Joint-tissue integrative analysis identifies high-risk genes for Parkinson's disease.

The loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the abnormal accumulation of synuclein proteins and neurotransmitters in Lewy bodies constitute the primary symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Besides environmental factors, scholars are in the early stages of comprehending the genetic factors involved in the pathogenic mechanism of PD. Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have unveiled numerous genetic variants associated with PD, precisely pinpointing the causal variants remains challenging due to strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) among them. Addressing this issue, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) cohorts were employed in a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) to infer the genetic correlation between gene expression and a particular trait. Utilizing the TWAS theory alongside the enhanced Joint-Tissue Imputation (JTI) technique and Mendelian Randomization (MR) framework (MR-JTI), we identified a total of 159 PD-associated genes by amalgamating LD score, GTEx eQTL data, and GWAS summary statistic data from a substantial cohort. Subsequently, Fisher's exact test was conducted on these PD-associated genes using 5,152 differentially expressed genes sourced from 12 PD-related datasets. Ultimately, 29 highly credible PD-associated genes, including CTX1B, SCNA, and ARSA, were uncovered. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that these genes primarily function in tissue synthesis, regulation of neuron projection development, vesicle organization and transportation, and lysosomal impact. The potential PD-associated genes identified in this study not only offer fresh insights into the disease's pathophysiology but also suggest potential biomarkers for early disease detection.

Genetic Analysis of Two Novel GPI Variants Disrupting H Bonds and Localization Characteristics of 55 Gene Variants Associated with Glucose-6-phosphate Isomerase Deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) deficiency is a rare hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia caused by GPI gene variants. This disorder exhibits wide heterogeneity in its clinical manifestations and molecular characteristics, often posing challenges for precise diagnoses using conventional methods. To this end, this study aimed to identify the novel variants responsible for GPI deficiency in a Chinese family. METHODS: The clinical manifestations of the patient were summarized and analyzed for GPI deficiency phenotype diagnosis. Novel compound heterozygous variants of the GPI gene, c.174C>A (p.Asn58Lys) and c.1538G>T (p.Trp513Leu), were identified using whole-exome and Sanger sequencing. The AlphaFold program and Chimera software were used to analyze the effects of compound heterozygous variants on GPI structure. RESULTS: By characterizing 53 GPI missense/nonsense variants from previous literature and two novel missense variants identified in this study, we found that most variants were located in exons 3, 4, 12, and 18, with a few localized in exons 8, 9, and 14. This study identified novel compound heterozygous variants associated with GPI deficiency. These pathogenic variants disrupt hydrogen bonds formed by highly conserved GPI amino acids. CONCLUSION: Early family-based sequencing analyses, especially for patients with congenital anemia, can help increase diagnostic accuracy for GPI deficiency, improve child healthcare, and enable genetic counseling.

Generation of mitochondrial replacement monkeys by female pronucleus transfer.

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are maternally inherited and have the potential to cause severe disorders. Mitochondrial replacement therapies, including spindle, polar body, and pronuclear transfers, are promising strategies for preventing the hereditary transmission of mtDNA diseases. While pronuclear transfer has been used to generate mitochondrial replacement mouse models and human embryos, its application in non-human primates has not been previously reported. In this study, we successfully generated four healthy cynomolgus monkeys ( Macaca fascicularis) via female pronuclear transfer. These individuals all survived for more than two years and exhibited minimal mtDNA carryover (3.8%-6.7%), as well as relatively stable mtDNA heteroplasmy dynamics during development. The successful establishment of this non-human primate model highlights the considerable potential of pronuclear transfer in reducing the risk of inherited mtDNA diseases and provides a valuable preclinical research model for advancing mitochondrial replacement therapies in humans.