An improved understanding of etiological mechanisms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is urgently needed because the number of affected individuals is projected to increase rapidly as populations age. We present results from a blood-based methylome-wide association study of PD involving meta-analysis of 229 K CpG probes in 1,132 cases and 999 controls from two independent cohorts. We identify two previously unreported epigenome-wide significant associations with PD, including cg06690548 on chromosome 4. We demonstrate that cg06690548 hypermethylation in PD is associated with down-regulation of the SLC7A11 gene and show this is consistent with an environmental exposure, as opposed to medications or genetic factors with effects on DNA methylation or gene expression. These findings are notable because SLC7A11 codes for a cysteine-glutamate anti-porter regulating levels of the antioxidant glutathione, and it is a known target of the environmental neurotoxin β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Our study identifies the SLC7A11 gene as a plausible biological target in PD.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The molecular mechanisms that underlie PD are unknown; however, oxidative stress and impairment of antioxidant defence mechanisms have been implicated as major contributors to disease pathogenesis. Previously, we have reported a PD patient-derived cellular model generated from biopsies of the olfactory mucosa, termed hONS cells, in which the NRF2-mediated antioxidant response pathway genes were among the most differentially-expressed. To date, few studies have examined the role of the NRF2 encoding gene, NFE2L2, and PD. In this study, we comprehensibly assessed whether rare and common NFE2L2 genetic variations modify susceptibility to PD using a large Australian case-control sample (PD=1338, controls=1379). We employed a haplotype-tagging approach that identified an association with the tagging SNP rs2364725 and PD (OR = 0.849 (0.760-0.948), P = 0.004). Further genetic screening in hONS cell lines produced no obvious pathogenic variants in the coding regions of NFE2L2. Finally, we investigated the relationship between xenobiotic exposures and NRF2 function, through gene-environment interactions, between NFE2L2 SNPs and smoking or pesticide exposure. Our results demonstrated a significant interaction between rs2706110 and pesticide exposure (OR = 0.597 (0.393-0.900), P = 0.014). In addition, we were able to identify some age-at-onset modifying SNPs and replicate an ‘early-onset’ haplotype that contains a previously identified ‘functional promoter’ SNP (rs6721961). Our results suggest a role of NFE2L2 genetic variants in modifying PD susceptibility and onset. Our findings also support the utility of testing gene-environment interactions in genetic studies of PD.

Introduction: Family based study designs provide an informative resource to identify disease-causing mutations. The Queensland Parkinson's Project (QPP) has been involved in numerous genetic screening studies; however, details of the families enrolled into the register have not been comprehensively reported. This article characterises the families enrolled in the QPP and summarises monogenic forms of hereditary Parkinsonism found in the register. Method: The presence of pathogenic point mutations and copy number variations (CNVs) were, generally, screened in a sample of over 1000 PD patients from the total of 1725. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on eighteen probands from multiplex families. Results: The QPP contains seventeen incidences of confirmed monogenic forms of PD, including LRRK2 p.G2019S, VPS35 p.D620N, SNCA duplications and PARK2 p.G430D (horn) & exon 4 deletion (hom). Of these seventeen, five belong to multi-incident families, while another eight have a family history of at least one other case of PD. In additional families, WES did not identify known forms of monogenic Parkinsonism; however, three heterozygous mutations in PARK2, p.R275W, p.Q34fs, and a 40bp deletion in exon 3 were identified. Of these three mutations, only the 40bp deletion segregated with disease in a dominant inheritance pattern. Conclusion: Eighteen probands have screened negative for known CNVs and mutations that cause clear monogenic forms of PD. Each family is a candidate for further genetic analysis to identify genetic variants segregating with disease. The families enrolled in the QPP provide a useful resource to aid in identifying novel forms of monogenic PD. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.