Genome-wide association study in essential tremor identifies three new loci.

Abstract

We conducted a genome-wide association study of essential tremor, a common movement disorder characterized mainly by a postural and kinetic tremor of the upper extremities. Twin and family history studies show a high heritability for essential tremor. The molecular genetic determinants of essential tremor are unknown. We included 2807 patients and 6441 controls of European descent in our two-stage genome-wide association study. The 59 most significantly disease-associated markers of the discovery stage were genotyped in the replication stage. After Bonferroni correction two markers, one (rs10937625) located in the serine/threonine kinase STK32B and one (rs17590046) in the transcriptional coactivator PPARGC1A were associated with essential tremor. Three markers (rs12764057, rs10822974, rs7903491) in the cell-adhesion molecule CTNNA3 were significant in the combined analysis of both stages. The expression of STK32B was increased in the cerebellar cortex of patients and expression quantitative trait loci database mining showed association between the protective minor allele of rs10937625 and reduced expression in cerebellar cortex. We found no expression differences related to disease status or marker genotype for the other two genes. Replication of two lead single nucleotide polymorphisms of previous small genome-wide association studies (rs3794087 in SLC1A2, rs9652490 in LINGO1) did not confirm the association with essential tremor.

• Authors: Stefanie H Müller, Simon L Girard, Franziska Hopfner, Nancy D Merner, Cynthia V Bourassa, Delia Lorenz, Lorraine N Clark, Lukas Tittmann, Alexandra I Soto-Ortolaza, Stephan Klebe, Mark Hallett, Susanne A Schneider, Colin A Hodgkinson, Wolfgang Lieb, Zbigniew K Wszolek, Manuela Pendziwiat, Oswaldo Lorenzo-Betancor, Werner Poewe, Sara Ortega-Cubero, Klaus Seppi, Alex Rajput, Anna Hussl, Ali H Rajput, Daniela Berg, Patrick A Dion, Isabel Wurster, Joshua M Shulman, Karin Srulijes, Dietrich Haubenberger, Pau Pastor, Carles Vilariño-Güell, Ronald B Postuma, Geneviève Bernard, Karl-Heinz Ladwig, Nicolas Dupré, Joseph Jankovic, Konstantin Strauch, Michel Panisset, Juliane Winkelmann, Claudia M Testa, Eva Reischl, Kirsten E Zeuner, Owen A Ross, Thomas Arzberger, Sylvain Chouinard, Günther Deuschl, Elan D Louis, Gregor Kuhlenbäumer, Guy A Rouleau
• Journal: Brain : a journal of neurology (Brain) Vol. 139 Issue Pt 12 Pg. 3163-3169 (12 2016) ISSN: 1460-2156 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 27797806 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

Chemical References

• CTNNA3 protein, human
• PPARGC1A protein, human
• Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha
• alpha Catenin
• Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
• STK32B protein, human

Topics

• Essential Tremor (genetics)
• Genome-Wide Association Study
• Humans
• Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha (genetics)
• Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
• Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases (genetics)
• alpha Catenin (genetics)