Haploinsufficiency of ITSN1 is associated with a substantial increased risk of Parkinson's disease.

Spargo TP, Sands CF, Juan IR, Mitchell J, Ravanmehr V, Butts JC, De-Paula RB, Kim Y, Hu F, Wang Q, Vitsios D, Garg M, Middleton L, Tyrlik M, Messa M, Del Angel G, Calame DG, Saade H, Robak L, Hollis B, Cuddapah VA, Zoghbi HY, Shulman JM, Petrovski S, Al-Ramahi I, Tachmazidou I, Dhindsa RS.

Cell Rep · 2025-03-07

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Despite its significant heritability, the genetic basis of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains incompletely understood. Here, in analyzing whole-genome sequence data from 3,809 PD cases and 247,101 controls in the UK Biobank, we discover that protein-truncating variants in ITSN1 confer a substantially increased risk of PD (p = 6.1 × 10-7; odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 10.5 [5.2, 21.3]). We replicate this association in three independent datasets totaling 8,407 cases and 413,432 controls (combined p = 4.5 × 10-12). Notably, ITSN1 haploinsufficiency has also been associated with autism spectrum disorder, suggesting variable penetrance/expressivity. In Drosophila, we find that loss of the ITSN1 ortholog Dap160 exacerbates α-synuclein-induced neuronal toxicity and motor deficits, and in vitro assays further suggest a physical interaction between ITSN1 and α-synuclein. These results firmly establish ITSN1 as a PD risk gene with an effect size exceeding previously established loci, implicate vesicular trafficking dysfunction in PD pathogenesis, and potentially open new avenues for therapeutic development.

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