Genetic analysis of ATP13A2, PLA2G6 and FBXO7 in a cohort of Chinese patients with early-onset Parkinson’s disease

Several genes have already been certified as causative genes in patients with autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson’s syndrome with pyramidal tract signs, including ATP13A2, PLA2G6 and FBXO7. Variants in these three genes may also play roles in early-onset Parkinson’s disease (EOPD). In order to investigate the contribution of genetic variants in these three genes to Chinese sporadic EOPD patients, we screened 101 Chinese sporadic EOPD patients and 83 age- and sex-matched healthy controls using direct sequencing. Interpretation of those detected variants was performed based on the guidelines developed by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). Two missense variants, p.G360E and p.T733M, with “uncertain significance” classification were identified in the ATP13A2 gene and five synonymous variants were significantly over-represented in EOPD patients. Two missense variants, p.R53C and p.T319M, were absent in both our control group and online databases, classified as “likely pathogenic” in the PLA2G6 gene. Only benign variants were identified in the FBXO7 gene. These results indicate that rare variants of PLA2G6 may contribute to PD susceptibility in Chinese population, the ATP13A2 might be associated with higher risk for sporadic EOPD, while the FBXO7 gene doesn’t seem to be a risk factor to develop sporadic PD in Chinese population. Further biochemical and molecular biological studies needs to be conducted to support our main results in our future researches.