title: An extended association screen in multiple sclerosis using 202 microsatellite markers targeting apoptosis-related genes does not reveal new predisposing factors.
abstract: Apoptosis, the programmed death of cells, plays a distinct role in the etiopathogenesis of Multiple sclerosis (MS), a common disease of the central nervous system with complex genetic background. Yet, it is not clear whether the impact of apoptosis is due to altered apoptotic behaviour caused by variations of apoptosis-related genes. Instead, apoptosis in MS may also represent a secondary response to cellular stress during acute inflammation in the central nervous system. Here, we screened 202 apoptosis-related genes for association by genotyping 202 microsatellite markers in initially 160 MS patients and 160 controls, both divided in 4 sets of pooled DNA samples, respectively. When applying Bonferroni correction, no significant differences in allele frequencies were detected between MS patients and controls. Nevertheless, we chose 7 markers for retyping in individual DNA samples, thereby eliminating 6 markers from the list of candidates. The remaining candidate, the ERBB3 gene microsatellite, was genotyped in additional 245 MS patients and controls. No association of the ERBB3 marker with the disease was detected in these additional cohorts. In consequence, we did not find further evidence for apoptosis-related genes as predisposition factors in MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany. rene.goedde@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gödde
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brune
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jagiello
authors.forename: Eckhart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sindern
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haupts
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schimrigk
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Jörg T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Epplen
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017931:DNA Primers; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005819:Genetic Markers; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D005819:Genetic Markers