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Recent evidence suggests that variation in the SNCA, MAPT, and GSK3B genes interacts in affecting risk for Parkinson disease (PD). In the current study, we attempt to validate previously published findings, evaluating gene-gene interactions between SNCA, MAPT, and GSK3B in association with PD. Three Caucasian PD patient-control series from the United States, Ireland, and Norway (combined n = 1020 patients and 1095 controls) were genotyped for SNCA rs356219, MAPT H1/H2-discriminating SNP rs1052553, and GSK3B rs334558 and rs6438552. Our findings indicate that as previously reported, the SNCA rs356219-G allele and MAPT rs1052553 (H1 haplotype) were both associated with an increased risk of PD, whilst contrary to previous reports, GSK3B variants were not. No pair-wise interaction was observed between SNCA, MAPT, and GSK3B; the risk effects of SNCA rs356219-G and MAPT rs1052553-H1 were seen in a similar manner across genotypes of other variants, with no evidence suggesting synergistic, antagonistic, or deferential effects. In the Caucasian patient-control series examined, risk for PD was influenced by variation in SNCA and MAPT but not GSK3B. Additionally, those three genes did not interact in determining disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Whilst an association between the tau gene (MAPT)-containing H1 haplotype and supranuclear gaze palsy (PSP) has long been recognized, the effect of H1 on risk for Parkinson's disease (PD) has remained more contentious., Methods: Herein, we examined the association of H1 and PD in three Caucasian PD patient-control series from Ireland, Norway, and the US (combined: n = 2619), by genotyping two H1/H2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MAPT (rs1052553) and in the Saitohin gene (rs62063857) and one H1-specific SNP (rs242557)., Results: We identified a significant association between H1/H2 and risk of PD (rs1052553 OR: 1.43, CI: 1.23-1.64; rs62063857 OR: 1.45, CI: 1.27-1.67), but no effect of the H1-specific SNP rs242557 (OR: 0.92, CI: 0.82-1.03)., Conclusions: Our findings show that the H1 haplotype is a significant risk factor for PD. However, one H1-specific SNP (rs242557) previously implicated in PSP did not alter the risk of PD, indicating that distinct H1 sub-haplotypes probably drive the associations with PD and PSP.

Background and Purpose: Calcium levels have been proposed to play an important role in the selective vulnerability of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD). Recently, an association was reported between the calcium buffer, calbindin (rs1805874) and risk of PD in a Japanese patient-control series., Methods: We genotyped rs1805874 in four independent Caucasian patient-control series (1543 PD patients, 1771 controls)., Results: There was no evidence of an association between rs1805874 and disease risk in individual populations or in the combined series (odds ratio: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.82-1.31, P = 0.74)., Discussion: Our study shows there is no association between rs1805874 and risk for PD in four Caucasian populations. This suggests the effect of calbindin on PD risk displays population specificity.

Attempts at replicating the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) have not successfully identified genetic risk factors. The present study reevaluates data from the first GWAS and focuses on the SNP (rs11155313, located in the Phactr2 gene) with the lowest P-value in the Tier 2 patient-control series. We employed four case-control series to examine the nominated SNP rs11155313 and identified association in US (OR: 1.39, P=0.032), Canadian (OR: 1.41, P=0.014) and Irish (OR: 1.44, P=0.034) patient-control series, but not in the Norwegian series (OR: 1.15, P=0.27). When combining all four series the observed trend was statistically significant (OR: 1.30, P<0.001). This study shows that reappraisal of publicly available results of GWAS may help nominate new risk factors for PD.