CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing of the thymidine kinase gene in a clinical HSV-1 isolate identifies F289S as novel acyclovir-resistant mutation.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic alphaherpesvirus that establishes a lifelong infection in sensory neurons of infected individuals, accompanied with intermittent reactivation of latent virus causing (a)symptomatic virus shedding. Whereas acyclovir (ACV) is a safe and highly effective antiviral to treat HSV-1 infections, long-term usage can lead to emergence of ACV resistant (ACVR) HSV-1 and subsequently ACV refractory disease. Here, we isolated an HSV-1 strain from a patient with reactivated herpetic eye disease that did not respond to ACV treatment. The isolate carried a novel non-synonymous F289S mutation in the viral UL23 gene encoding the thymidine kinase (TK) protein. Because ACV needs conversion by viral TK and subsequently cellular kinases to inhibit HSV-1 replication, the UL23 gene is commonly mutated in ACVR HSV-1 strains. The potential role of the F289S mutation causing ACVR was investigated using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated HSV-1 genome editing. Reverting the F289S mutation in the original clinical isolate to the wild-type sequence S289F resulted in an ACV-sensitive (ACVS) phenotype, and introduction of the F289S substitution in an ACVS HSV-1 reference strain led to an ACVR phenotype. In summary, we identified a new HSV-1 TK mutation in the eye of a patient with ACV refractory herpetic eye disease, which was identified as the causative ACVR mutation with the aid of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering technology. Direct editing of clinical HSV-1 isolates by CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful strategy to assess whether single residue substitutions are causative to a clinical ACVR phenotype.

Varicella zoster virus-induced autophagy in human neuronal and hematopoietic cells exerts antiviral activity.

Autophagy is a degradational pathway with pivotal roles in cellular homeostasis and survival, including protection of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). The significance of autophagy as antiviral defense mechanism is recognized and some viruses hijack and modulate this process to their advantage in certain cell types. Here, we present data demonstrating that the human neurotropic herpesvirus varicella zoster virus (VZV) induces autophagy in human SH-SY5Y neuronal cells, in which the pathway exerts antiviral activity. Productively VZV-infected SH-SY5Y cells showed increased LC3-I-LC3-II conversion as well as co-localization of the viral glycoprotein E and the autophagy receptor p62. The activation of autophagy was dependent on a functional viral genome. Interestingly, inducers of autophagy reduced viral transcription, whereas inhibition of autophagy increased viral transcript expression. Finally, the genotype of patients with severe ocular and brain VZV infection were analyzed to identify potential autophagy-associated inborn errors of immunity. Two patients expressing genetic variants in the autophagy genes ULK1 and MAP1LC3B2, respectively, were identified. Notably, cells of both patients showed reduced autophagy, alongside enhanced viral replication and death of VZV-infected cells. In conclusion, these results demonstrate a neuro-protective role for autophagy in the context of VZV infection and suggest that failure to mount an autophagy response is a potential predisposing factor for development of severe VZV disease.

[Adverse events in biologics for severe asthma]. / Effets indésirables des biothérapies de l'asthme sévère.

INTRODUCTION: Asthma is a pathology that remains severe and is inadequately controlled in 4% of patients. Identification of multiple pathophysiological mechanisms has led to the development of biomedicines, of which there are currently five available in France, with a safety profile that appears favorable but remains uncertain due to a lack of real-life experience with these new molecules. STATE OF KNOWLEDGE: Although relatively benign, the adverse effects of biologics are diverse. Headache, joint pain, skin reactions at the injection site, fever and asthenia are commonly observed during the different treatments. Ophthalmological complications seem restricted to dupilumab, with numerous cases of keratitis and conjunctivitis in patients with atopic dermatitis. Several respiratory complications have also been observed, essentially consisting in pharyngitis and other upper respiratory infections. Hypereosinophilia may occur, mainly with dupilumab, requiring investigation of systemic repercussions or vasculitis. Allergic reactions are uncommon but require careful monitoring during initial injections. CONCLUSION: Biologics for severe asthma are recent drugs with a favorable safety profile, but with little real-life experience, justifying increased vigilance by prescribing physicians.

Gonioscopy-Assisted Transluminal Trabeculotomy in Uveitis-Related Ocular Hypertension and Glaucoma.

PRCIS: Gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) may be an effective first-line surgery for decreasing intraocular pressure (IOP) and medication burden in patients with uveitis-related ocular hypertension (OHT) or glaucoma. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to determine the efficacy of GATT in lowering IOP in uveitis-related OHT or glaucoma. METHODS: Retrospective case series that included patients with uveitis-related OHT or glaucoma who underwent GATT with or without concomitant cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation at 2 Canadian academic centres from July 2018 to May 2022. Primary outcomes were: complete (no medications) and qualified success (with medication), and failure defined as (1) IOP >21 mm Hg with maximal medical therapy, (2) the need for additional glaucoma procedure, (3) loss of light perception secondary to glaucoma, and (4) IOP <6 mm Hg for 3 months. RESULTS: Twenty-one eyes from 18 patients were included with a mean preoperative IOP of 26.2 ± 7.3 mm Hg on 4.3 ± 0.7 classes of glaucoma drops. The average follow-up was 29.2 ± 17.6 months and 76% of eyes (n = 16) had reached at least 12 months of follow-up. At the 12-month follow-up visit, there was a significant decrease in average IOP by 9.9 ± 7.9 mm Hg (38%, P = 0.005) and a decrease of 1.9 in glaucoma medication classes ( P = 0.002). Of eyes, 14% achieved complete success, whereas 80% of eyes achieved qualified success. Six eyes failed (29%) and 5 patients (24%) required additional glaucoma surgery. The most common postoperative complication was hyphema (n = 9; 43%). CONCLUSION: This small case series suggests that GATT may be an effective first-line surgery for decreasing IOP and medication burden in patients with uveitis-related OHT or glaucoma. Further studies with longer follow-ups should be conducted to assess its long-term outcomes.

Herpes simplex virus infection induces necroptosis of neurons and astrocytes in human fetal organotypic brain slice cultures.

BACKGROUND: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis (HSE) is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease, affecting both adults and newborns. Progress in understanding the virus and host factors involved in neonatal HSE has been hampered by the limitations of current brain models that do not fully recapitulate the tissue structure and cell composition of the developing human brain in health and disease. Here, we developed a human fetal organotypic brain slice culture (hfOBSC) model and determined its value in mimicking the HSE neuropathology in vitro. METHODS: Cell viability and tissues integrity were determined by lactate dehydrogenase release in supernatant and immunohistological (IHC) analyses. Brain slices were infected with green fluorescent protein (GFP-) expressing HSV-1 and HSV-2. Virus replication and spread were determined by confocal microscopy, PCR and virus culture. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were detected by PCR. Cell tropism and HSV-induced neuropathology were determined by IHC analysis. Finally, the in situ data of HSV-infected hfOBSC were compared to the neuropathology detected in human HSE brain sections. RESULTS: Slicing and serum-free culture conditions were optimized to maintain the viability and tissue architecture of ex vivo human fetal brain slices for at least 14 days at 37 °C in a CO2 incubator. The hfOBSC supported productive HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection, involving predominantly infection of neurons and astrocytes, leading to expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Both viruses induced programmed cell death-especially necroptosis-in infected brain slices at later time points after infection. The virus spread, cell tropism and role of programmed cell death in HSV-induced cell death resembled the neuropathology of HSE. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a novel human brain culture model in which the viability of the major brain-resident cells-including neurons, microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes-and the tissue architecture is maintained for at least 2 weeks in vitro under serum-free culture conditions. The close resemblance of cell tropism, spread and neurovirulence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in the hfOBSC model with the neuropathological features of human HSE cases underscores its potential to detail the pathophysiology of other neurotropic viruses and as preclinical model to test novel therapeutic interventions.

Refractive outcomes of immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery in eyes with long and short axial lengths.

PURPOSE: To report the refractive outcomes of long (≥25.00 mm) and short (≤22.00 mm) axial length (AL) eyes undergoing immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS). METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, patients who underwent ISBCS were identified and eyes of patients with bilateral long and short ALs were included. Pre- and postoperative biometry, autorefraction, and ocular comorbidities or complications were recorded. The primary outcome was the mean refractive prediction error. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients (74 eyes) with long ALs and 18 patients (36 eyes) with short ALs were included. The means ± standard deviations of the ALs were 26.40 ± 1.38 mm and 21.44 ± 0.46 mm in the long and short AL groups, respectively. In long AL eyes, the mean absolute error from the biometry-predicted refraction was - 0.16 ± 0.46 D, corresponding to 74% of eyes achieving a refraction within ±0.50 D of the predicted value. In short AL eyes, the mean absolute error was - 0.63 ± 0.73 D, corresponding to 44% of eyes achieving a refraction within ±0.50 D of the predicted value. Eight (44.4%) patients with short AL eyes had a myopic deviation greater than ±0.50 D from the predicted result in both eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to patients with long AL eyes, ISBCS in patients with short ALs had a wider variance in refractive outcome and a lower rate of achieving a postoperative refraction within ±0.50 D of the predicted target.

Quantitative brainstem and spinal MRI in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: implications for predicting noninvasive ventilation needs.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory complications resulting from motor neurons degeneration are the primary cause of death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Predicting the need for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in ALS is important for advance care planning and clinical trial design. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of quantitative MRI at the brainstem and spinal cord levels to predict the need for NIV during the first six months after diagnosis. METHODS: Forty-one ALS patients underwent MRI and spirometry shortly after diagnosis. The need for NIV was monitored according to French health guidelines for 6 months. The performance of four regression models based on: clinical variables, brainstem structures volumes, cervical spinal measurements, and combined variables were compared to predict the need for NIV within this period. RESULTS: Both the clinical model (R2 = 0.28, AUC = 0.85, AICc = 42.67, BIC = 49.8) and the brainstem structures' volumes model (R2 = 0.30, AUC = 0.85, AICc = 40.13, BIC = 46.99) demonstrated good predictive performance. In addition, cervical spinal cord measurements model similar performance (R2 = 0.338, AUC = 0.87, AICc = 37.99, BIC = 44.49). Notably, the combined model incorporating predictors from all three models yielded the best performance (R2 = 0.60, AUC = 0.959, AICc = 36.38, BIC = 44.8). These findings are supported by observed positive correlations between brainstem volumes, cervical (C4/C7) cross-sectional area, and spirometry-measured lung volumes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that brainstem volumes and spinal cord area are promising measures to predict respiratory intervention needs in ALS.

[Diaphragmatic ultrasonography for the pulmonologist: Technique and clinical use]. / L'échographie diaphragmatique pour le pneumologue : méthodologie et intérêt clinique.

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasonography is an emerging tool that helps to assess diaphragmatic function. It is now widely used in ICUs to predict weaning from mechanical ventilation. Ultrasonography is readily available, harmless (no radiation), and repeatable with good interoperator reproducibility. Over the past few years, ultrasonography has seen increasing use in patients with chronic pulmonary pathologies. STATE OF THE ART: The aim of this review is (1) to describe the ultrasound techniques used to assess diaphragmatic excursion and thickening, (2) to indicate the expected, normal values in healthy patients, and (3) to summarize the main findings and clinical applications in treatment of chronic respiratory disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pulmonary diseases are associated with diaphragmatic dysfunction that can be assessed with ultrasound. Diaphragmatic dysfunction is primary in neuromuscular disorders and secondary to respiratory disease in other chronic pulmonary conditions (COPD, ILD). Ultrasound is correlated with the severity of the underlying disease (functional and clinical parameters). PERSPECTIVES: The prognostic interest of diaphragm ultrasonography remains to be established, after which its utilization should become routine.

Management of Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema Syndrome Caused by Soemmering Ring Cataract: Case Report and Literature Review.

We describe a rare case of Soemmering's ring-induced uveitis-glaucoma-hyphema (UGH) syndrome, caused by an undisplaced, in-the-bag intraocular lens (IOL) 16 years after implantation. The presenting symptoms were recurrent episodes of transient monocular vision loss, which prompted extensive unremarkable investigations. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) eventually revealed an enlarging Soemmering's ring contacting the posterior iris and causing UGH syndrome. This is a unique case because the IOL haptics remained in the bag. Anterior vitrectomy, Soemmering's ring extraction, IOL exchange to a 3-piece IOL, and implantation of a trabecular meshwork bypass microstent were performed. IOP control and both functional and structural stability were achieved long term. Soemmering's ring-induced UGH syndrome should be on the differential of a patient with previous cataract surgery and elevated IOP complaining of visual disturbances. Early diagnosis with UBM and surgical intervention may provide optimal outcomes.

Whole exome sequencing of patients with varicella-zoster virus and herpes simplex virus induced acute retinal necrosis reveals rare disease-associated genetic variants.

Purpose: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) are neurotropic human alphaherpesviruses endemic worldwide. Upon primary infection, both viruses establish lifelong latency in neurons and reactivate intermittently to cause a variety of mild to severe diseases. Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is a rare, sight-threatening eye disease induced by ocular VZV or HSV infection. The virus and host factors involved in ARN pathogenesis remain incompletely described. We hypothesize an underlying genetic defect in at least part of ARN cases. Methods: We collected blood from 17 patients with HSV-or VZV-induced ARN, isolated DNA and performed Whole Exome Sequencing by Illumina followed by analysis in Varseq with criteria of CADD score > 15 and frequency in GnomAD < 0.1% combined with biological filters. Gene modifications relative to healthy control genomes were filtered according to high quality and read-depth, low frequency, high deleteriousness predictions and biological relevance. Results: We identified a total of 50 potentially disease-causing genetic variants, including missense, frameshift and splice site variants and on in-frame deletion in 16 of the 17 patients. The vast majority of these genes are involved in innate immunity, followed by adaptive immunity, autophagy, and apoptosis; in several instances variants within a given gene or pathway was identified in several patients. Discussion: We propose that the identified variants may contribute to insufficient viral control and increased necrosis ocular disease presentation in the patients and serve as a knowledge base and starting point for the development of improved diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic applications.

Reanalysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data does not support herpes simplex virus 1 latency in non-neuronal ganglionic cells in mice.

Most individuals are latently infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and it is well-established that HSV-1 establishes latency in sensory neurons of peripheral ganglia. However, it was recently proposed that latent virus is also present in immune cells recovered from ganglia in a mouse model used for studying latency. Here, we reanalyzed the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data that formed the basis for this conclusion. Unexpectedly, off-target priming in 3' scRNA-Seq experiments enabled the detection of non-polyadenylated HSV-1 latency-associated transcript (LAT) intronic RNAs. However, LAT reads were nearexclusively detected in a mixed population of cells undergoing cell death. Specific loss of HSV1 LAT and neuronal transcripts during quality control filtering indicated widespread destruction of neurons, supporting the presence of contaminating cell-free RNA in other cells following tissue processing. In conclusion, the reported detection of latent HSV-1 in non-neuronal cells is best explained by inaccuracies in the data analyses.

Current Perspectives on the Management of Herpesvirus Infections in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are at high risk of human herpesvirus (HHV)-related morbidity and mortality due to the use of immunosuppressive therapy. We aim to increase awareness and understanding of HHV disease burden in SOTRs by providing an overview of current prevention and management strategies as described in the literature and guidelines. We discuss challenges in both prevention and treatment as well as future perspectives.

Varicella-zoster virus proteome-wide T-cell screening demonstrates low prevalence of virus-specific CD8 T-cells in latently infected human trigeminal ganglia.

BACKGROUND: Trigeminal ganglia (TG) neurons are an important site of lifelong latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection. Although VZV-specific T-cells are considered pivotal to control virus reactivation, their protective role at the site of latency remains uncharacterized. METHODS: Paired blood and TG specimens were obtained from ten latent VZV-infected adults, of which nine were co-infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Short-term TG-derived T-cell lines (TG-TCL), generated by mitogenic stimulation of TG-derived T-cells, were probed for HSV-1- and VZV-specific T-cells using flow cytometry. We also performed VZV proteome-wide screening of TG-TCL to determine the fine antigenic specificity of VZV reactive T-cells. Finally, the relationship between T-cells and latent HSV-1 and VZV infections in TG was analyzed by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and in situ analysis for T-cell proteins and latent viral transcripts. RESULTS: VZV proteome-wide analysis of ten TG-TCL identified two VZV antigens recognized by CD8 T-cells in two separate subjects. The first was an HSV-1/VZV cross-reactive CD8 T-cell epitope, whereas the second TG harbored CD8 T-cells reactive with VZV specifically and not the homologous peptide in HSV-1. In silico analysis showed that HSV-1/VZV cross reactivity of TG-derived CD8 T-cells reactive with ten previously identified HSV-1 epitopes was unlikely, suggesting that HSV-1/VZV cross-reactive T-cells are not a common feature in dually infected TG. Finally, no association was detected between T-cell infiltration and VZV latency transcript abundance in TG by RT-qPCR or in situ analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The low presence of VZV- compared to HSV-1-specific CD8 T-cells in human TG suggests that VZV reactive CD8 T-cells play a limited role in maintaining VZV latency.

Visual outcomes and rotational stability of a new non-diffractive extended-vision toric intraocular lens.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate visual outcomes and intraocular lens (IOL) rotational stability of patients undergoing immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery with a non-diffractive extended-depth-of-focus toric IOL. DESIGN: Non-comparative single-centre cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty patients (40 eyes) with significant cataracts and corneal astigmatism who underwent immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery with the AcrySof IQ Vivity Extended Vision Lens (Alcon Laboratories Inc, Fort Worth, Tex.). METHODS: Binocular uncorrected visual acuities (UCVA) and monocular best-corrected visual acuities (BCVA) were assessed at distance (6 m), intermediate (66 cm), and near (40 cm) postoperatively at 1 week and 3 months. The rotational stability of each IOL was assessed at 1 day, 1 week, and 3 months postoperatively. A validated questionnaire (Questionnaire for Visual Disturbances [QUVID]) was used for patient-reported subjective visual disturbances preoperatively at a 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Binocular distance, intermediate, and near UCVAs (mean ± SD) were 0.00 ± 0.16, 0.09 ± 0.08, and 0.14 ± 0.11 logMAR at 1 week and 0.01 ± 0.06, 0.08 ± 0.08, and 0.14 ± 0.07 logMAR at 3 months postoperatively, respectively. Distance monocular BCVA improved from 0.22 ± 0.23 logMAR preoperatively to 0.02 ± 0.06 logMAR at 3 months. Monocular BCVAs at 3 months were 0.08 ± 0.08 logMAR at intermediate distance and 0.05 ± 0.08 logMAR at near distance. IOL rotation from the intended placement axis was 2.5 ± 1.7 degrees at 1 week and 1.7 ± 1.7 degrees at 3 months postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The AcrySof IQ Vivity Extended Vision IOL achieved good UCVAs and BCVAs for distance, intermediate, and near vision. This IOL also provided excellent rotational stability for astigmatism correction.

Development, sensitivity and reliability of a French version of the Leeds food preference questionnaire (LFPQ-fr) for the evaluation of food preferences and reward.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing global interest in the evaluation of food reward, necessitating the adaptation of culturally appropriate instruments for use in empirical studies. This work presents the development and validation of a culturally adapted French version of the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire (LFPQ-fr). METHODS: The LFPQ-fr was developed and validated in healthy-weight adults using the following systematic approach: i) selection and validation of appropriate food pictures; ii) linguistic translation of liking and wanting constructs in the target population (n = 430; 81% female; 42.2 ± 12.7 years); iii) validation of the sensitivity and reliability of the task performed in a fasted state and in response to a standardized test meal (n = 50; 50% female; 30.0 ± 8.4 years). RESULTS: During the first and second phases, the nutritional and perceptual validation of culturally appropriate food pictures and pertinent reward constructs, respectively, was demonstrated in a healthy-weight French sample. Findings from the third phase indicated that all food reward components were sensitive to the test meal and showed moderate to high agreement in both fasted (Lin's CCC =0.72-0.94) and fed (Lin's CCC = 0.53-0.80) appetitive states between visit 1 (V1) and visit (V2). Except for explicit liking fat bias, all primary outcomes were statistically consistent in fasted and fed states between V1 and V2. Changes in fat and taste biases in response to a standardized meal for all primary outcomes were also consistent between V1 and V2 except for explicit liking fat bias (Lin's CCC = 0.49- 0.72). CONCLUSION: The LFPQ-fr developed and tested in this study is a reproducible and reliable method to assess food reward in both the fasted and fed states in a healthy-weight French population.

New Facet in Viscometry of Charged Associating Polymer Systems in Dilute Solutions.

The peculiarities of viscosity data treatment for two series of polymer systems exhibiting associative properties: brush-like amphiphilic copolymers-charged alkylated N-methyl-N-vinylacetamide and N-methyl-N-vinylamine copolymer (MVAA-co-MVACnH2n+1) and charged chains of sodium polystyrene-4-sulfonate (PSSNa) in large-scale molecular masses (MM) and in extreme-scale of the ionic strength of solutions were considered in this study. The interest in amphiphilic macromolecular systems is explained by the fact that they are considered as micellar-forming structures in aqueous solutions, and these structures are able to carry hydrophobic biologically active compounds. In the case of appearing the hydrophobic interactions, attention was paid to discussing convenient ways to extract the correct value of intrinsic viscosity η from the combined analysis of Kraemer and Huggins plots, which were considered as twin plots. Systems and situations were demonstrated where intrachain hydrophobic interactions occurred. The obtained data were discussed in terms of lnηr vs. cη plots as well as in terms of normalized scaling relationships where ηr was the relative viscosity of the polymer solution. The first plot allowed for the detection and calibration of hydrophobic interactions in polymer chains, while the second plot allowed for the monitoring of the change in the size of charged chains depending on the ionic strength of solutions.

Rescue and in vitro characterization of a divergent TBEV-Eu strain from the Netherlands.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) may cause tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a potential life-threatening infection of the central nervous system in humans. Phylogenetically, TBEVs can be subdivided into three main subtypes, which differ in endemic region and pathogenic potential. In 2016, TBEV was first detected in the Netherlands. One of two detected strains, referred to as Salland, belonged to the TBEV-Eu subtype, yet diverged ≥ 2% on amino acid level from other members of this subtype. Here, we report the successful rescue of this strain using infectious subgenomic amplicons and its subsequent in vitro characterization by comparison to two well-characterized TBEV-Eu strains; Neudoerfl and Hypr. In the human alveolar epithelial cell line A549, growth kinetics of Salland were comparable to the high pathogenicity TBEV-Eu strain Hypr, and both strains grew considerably faster than the mildly pathogenic strain Neudoerfl. In the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-SH, Salland replicated faster and to higher infectious titers than both reference strains. All three TBEV strains infected primary human monocyte-derived dendritic cells to a similar extent and interacted with the type I interferon system in a similar manner. The current study serves as the first in vitro characterization of the novel, divergent TBEV-Eu strain Salland.

Investigation of Shared Genetic Risk Factors Between Parkinson's Disease and Cancers.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies that examined the association between Parkinson's disease (PD) and cancers led to inconsistent results, but they face a number of methodological difficulties. OBJECTIVE: We used results from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to study the genetic correlation between PD and different cancers to identify common genetic risk factors. METHODS: We used individual data for participants of European ancestry from the Courage-PD (Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson's Disease; PD, N = 16,519) and EPITHYR (differentiated thyroid cancer, N = 3527) consortia and summary statistics of GWASs from iPDGC (International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium; PD, N = 482,730), Melanoma Meta-Analysis Consortium (MMAC), Breast Cancer Association Consortium (breast cancer), the Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alterations in the Genome (prostate cancer), International Lung Cancer Consortium (lung cancer), and Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (ovarian cancer) (N comprised between 36,017 and 228,951 for cancer GWASs). We estimated the genetic correlation between PD and cancers using linkage disequilibrium score regression. We studied the association between PD and polymorphisms associated with cancers, and vice versa, using cross-phenotypes polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses. RESULTS: We confirmed a previously reported positive genetic correlation of PD with melanoma (Gcorr = 0.16 [0.04; 0.28]) and reported an additional significant positive correlation of PD with prostate cancer (Gcorr = 0.11 [0.03; 0.19]). There was a significant inverse association between the PRS for ovarian cancer and PD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.89 [0.84; 0.94]). Conversely, the PRS of PD was positively associated with breast cancer (OR = 1.08 [1.06; 1.10]) and inversely associated with ovarian cancer (OR = 0.95 [0.91; 0.99]). The association between PD and ovarian cancer was mostly driven by rs183211 located in an intron of the NSF gene (17q21.31). CONCLUSIONS: We show evidence in favor of a contribution of pleiotropic genes to the association between PD and specific cancers. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.