Analysis of the LRRK2 Gly2385Arg variant in Alzheimer's disease in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the Gly2385Arg (G2385R) mutation in Taiwanese Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.


BACKGROUND
The leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene is well known to predispose subjects to Parkinson's disease (PD). The Gly2385Arg (G2385R) variant of LRRK2 is believed to be "East Asian"-specific, particularly in the Han Chinese population; however, whether the LRRK2 G2385R is associated with a risk of AD in pure Han-Chinese patients has not often been studied.


METHODS
A total of 209 AD patients (87 men, 122 women) and 180 age- and gender-matched controls were recruited and the demographic data of the AD patients were analyzed. Genotyping of the Gly2385Arg variant was studied using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry.


RESULTS
Subjects with the Gly2385Arg variant were all heterozygous carriers. The frequency of Gly2385Arg carriers did not differ significantly between the AD patients and controls (4.78% versus 4.44%, odds ratio=1.04, 95% CI=0.62-1.77, P=0.87). In the AD patient group, the age of symptom onset, the length of education, or the MMSE score showed no significant differences between wild-type carriers and heterozygous variant carriers (P=0.51, 0.43, and 0.09).


CONCLUSIONS
The Gly2385Arg variant of LRRK2 may not be a major risk factor for AD in pure Han Chinese patient. Among the AD patients, Gly2385Arg carriers were not clinically different from wild-type carriers.
Chang
Ting-Yu
TY
Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Kuo
Hung-Chou
HC
Lu
Chin-Song
CS
Wu-Chou
Yah-Huei
YH
Huang
Chin-Chang
CC
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D001120:Arginine / Q000235:genetics*; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D005998:Glycine / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods; D013624:Taiwan / Q000208:ethnology
D001120:Arginine; C495280:LRRK2 protein, human; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D005998:Glycine