Genome-wide association study identifies zonisamide responsive gene in Parkinson's disease patients

J Hum Genet. 2020 Aug;65(8):693-704. doi: 10.1038/s10038-020-0760-8. Epub 2020 May 1.

Abstract

Long-term treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) by levodopa leads to motor complication "wearing-off". Zonisamide is a nondopaminergic antiparkinsonian drug that can improve "wearing-off" although response to the treatment varies between individuals. To clarify the genetic basis of zonisamide responsiveness, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 200 PD patients from a placebo-controlled clinical trial, including 67 responders whose "off" time decreased ≥1.5 h after 12 weeks of zonisamide treatment and 133 poor responders. We genotyped and evaluated the association between 611,492 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and "off" time reduction. We also performed whole-genome imputation, gene- and pathway-based analyses of GWAS data. For promising SNPs, we examined single-tissue expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data in the GTEx database. SNP rs16854023 (Mouse double minute 4, MDM4) showed genome-wide significant association with reduced "off" time (PAdjusted = 4.85 × 10-9). Carriers of responsive genotype showed >7-fold decrease in mean "off" time compared to noncarriers (1.42 h vs 0.19 h; P = 2.71 × 10-7). In silico eQTL data indicated that zonisamide sensitivity is associated with higher MDM4 expression. Among the 37 pathways significantly influencing "off" time, calcium and glutamate signaling have also been associated with anti-epileptic effect of zonisamide. MDM4 encodes a negative regulator of p53. The association between improved motor fluctuation and MDM4 upregulation implies that p53 inhibition may prevent dopaminergic neuron loss and consequent motor symptoms. This is the first genome-wide pharmacogenetics study on antiparkinsonian drug. The findings provide a basis for improved management of "wearing-off" in PD by genotype-guided zonisamide treatment.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Antiparkinson Agents / pharmacology
  • Antiparkinson Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Asian People / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Female
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Parkinson Disease / drug therapy
  • Parkinson Disease / genetics*
  • Parkinson Disease / metabolism
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
  • Quantitative Trait Loci
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Zonisamide / pharmacology
  • Zonisamide / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Antiparkinson Agents
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • MDM4 protein, human
  • PDRG1 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Zonisamide