptic plasticity causing parkinsonism. The aim of this study was to identify rare ANXA1 variants in 95 early-onset PD patients from South Italy. Sequencing analysis of ANXA1 gene revealed only 2 synonymous variants in PD patients (rs1050305, rs149033255). Therefore, we conclude that the recently published ANXA1 mutation is not a common cause of EOPD in Southern Italy.