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[Preprint]. 2025 Jan 20:2025.01.14.25320205.
doi: 10.1101/2025.01.14.25320205.

Large-scale genetic characterization of Parkinson's disease in the African and African admixed populations

Fulya Akçimen  1 Kimberly Paquette  2 Peter Wild Crea  1   2 Paula Saffie-Awad  3   4 Charles Achoru  5 Funmilola Taiwo  6 Simon Ozomma  7 Gerald Onwuegbuzie  8 Marzieh Khani  2 Spencer Grant  1   2 Lukman Owolabi  9 Chiamaka Okereke  10 Olajumoke Oshinaike  11 Emmanuel Iwuozo  12 Paul Suhwan Lee  1 Shyngle Oyakhire  13 Nosakhare Osemwegie  14 Kensuke Daida  1   2   15 Sani Abubakar  16 Adedunni Olusanya  17   18 Mariam Isayan  19 Rami Traurig  2 Adebimpe Ogunmodede  20 Sarah Samuel  21 Mary B Makarious  2   22 Fadimatu Sa'ad  23 Rashidat Olanigan  24 Kristin Levine  2   22 Ewere Marie Ogbimi  25 Dan Vitale  2   22 Francis Odiase  26 Mathew J Koretsky  2   22 Francis Ojini  17   27 Olanike Odeniyi  28 Zih-Hua Fang  29 Nkechi Obianozie  30 Deborah A Hall  31 Ernest Nwazor  32 Tao Xie  33 Francisca Nwaokorie  17 Mahesh Padmanaban  33 Paul Nwani  34 Ejaz A Shamim  35   36   37 Alero Nnama  14 David Standaert  38 Morenikeji Komolafe  39 Marissa Dean  38 Godwin Osaigbovo  5 Elizabeth Disbrow  40 Ismaila Ishola  17 Ashley Rawls  41 Frank Imarhiagbe  26 Shivika Chandra  42 Cyril Erameh  43 Vanessa Hinson  44 Naomi Louie  45 Ahmed Idowu  46 J Solle  45 Scott A Norris  47 Abdullahi Ibrahim  48 Camilla Kilbane  49 Gauthaman Sukumar  50   51 Lisa M Shulman  52 Daniel Ezuduemoih  27 Julia Staisch  53 Sarah Breaux  53 Clifton Dalgard  54   55 Erin R Foster  47 Abiodun Bello  56 Andrew Ameri  44 Raquel Real  57   58 Erica Ikwenu  27 Huw R Morris  57   59   60 Roosevelt Anyanwu  17 Erin Furr Stimming  42 Kimberley Billingsley  2 Wemimo Alaofin  61 Pilar Alvarez Jerez  1   57 Osigwe Agabi  17   27 Dena G Hernandez  1 Rufus Akinyemi  62 Sampath Arepalli  1 Laksh Malik  2 Raymond Owolabi  20 Yakub Nyandaiti  21 Hampton L Leonard  2   22 Kolawole Wahab  61 Kathryn Step  63 Oladunni Abiodun  64 Carlos F Hernandez  65 Fatima Abdulai  30 Hirotaka Iwaki  2   22 Soraya Bardien  63 Christine Klein  66 John Hardy  67 Henry Houlden  68 Kamalini Ghosh Galvelis  69 Mike A Nalls  2   22 Nabila Dahodwala  70 Whitley Aamodt  70 Emily Hill  71 Alberto Espay  71 Stewart Factor  72 Chantale Branson  73 Cornelis Blauwendraat  1   2 Andrew B Singleton  1   2 Oluwadamilola Ojo  17   27 Lana M Chahine  74 Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease Study (BLAAC PD)Nigeria Parkinson’s Disease Research Network (NPDRN)Racial Disparities in Parkinson Disease (RaD-PD)Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2)Njideka Okubadejo  17   27 Sara Bandres-Ciga  2
Affiliations

Large-scale genetic characterization of Parkinson's disease in the African and African admixed populations

Fulya Akçimen et al. medRxiv. .

Update in

  • Large-scale genetic characterization of Parkinson's disease in the African and African admixed populations.
    Akçimen F, Paquette K, Wild Crea P, Step K, Waldo E, Koretsky MJ, Saffie-Awad P, Achoru C, Taiwo F, Ozomma S, Onwuegbuzie G, Khani M, Grant S, Owolabi L, Okereke C, Oshinaike O, Iwuozo E, Can Akerman S, Lee PS, Oyakhire S, Osemwegie N, Daida K, Abubakar S, Olusanya A, Isayan M, Alvarez C, Traurig R, Ogunmodede A, Samuel S, Makarious MB, Sa'ad F, Olanigan R, Levine K, Ogbimi EM, Vitale D, Odiase F, Ojini F, Odeniyi O, Fang ZH, Obianozie N, Hall DA, Nwazor E, Xie T, Nwaokorie F, Padmanaban M, Nwani P, Shamim EA, Nnama A, Standaert D, Komolafe M, Dean M, Osaigbovo G, Disbrow E, Ishola I, Rawls A, Imarhiagbe F, Chandra S, Erameh C, Hinson V, Louie N, Idowu A, Solle J, Norris SA, Ibrahim A, Kilbane C, Sukumar G, Shulman LM, Ezuduemoih D, Staisch J, Breaux S, Dalgard C, Foster ER, Bello A, Ameri A, Real R, Ikwenu E, Morris HR, Anyanwu R, Furr Stimming E, Billingsley K, Alaofin W, Alvarez Jerez P, Agabi O, Hernandez DG, Akinyemi R, Arepalli S, Malik L, Owolabi R, Nyandaiti Y, Leonard HL, Wahab K, Abiodun O, Hernandez CF, Abdulai F, Iwaki H, Bardien S, Klein C, Hardy J, Houlden H, Galvelis KG, Nalls MA, Dahodwala N, Aamodt W, Hill E, Espay A, Factor S, Branson C, Blauwendraat C, Singleton… See abstract for full author list ➔ Akçimen F, et al. Brain. 2025 Oct 8:awaf379. doi: 10.1093/brain/awaf379. Online ahead of print. Brain. 2025. PMID: 41058593

Abstract

Elucidating the genetic contributions to Parkinson's disease (PD) etiology across diverse ancestries is a critical priority for the development of targeted therapies in a global context. We conducted the largest sequencing characterization of potentially disease-causing, protein-altering and splicing mutations in 710 cases and 11,827 controls from genetically predicted African or African admixed ancestries. We explored copy number variants (CNVs) and runs of homozygosity (ROHs) in prioritized early onset and familial cases. Our study identified rare GBA1 coding variants to be the most frequent mutations among PD patients, with a frequency of 4% in our case cohort. Out of the 18 GBA1 variants identified, ten were previously classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic, four were novel, and four were reported as of uncertain clinical significance. The most common known disease-associated GBA1 variants in the Ashkenazi Jewish and European populations, p.Asn409Ser, p.Leu483Pro, p.Thr408Met, and p.Glu365Lys, were not identified among the screened PD cases of African and African admixed ancestry. Similarly, the European and Asian LRRK2 disease-causing mutational spectrum, including LRRK2 p.Gly2019Ser and p.Gly2385Arg genetic risk factors, did not appear to play a major role in PD etiology among West African-ancestry populations. However, we found three heterozygous novel missense LRRK2 variants of uncertain significance overrepresented in cases, two of which - p.Glu268Ala and p.Arg1538Cys - had a higher prevalence in the African ancestry population reference datasets. Structural variant analyses revealed the presence of PRKN CNVs with a frequency of 0.7% in African and African admixed cases, with 66% of CNVs detected being compound heterozygous or homozygous in early-onset cases, providing further insights into the genetic underpinnings in early-onset juvenile PD in these populations. Novel genetic variation overrepresented in cases versus controls among screened genes warrants further replication and functional prioritization to unravel their pathogenic potential. Here, we created the most comprehensive genetic catalog of both known and novel coding and splicing variants potentially linked to PD etiology in an underserved population. Our study has the potential to guide the development of targeted therapies in the emerging era of precision medicine. By expanding genetics research to involve underrepresented populations, we hope that future PD treatments are not only effective but also inclusive, addressing the needs of diverse ancestral groups.

Keywords: African admixed ancestry; African ancestry; Black and African American population; Parkinson’s disease; clinical trials; disease-causing mutations; genetics; monogenic; rare variants.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests KL, DV, HLL, HI, MJK and MAN declare that they are consultants employed by DataTecnica LLC, whose participation in this is part of a consulting agreement between the US National Institutes of Health and said company. MAN also owns stock from Neuron23 Inc and Character Biosciences.

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