Objectives: The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs5174 of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 8 (LRP8) gene has been linked to decreased risk for Parkinson's disease (PD) on Caucasian populations. However, this association has not been proven in Han Chinese populations.
Methods: A total of 378 unrelated Han patients with PD from the Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and 274 unrelated Han healthy controls (HCs) from the same region were included in this study. SNPs rs5174 and rs3820198 were genotyped using the Sequenom iPLEX Assay technology.
Results: No significant difference was found in the genotype and minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of SNPs rs5174 and rs3820198 between the PD and HC groups, the early-onset PD and HC groups, the late-onset PD and HC groups, as well as the early-onset PD and late-onset PD groups.
Conclusion: This report is the first one on the lack of association of the LRP8 SNPs rs5174 and rs3820198 with PD in Han Chinese population. Together with a Japanese study, the results indicate that the variants within the LRP8 gene do not contribute to the risk of developing PD in Asian populations.