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Biomedical subjects

An Goris

Publications and source records attributed to An Goris.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Linkage disequilibrium screening for multiple sclerosis implicates JAG1 and POU2AF1 as susceptibility genes in Europeans.

By combining all the data available from the Genetic Analysis of Multiple sclerosis in EuropeanS (GAMES) project, we have been able to identify 17 microsatellite markers showing consistent evidence for apparent association. As might be expected five of these markers map within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) and are in LD with HLA-DRB1. Individual genotyping of the 12 non-MHC markers confirmed association for three of them--D11S1986, D19S552 and D20S894. Association mapping across the candidate genes implicated by these markers in 937 UK trio families revealed modestly associated haplotypes in JAG1 (p=0.019) on chromosome 20p12.2 and POU2AF1 (p=0.003) on chromosome 11q23.1.

Calcium-Binding Proteins↗

CD24 Ala/Val polymorphism and multiple sclerosis.

CD24 is expressed on a broad range of cells in the immune and central nervous systems and appears to be required for development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice. Association of a CD24 Ala/Val coding polymorphism with susceptibility to and progression of multiple sclerosis was recently reported. We typed this coding polymorphism in a combined cohort of 1,180 cases and 1,168 unrelated and family-based controls from Belgium and the UK, but were unable to confirm either association. Since the CD24 gene is part of a segmental duplication, special care is required for the identification and genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Alanine↗

SELPLG and SELP single-nucleotide polymorphisms in multiple sclerosis.

P-Selectin (SELP) and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (SELPLG) constitute a receptor/ligand complex involved in the recruitment of activated lymphocytes, a critical event in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to determine whether genetic variation in these pivotal molecules influences susceptibility to MS, we genotyped 214 Italian patients compared with 220 Italian controls for three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): SELPLG Met62Ile, SELP C-2123G and SELP Thr715Pro. No significant differences in both SELP SNPs were found between patients and controls, whereas a decreased frequency of the Met62Ile SNP was found in patients versus controls in the Italian population (P = 0.025). To confirm these preliminary findings, the Met62Ile SNP was analysed in 938 UK trio families. This SNP did not show evidence for association with susceptibility to MS in the larger UK cohort. Therefore, none of the SNPs investigated is associated with MS, although this analysis does not conclusively exclude SELPLG and SELP as genetic risk factors for MS as much variation remains untested.

Adult↗

New candidate loci for multiple sclerosis susceptibility revealed by a whole genome association screen in a Belgian population.

We have completed a whole genome screen for association with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Belgian population. The 6000 microsatellite markers provided through the Genetic Association of Multiple Sclerosis in EuropeanS (GAMES) collaborative were genotyped in case-control and family-based samples. The 20 most promising markers included three markers (D6S1615, D6S2444 and TNFa) from the classically established HLA class II cluster and one (D6S265) from the recently re-emphasized HLA class I cluster. In other highlighted regions, preliminary candidate genes from the immune system have been identified: e.g. the integrin ligand EDIL3, the high-mobility group box protein TOX, neutral sphingomyelinase activating factor (NSMAF) and the B-cell specific transcription factor POU2AF1.

Belgium↗

Cytokine gene polymorphisms in multifactorial diseases: gateways to novel targets for immunotherapy?

Recent advances in cytokine biology have led to novel approaches to the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In this article, we review recent data regarding the role of functional polymorphisms in the genes encoding the prototypic Th1 cytokine interferon gamma and Th2 cytokine interleukin 4 in multifactorial disorders. We have compared genetic data across a heterogeneous assortment of such conditions using a 'haplotype tagging' approach, and demonstrate that cytokine gene association studies are instrumental in the identification of specific disease states or clinical manifestations that are probably caused by genetically determined aberrant cytokine expression. Some of these new findings suggest cytokine effects that go beyond a classical Th1-Th2 dichotomy. Thus, we propose that this information could provide novel targets for immunotherapy and, in particular, might facilitate the identification of clinical subgroups of patients who, by virtue of their genetic constitution at these cytokine gene loci, are more likely to benefit from cytokine agonist or antagonist therapy.

Causality↗

Chromosome 7q21-22 and multiple sclerosis: evidence for a genetic susceptibility effect in vicinity to the protachykinin-1 gene.

Chromosome 7q21-22 and, in particular, the region surrounding D7S554 emerged from the recent American genome screen in multiple sclerosis (MS) as the most promising region genome-wide for harboring a disease susceptibility gene. We tested association between D7S554 and MS in 217 Sardinian trio MS families by the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT), and in a Northern Irish case-control study comprising 542 individuals. In both populations, we found evidence for significant allelic association (P(c)=0.04 and P(c)=0.0002, respectively). In a second stage, we analysed five microsatellite markers in a 4 megabase interval on chromosome 7q21-22 in the same set of Sardinian families. Parental transmission of a single allele of one of these markers, i.e. D7S3126, was significantly distorted (P(c)=0.008). D7S554 and D7S3126 are located at distances of, respectively, 40 and 81 kb 5' from the startcodon of the protachykinin-1 gene (TAC1), and occur in strong linkage disequilibrium (P<10(-7)). Our study indicates that the previous finding of linkage with D7S554 refers possibly to the presence of an MS susceptibility effect in vicinity to TAC1. In addition, a second independent association was uncovered between a microsatellite polymorphism in the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene, i.e. D7S477, and MS. Overall, the analysis presented here may contribute to the increasingly refined genomic map of MS and underscores the requirement for a further high-resolution screening of chromosome 7q21-22.

Adult↗