Genetics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
There are more than 25 genes known to be associated with
C9orf72 is the most common gene associated with ALS, causing 40% of familial cases of ALS, as well as a small percentage of sporadic cases;[7] it also causes about 25% of familial cases of frontotemporal dementia.[6] The pathogenic mutation is a hexanucleotide repeat expansion (a series of six nucleotides repeated over and over); the more repeats in C9orf72, the more pathogenic the mutation. People without ALS tend to have fewer than 25 repeat units, while people with ALS due to a mutation in C9orf72 tend to have hundreds or thousands of repeat units. It is not clear exactly how many repeat units are needed to cause disease.[1]
Some people have both ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD–ALS). The four main genes associated with FTD–ALS are C9orf72,
Genes
As of May 2017 more than 20 genes have been associated with various types of ALS.[8] As of 2016 these genes explained about 70% of familial ALS (fALS) and 15% of sporadic ALS (sALS).[2][13] These associations include:
Type[8] | OMIM (see references at OMIM link)
|
Gene[8] | Locus[8] | Inheritance[8] | Year Identified[2] | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ALS1 | 105400 | SOD1 | 21q22.1 | autosomal recessive
|
1993 | The first gene associated with ALS, SOD1 accounts for about 12% of fALS and 1-2% of sALS.[2] |
ALS2 | 205100 | ALS2 | 2q33.1 | autosomal recessive | 2001 | Juvenile-onset |
ALS3 | 606640 | Unknown | 18q21 | autosomal dominant | — | |
ALS4 | 602433 | SETX | 9q34.13 | autosomal dominant | 1998 | |
ALS5 | 602099 | SPG11 | 15q21.1 | autosomal recessive | 2010 | Juvenile onset |
ALS6 | 608030 | FUS
|
16p11.2 | autosomal dominant/recessive | 2009 | Impaired DNA damage response.[14] Occurs in about 5% of familial and 1% of sporadic ALS cases. |
ALS7 | 608031 | Unknown | 20p13 | autosomal dominant | — | |
ALS8 | 608627 | VAPB | 20q13.3 | autosomal dominant | 2004 | |
ALS9 | 611895 | ANG | 14q11.2 | autosomal dominant | 2006 | |
ALS10 | 612069 | TARDBP
|
1p36.2 | autosomal dominant | 2008 | ALS with or without frontotemporal dementia. Impaired repair of DNA damage.[9] |
ALS11 | 612577 | FIG4
|
6q21 | autosomal dominant | 2009 | |
ALS12 | 613435 | OPTN | 10p13 | autosomal dominant/recessive | 2010 | |
ALS13 | 183090 | ATXN2
|
12q24.12 | autosomal dominant | 2010 | Preliminary research indicates that intermediate-length CAG trinucleotide repeats in the ATXN2 gene may be associated with increased risk of ALS, whereas longer repeats cause spinocerebellar ataxia type 2[15][16] |
ALS14 | 613954 | VCP | 9p13.3 | autosomal dominant | 2010 | Preliminary research indicates a possible link in ALS mechanism[17][18] |
ALS15 | 300857 | UBQLN2 | Xp11.21 | X-linked dominant
|
2011 | Described in one family[19] |
ALS16 | 614373 | SIGMAR1
|
9p13.3 | autosomal recessive | 2011 | Juvenile onset, very rare, described only in one family[20] |
ALS17 | 614696 | CHMP2B | 3p11.2 | autosomal dominant | 2006 | Very rare, reported only in a handful of people |
ALS18 | 614808 | PFN1
|
17p13.2 | autosomal dominant | 2012 | Very rare, described only in a handful of Chinese families[21] |
ALS19 | 615515 | ERBB4 | 2q34 | autosomal dominant | 2013 | Very rare, as of late 2013 described only in four people[22] |
ALS20 | 615426 | HNRNPA1
|
12q13.13 | autosomal dominant | 2013 | Very rare, as of late 2013 described only in two people[23] |
ALS21 | 606070 | MATR3 | 5q31.2 | autosomal dominant | 2014 | Associated with 0.5-2.0% of ALS cases.[1] |
ALS22 | 616208 | TUBA4A | 2q35 | autosomal dominant | 2014 | Associated with 1% of fALS cases and 0.4% of sALS cases; not enough evidence to conclude it causes ALS or FTD as of 2018.[1] |
ALS23[24] | 617839 | ANXA11
|
10q22.3 | autosomal dominant | 2017 | Associated with 1% of fALS and 1.7% sALS cases; considered a causal gene.[1] |
ALS24[25] | 617892 | NEK1
|
4q33 | Unknown[1] | 2016 | Associated with 3-5% of ALS cases; considered an ALS risk gene rather than a causative gene as of 2018.[1] |
ALS25[26] | 617921 | KIF5A | 12q13.3 | autosomal dominant | 2018 | |
FTD-ALS1 | 105550 | C9orf72 | 9p21.2 | autosomal dominant | 2011 | The gene most commonly associated with ALS, C9orf72 accounts for 40% of fALS cases and 7% of sALS cases.[2] |
FTD-ALS2 | 615911 | CHCHD10 | 22q11.23 | autosomal dominant | 2014 | Associated with less than 1% of ALS-FTD cases and about 2% of fALS cases.[1] |
FTD-ALS3 | 616437 | SQSTM1
|
5q35.3 | autosomal dominant | 2011 | |
FTD-ALS4 | 616439 | TBK1 | 12q14.2 | autosomal dominant | 2015 | Associated with 1.3% of ALS cases and 3-4% of ALS-FTD cases.[1] |
IBMPFD2 | 615422 | HNRNPA2B1 | 7p15.2 | autosomal dominant | 2013 | Proposed names: Inclusion body myopathy with early-onset Paget disease with or without frontotemporal dementia 2 (IBMPFD2); multisystem proteinopathy 2 (MSP2). Very rare, as of late 2013 described only in two people[23] |
Other genes
The following genes associated with ALS have been discussed in a June 2018 literature review,[1] but have not yet been added to the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database.
Type | OMIM
|
Gene | Locus | Inheritance | Year Identified | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
— | — | C21orf2 | 21q22.3 | Unknown | 2016 | Associated with less than 1% of ALS cases.[1] |
— | — | CCNF | 16p13.3 | autosomal dominant | 2016 | Associated with 0.6%-3.3% of fALS-FTD cases.[1] |
— | — | TIA1 | 2p13.3 | autosomal dominant | 2017 | Associated with 2% of fALS cases and less than 0.5% of sALS cases.[1] |
SOD1
In 1993, scientists discovered that mutations in the gene (SOD1) that produces the
A defect in SOD1 could be a loss or gain of function. A loss of SOD1 function could lead to an accumulation of DNA damage. A gain of SOD1 function could be toxic in other ways.[28][29]
Aggregate accumulation of mutant SOD1 is suspected to play a role in disrupting cellular functions by damaging
A 2016 paper proposed that SOD1 maturation and proteins regulating intracellular copper levels are potential therapeutic targets of SOD1-ALS.[27]
The DNA oxidation product 8-oxoG is a well-established marker of oxidative DNA damage. 8-oxoG accumulates in the mitochondria of spinal motor neurons of persons with ALS.[32] In transgenic ALS mice harboring a mutant SOD1 gene, 8-oxoG accumulates in mitochondrial DNA of spinal motor neurons.[33] Thus oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA of motor neurons due to altered SOD1 may be a significant factor in the etiology of ALS.[citation needed]
UBQLN2, TARDBP
The UBQLN2 gene encodes production of the protein ubiquilin 2 in the cell, which is a member of the ubiquilin family and controls the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins. Mutations in UBQLN2 interfere with protein degradation, leading to neurodegeneration and causing dominantly inherited, chromosome X-linked ALS and ALS/dementia.[19]
The TDP-43 protein, coded for by the TARDBP gene, is responsible for regulation of RNA expression.[34] The discovery of mutations in the TARDBP gene, in relation to ALS, was the first proof that RNA processing defects lead to protein inclusions typical in RNA, and contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease.[34] Other mutations that have been shown to be associated with ALS from GWAS include ATXN2,[35] Nek1 and TBK1.[34]
TBK1, SQSTM1, OPTN
The
C9orf72
Mitochondria
Mitochondrial abnormalities, such as increased free radical production and impaired ATP production, have been observed but these mechanisms are unproven causes of ALS.[40] SOD1 and TDP-43 mutations may play a role in causing mitochondria dysfunction.[41]
Increased markers of oxidative stress have been observed in sporadic cases of ALS, including 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine and 4-Hydroxynonenal. This hypothesis is further supported by various risk factors observed for ALS, such as trauma and exposure to certain chemicals that may play a role in increasing oxidative stress. However, failed trials with anti-oxidants and methodological limitation limit the hypothesis.[42] One proposed mechanism of ALS incorporating both the genetic mutations of RNA binding proteins and oxidative stress, suggests that with age cells lose their ability to buffer against the genetic changes due to increasing oxidative stress resulting in the death of sensitive cells.[43] A possible mechanism for dysregulation of glutaminergic neurotransmission may be through excessive oxidative stress of astrocytes.[42]
Given the co-occurrence and symptomatic overlap with frontotemporal dementia, they may share an underlying pathophysiology, such as dysregulated microRNA activity (possibly originating in a TDP-43 mutation.) However authors cautioned against assuming a causal role of microRNA dysregulation.[44]
History
The first gene to be associated with ALS was
Another major milestone was the discovery of
The first
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