[SNCA rs356219 AND rs356165 VARIANTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND INCREASED ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN GENE...

Impaired metabolism of alpha-synuclein (SNCA) and its aggregation are now implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies have found association between PD and gene locus, containing the SNCA gene. Meta-analysis have shown high significant association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs356165 (A/G) and rs356219 (A/G) in the SNCA gene with PD. We genotyped these SNPs in 260 PD patients and 262 controls from north-western region of Russia. Alleles "G" of rs356165 and rs356219 were associated with increased risk of PD development. Linkage disequilibrium was shown between associated marker alleles. We studied the relationship between rs356165 and rs356219 and levels of mRNA SNCA and alpha-synuclein in CD45+ peripheral blood cells in drug-naive PD patients (n = 43) and controls (n = 39). Alleles "G" of rs356165 and rs356219 were associated with increased levels of SNCA expression (p = 0.046) and high alpha-synuclein levels (p = 0.039) in controls. Our data suggest that rs356165 and rs356219 variants might influence on PD development by upregulating SNCA expression.