Brain Regional Differences in Hexanucleotide Repeat Length in X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism Using Nanopore Sequencing

Somatic repeat instability may predominate in brain regions selectively affected in XDP, thereby hinting at its potential role in disease manifestation and modification.

source: Neuro Genetics

Summary

Brain Regional Differences in Hexanucleotide Repeat Length in X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism Using Nanopore Sequencing

[Posted 2/Aug/2021]

AUDIENCE: Neurology, Internal Medicine

KEY FINDINGS: Somatic repeat instability may predominate in brain regions selectively affected in XDP, thereby hinting at its potential role in disease manifestation and modification.

BACKGROUND: The study investigated the presence of regional differences in hexanucleotide repeat number in postmortem brain tissues of 2 patients with X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP), a combined dystonia-parkinsonism syndrome modified by a (CCCTCT)n repeat within the causal SINE-VNTR-Alu retrotransposon insertion in the TAF1 gene.

DETAILS: Genomic DNA was extracted from blood and postmortem brain samples, including the basal ganglia and cortex from both patients and from the cerebellum, midbrain, and pituitary gland from 1 patient. Repeat sizing was performed using fragment analysis, small-pool PCR-based Southern blotting, and Oxford nanopore sequencing. The basal ganglia (p < 0.001) and cerebellum (p < 0.001) showed higher median repeat numbers and higher degrees of repeat instability compared with blood.

Our Most Popular Resources

Copyright © 2021 American Academy of Neurology. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Reyes, C. J., Labbs, B., Schaake, S., et al. (2021). Brain Regional Differences in Hexanucleotide Repeat Length in X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism Using Nanopore Sequencing. Neuro Genetics. 2021; 7(4): e608. Published: August, 2021. DOI: 10.1212/NXG.0000000000000608.