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The role of de novo mutations in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Author(s) -
Doormaal Perry T.C.,
Ticozzi Nicola,
Weishaupt Jochen H.,
Kenna Kevin,
Diekstra Frank P.,
Verde Federico,
Andersen Peter M.,
Dekker Annelot M.,
Tiloca Cinzia,
Marroquin Nicolai,
Overste Daniel J.,
Pensato Viviana,
Nürnberg Peter,
Pulit Sara L.,
Schellevis Raymond D.,
Calini Daniela,
Altmüller Janine,
Francioli Laurent C.,
Muller Bernard,
Castellotti Barbara,
Motameny Susanne,
Ratti Antonia,
Wolf Joachim,
Gellera Cinzia,
Ludolph Albert C.,
den Berg Leonard H.,
Kubisch Christian,
Landers John E.,
Veldink Jan H.,
Silani Vincenzo,
Volk Alexander E.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
human mutation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1098-1004
pISSN - 1059-7794
DOI - 10.1002/humu.23295
Subject(s) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , biology , mutation , genetics , neuroscience , gene , disease , medicine
The genetic basis combined with the sporadic occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggests a role of de novo mutations in disease pathogenesis. Previous studies provided some evidence for this hypothesis; however, results were conflicting: no genes with recurrent occurring de novo mutations were identified and different pathways were postulated. In this study, we analyzed whole‐exome data from 82 new patient‐parents trios and combined it with the datasets of all previously published ALS trios (173 trios in total). The per patient de novo rate was not higher than expected based on the general population ( P = 0.40). We showed that these mutations are not part of the previously postulated pathways, and gene–gene interaction analysis found no enrichment of interacting genes in this group ( P = 0.57). Also, we were able to show that the de novo mutations in ALS patients are located in genes already prone for de novo mutations ( P < 1 × 10 ‐15 ). Although the individual effect of rare de novo mutations in specific genes could not be assessed, our results indicate that, in contrast to previous hypothesis, de novo mutations in general do not impose a major burden on ALS risk.