Identification of common variants influencing risk of the tauopathy Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a movement disorder with prominent tau neuropathology. Brain diseases with abnormal tau deposits are called tauopathies, the most common being Alzheimer’s disease. Environmental causes of tauopathies include repetitive head trauma associated with some sports. To identify common genetic variation contributing to risk for tauopathies, we carried out a genome-wide association study of 1,114 PSP cases and 3,247 controls (Stage 1) followed up by a second stage where 1,051 cases and 3,560 controls were genotyped for Stage 1 SNPs that yielded P ≤ 10−3. We found significant novel signals (P < 5 × 10−8) associated with PSP risk at STX6, EIF2AK3, and MOBP. We confirmed two independent variants in MAPT affecting risk for PSP, one of which influences MAPT brain expression. The genes implicated encode proteins for vesicle-membrane fusion at the Golgi-endosomal interface, for the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response, and for a myelin structural component.
T.G. serves as an editorial board member of Movement Disorders and Parkinsonism and Related Disorders and is funded by Novartis Pharma, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (NGFN-Plus and ERA-Net NEURON), the Helmholtz Association (HelMA, Helmholtz Alliance for Health in an Ageing Society) and the European Community (MeFoPa, Medndelian Forms of Parkinsonism). T.G. received speakers honoraria from Novartis, Merck-Serono, Schwarz Pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim and Valeant Pharma and royalties for his consulting activities from Cefalon Pharma and Merck-Serono. T.G. holds a patent concerning the LRRK2 gene and neurodegenerative disorders. J.H. is consulting for Merck Serono and Eisai. I.Litvan is the founder of the Litvan Neurological Research Foundation, whose mission is to increase awareness, determine the cause/s and search for a cure for neurodegenerative disorders presenting with either parkinsonian or dementia symptoms (501c3).