Screening for mutations of the IRP2 gene in Parkinson's disease patients with hyperechogenicity of the substantia nigra.

IRP2 plays an important role in brain iron metabolism. We recently identified an increased amount of iron in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and hyperchogenicity of the substantia nigra (SN). Therefore, the IRP2 gene was screened for mutations in 176 PD patients with increased echogenicity of the SN. We identified one non-synonymous polymorphism (I888V) in exon 21 and a -88C > T polymorphism in the promoter region of IRP2 at similar frequencies in patients and controls without increased SN iron levels. In one patient a -74C > T variation was found which was not present in the control group. Our data indicate that mutations in the IRP2 gene are not a common cause of PD associated with SN iron accumulation.