Genetic analysis of the NEUROG2 gene in patients with Parkinson's disease

• Published in: Neuroscience letters 2010-01, Vol.468 (3), p.195-197
• Main Authors: Deng, Sheng, Deng, Hao, Le, Weidong, Xu, Hongbo, Yang, Huarong, Deng, Xiong, Lv, Hongwei, Xie, Wenjie, Zhu, Shaihong, Jankovic, Joseph
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Coding region; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic Association Studies; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mutation; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; NEUROG2; Neurology; Parkinson Disease - genetics; Parkinson's disease; Transcription factor; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.10.078

The proneural protein Neurogenin 2 (NEUROG2) is a transcription factor of importance for the differentiation and survival of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. To determine whether genetic variation in the coding region of the NEUROG2 gene plays a role in the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD), we screened DNA samples from 202 PD patients and 201 normal controls. No mutation in the NEUROG2 gene was identified in our PD cohort, except that novel compound heterozygous variants (Gly56Arg and Asp206Glu) were found in a 91-year normal male, suggesting that mutations in the coding region of the NEUROG2 gene play little or no role in the development of PD.