title: The Genetic Link between Parkinson's Disease and the Kynurenine Pathway Is Still Missing.
abstract: Background. There is substantial evidence that the kynurenine pathway (KP) plays a role in the normal physiology of the brain and is involved in the pathology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease (PD). Objective. We set out to investigate the potential roles in PD of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from one of the key enzymes of the KP, kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO). Methods. 105 unrelated, clinically definitive PD patients and 131 healthy controls were enrolled to investigate the possible effects of the different alleles of KMO. Fluorescently labeled TaqMan probes were used for allele discrimination. Results. None of the four investigated SNPs proved to be associated with PD or influenced the age at onset of the disease. Conclusions. The genetic link between the KP and PD is still missing. The investigated SNPs presumably do not appear to influence the function of KMO and probably do not contain binding sites for regulatory proteins of relevance in PD. This is the first study to assess the genetic background behind the biochemical alterations of the kynurenine pathway in PD, directing the attention to this previously unexamined field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, 6 Semmelweis Utca, Szeged 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: Nóra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Török
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, 6 Semmelweis Utca, Szeged 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Török
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, 1 Semmelweis Utca, Gyula 5700, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szolnoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology, University of Szeged, 10 Dóm tér, Szeged 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Somogyvári
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, 6 Semmelweis Utca, Szeged 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klivényi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, 6 Semmelweis Utca, Szeged 6725, Hungary ; MTA-SZTE Neuroscience Research Group, 6 Semmelweis Utca, Szeged 6725, Hungary.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vécsei