Project description:BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to explore the association between 2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) gene (rs1611115 and rs732833) and the susceptibility to Parkinson's disease (PD). MATERIAL AND METHODS Polymerase chain reaction direct sequencing (PCR-DS) was used to test the genotypes of DBH polymorphisms in 95 PD patients and 100 healthy examinees frequency-matched with the former by age and sex. The genotype and allele distribution differences between the case and control groups were analyzed by chi-square test, and the relative risk of PD in southern Chinese populations was expressed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was also checked by chi-square test. RESULTS The genotype and allele distribution frequencies in rs1611115 were obviously different between PD patients and the healthy control group (P<0.05). The TT genotype may lead to a 2.95 times higher risk of PD occurrence compared with the common genotype CC (OR=2.95, 95%CI=1.02-8.51), and the C allele increased risk of onset of PD (OR=1.81, 95%CI=1.17-2.82). Cognition of the PD patients was different between CC and CT+TT genotypes of rs1611115 (P=0.047). CONCLUSIONS DBH rs1611115 polymorphism was likely to be associated with the susceptibility to PD, but we did not find that rs732833 is a susceptibility marker for PD.
Project description:A single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene (DBH -1021C>T; rs1611115) is reported to regulate plasma enzyme activity levels. This variant has also been the focus of two large association studies in Parkinson's disease yielding conflicting results. We examined this association in four Caucasian patient-control series (n=2696). A modest protective association was observed in the Norwegian series (OR=0.81, p=0.03; n=1676), however, the effect was in the opposite direction in the Polish series (OR=2.01, p=0.01; n=224). No association was observed for DBH -1021C>T with disease susceptibility in the US and Irish series, or combining all four series (OR=0.91, p=0.16, n=2696). We observed a modest association between DBH -1021C>T and AAO in the combined series (p=0.01). Taken together, these findings indicate that DBH -1021C>T does not play a major role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.
Project description:DNA from four cattle breeds was used to re-sequence all of the exons and 56% of the introns of the bovine tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and 97% and 13% of the bovine dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) coding and non-coding sequences, respectively. Two novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a microsatellite motif were found in the TH sequences. The DBH sequences contained 62 nucleotide changes, including eight non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) that are of particular interest because they may alter protein function and therefore affect the phenotype. These DBH nsSNPs resulted in amino acid substitutions that were predicted to destabilize the protein structure. Six SNPs (one from TH and five from DBH non-synonymous SNPs) were genotyped in 140 animals; all of them were polymorphic and had a minor allele frequency of > 9%. There were significant differences in the intra- and inter-population haplotype distributions. The haplotype differences between Brahman cattle and the three B. t. taurus breeds (Charolais, Holstein and Lidia) were interesting from a behavioural point of view because of the differences in temperament between these breeds.
Project description:BackgroundParkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by selective and progressive dopamine (DA) neuron loss in the substantia nigra and other brain regions, with the presence of Lewy body formation. Most PD cases are sporadic, whereas monogenic forms of PD have been linked to multiple genes, including Leucine kinase repeat 2 (LRRK2) and PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1), two protein kinase genes involved in multiple signaling pathways. There is increasing evidence to suggest that endogenous DA and DA-dependent neurodegeneration have a pathophysiologic role in sporadic and familial PD.MethodsWe generated patient-derived dopaminergic neurons and human midbrain-like organoids (hMLOs), transgenic (TG) mouse and Drosophila models, expressing both mutant and wild-type (WT) LRRK2 and PINK1. Using these models, we examined the effect of LRRK2 and PINK1 on tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-DA pathway.ResultsWe demonstrated that PD-linked LRRK2 mutations were able to modulate TH-DA pathway, resulting in up-regulation of DA early in the disease which subsequently led to neurodegeneration. The LRRK2-induced DA toxicity and degeneration were abrogated by wild-type (WT) PINK1 (but not PINK1 mutations), and early treatment with a clinical-grade drug, α-methyl-L-tyrosine (α-MT), a TH inhibitor, was able to reverse the pathologies in human neurons and TG Drosophila models. We also identified opposing effects between LRRK2 and PINK1 on TH expression, suggesting that functional balance between these two genes may regulate the TH-DA pathway.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the vital role of the TH-DA pathway in PD pathogenesis. LRRK2 and PINK1 have opposing effects on the TH-DA pathway, and its balance affects DA neuron survival. LRRK2 or PINK1 mutations can disrupt this balance, promoting DA neuron demise. Our findings provide support for potential clinical trials using TH-DA pathway inhibitors in early or prodromic PD.
Project description:The COMT and DBH genes are physically located at chromosomes 22q11 and 9q34, respectively, and both COMT and DBH are involved in catecholamine metabolism and are strong candidates for certain psychiatric and neurological disorders. Although the genetic determinants for both enzymes' activities have been widely studied, their genetic involvement on gene mRNA expression levels remains unclear. In this study we performed quantitative linkage analysis of COMT and DBH cDNA expression levels, identifying transcriptional regulatory regions for both genes. Multiple Haseman-Elston regression was used to detect both additive and interactive effects between two loci. We found that the master transcriptional regulatory region 20q13 had an additive effect on the COMT expression level. We also found that chromosome 19p13 showed both additive and interactive effects with 9q34 on DBH expression level. Furthermore, a potential interaction between COMT and DBH was indicated.
Project description:RationaleDopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) plays an essential role in catecholamine synthesis by converting dopamine into norepinephrine. Here we systematically investigated DBH polymorphisms associated with enzymatic activity as well as autonomic and blood pressure (BP)/disease phenotypes in vivo.Methods and resultsSeventy genetic variants were discovered at the locus; across ethnicities, much of the promoter was spanned by a 5' haplotype block, with a larger block spanning the promoter in whites than blacks. DBH secretion was predicted by genetic variants in the DBH promoter, rather than the amino acid coding region. The C allele of common promoter variant C-970T increased plasma DBH activity, epinephrine excretion, the heritable change in BP during environmental stress in twin pairs, and also predicted higher basal BP in three independent populations. Mutagenesis and expression studies with isolated/transfected DBH promoter/luciferase reporters in chromaffin cells indicated that variant C-970T was functional. C-970T partially disrupted consensus transcriptional motifs for n-MYC and MEF-2, and this variant affected not only basal expression, but also the response to exogenous/co-transfected n-MYC or MEF-2; during chromatin immunoprecipitation, these two endogenous factors interacted with the motif.ConclusionsThese results suggest that common DBH promoter variant C-970T plays a role in the pathogenesis of human essential hypertension: common genetic variation in the DBH promoter region seems to initiate a cascade of biochemical and physiological changes eventuating in alterations of basal BP. These observations suggest new molecular strategies for probing the pathophysiology, risk, and rational treatment of systemic hypertension.
Project description:Dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (D beta H) catalyzes the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine and is released from sympathetic neurons into the circulation. Plasma-D beta H activity varies widely between individuals, and a subgroup of the population has very low activity levels. Mounting evidence suggests that the DBH structural gene is itself the major quantitative-trait locus (QTL) for plasma-D beta H activity, and a single unidentified polymorphism may account for a majority of the variation in activity levels. Through use of both sequencing-based mutational analysis of extreme phenotypes and genotype/phenotype correlations in samples from African American, European American (EA), and Japanese populations, we have identified a novel polymorphism (--1021C-->T), in the 5' flanking region of the DBH gene, that accounts for 35%--52% of the variation in plasma-D beta H activity in these populations. In EAs, homozygosity at the T allele predicted the very low D beta H-activity trait, and activity values in heterozygotes formed an intermediate distribution, indicating codominant inheritance. Our findings demonstrate that --1021C-->T is a major genetic marker for plasma-D beta H activity and provide new tools for investigation of the role of both D beta H and the DBH gene in human disease.
Project description:Objective: Interaction between genetic and environmental factors is considered as major factors in Schizophrenia (SCZ). It has been shown that dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission dysfunction play an essential role in the SCZ pathogenesis. This study aimed to find the impact of functional 19-bp insertion/deletion (ins/del) polymorphism in dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) gene on SCZ risk in a sample of Iranian population. Method: This case-control study was conducted on 109 SCZ patients and 116 matched healthy subjects. Genomic DNA samples were extracted from peripheral blood cells using salting out method. Genotyping of 19-bp ins/del DBH polymorphism was done using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. Results: Neither the overall chi-square comparison of cases and controls (?2 = 0.56, p = 0.756), nor the logistic regression analysis (which was computed in codominant, dominant and recessive model of inheritance) showed any association between DBH 19-bp I/D and SCZ in a sample of southeast Iranian population. Conclusion: Overall, our results did not support an association between DBH 19-bp I/D polymorphism and risk/protection of SCZ.
Project description:Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) is the biosynthetic enzyme catalyzing formation of norepinephrine. Changes in DBH expression or activity have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric disorders. Genetic determination of DBH enzymatic activity and its secretion are only incompletely understood. We began with a genome-wide association search for loci contributing to DBH activity in human plasma. Initially, in a population sample of European ancestry, we identified the proximal DBH promoter as a region harboring three common trait-determining variants (top hit rs1611115, P = 7.2 × 10(-51)). We confirmed their effects on transcription and showed that the three variants each acted additively on gene expression. Results were replicated in a population sample of Native American descent (top hit rs1611115, P = 4.1 × 10(-15)). Jointly, DBH variants accounted for 57% of DBH trait variation. We further identified a genome-wide significant SNP at the LOC338797 locus on chromosome 12 as trans-quantitative trait locus (QTL) (rs4255618, P = 4.62 × 10(-8)). Conditional analyses on DBH identified a third genomic region contributing to DBH variation: a likely cis-QTL adjacent to DBH in SARDH (rs7040170, P = 1.31 × 10(-14)) on chromosome 9q. We conclude that three common SNPs in the DBH promoter act additively to control phenotypic variation in DBH levels, and that two additional novel loci (SARDH and LOC338797) may also contribute to the expression of this catecholamine biosynthetic trait. Identification of DBH variants with strong effects makes it possible to take advantage of Mendelian randomization approaches to test causal effects of this intermediate trait on disease.
Project description:There is currently a great deal of interest in using linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping to locate both disease and quantitative-trait loci on a genomewide scale. Recent findings suggest that much of the human genome is organized in discrete "blocks" of low haplotype diversity, but the utility of such blocks in identifying genes influencing complex traits is not yet known and must ultimately be tested empirically through use of real data. We recently identified a putative functional polymorphism (-1021C-->T) in the 5' upstream region of the DBH gene that accounted for 35%-52% of the total phenotypic variance in plasma dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) activity in samples from three distinct populations. In the present study, we genotyped 11 diallelic markers at the DBH locus surrounding -1021C-->T in 386 unrelated individuals of European origin. We identified a single 10-kb block containing -1021C-->T, in which four haplotypes comprised 93% of the observed chromosomes. Only markers within the block were highly associated with phenotype (P< or =2.2 x 10(-10)), with one exception. In general, association with phenotype was strongly correlated with the degree of LD between each marker and -1021C-->T. Of four LD measures assessed, d(2) was the best predictor of this relationship. Had one attempted to map quantitative-trait loci for plasma DBH activity on a genomewide basis without prior knowledge of candidate regions and not included (by chance) markers within this haplotype block, the DBH locus might have been missed entirely. These results provide a direct example of the potential value of constructing a haplotype map of the human genome prior to embarking on large-scale association studies.