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Review
. 2021 Jun 24:12:694764.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.694764. eCollection 2021.

Exploring the Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in GBA-Parkinson Disease: Clinical Aspects, Biomarkers, and Potential Modifiers

Elisa Menozzi  1 , Anthony H V Schapira  1
Affiliations
Review

Exploring the Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in GBA-Parkinson Disease: Clinical Aspects, Biomarkers, and Potential Modifiers

Elisa Menozzi et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Variants in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene are the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson disease (PD). These include pathogenic variants causing Gaucher disease (GD) (divided into "severe," "mild," or "complex"-resulting from recombinant alleles-based on the phenotypic effects in GD) and "risk" variants, which are not associated with GD but nevertheless confer increased risk of PD. As a group, GBA-PD patients have more severe motor and nonmotor symptoms, faster disease progression, and reduced survival compared with noncarriers. However, different GBA variants impact variably on clinical phenotype. In the heterozygous state, "complex" and "severe" variants are associated with a more aggressive and rapidly progressive disease. Conversely, "mild" and "risk" variants portend a more benign course. Homozygous or compound heterozygous carriers usually display severe phenotypes, akin to heterozygous "complex" or "severe" variants carriers. This article reviews genotype-phenotype correlations in GBA-PD, focusing on clinical and nonclinical aspects (neuroimaging and biochemical markers), and explores other disease modifiers that deserve consideration in the characterization of these patients.

Keywords: GBA; Parkinson's; biomarker; genotype-phenotype; glucocerebrosidase.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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