Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene.
Nicolas A., Kenna KP., Renton AE., Ticozzi N., Faghri F., Chia R., Dominov JA., Kenna BJ., Nalls MA., Keagle P., Rivera AM., van Rheenen W., Murphy NA., van Vugt JJFA., Geiger JT., Van der Spek RA., Pliner HA., Shankaracharya None., Smith BN., Marangi G., Topp SD., Abramzon Y., Gkazi AS., Eicher JD., Kenna A., ITALSGEN Consortium None., Mora G., Calvo A., Mazzini L., Riva N., Mandrioli J., Caponnetto C., Battistini S., Volanti P., La Bella V., Conforti FL., Borghero G., Messina S., Simone IL., Trojsi F., Salvi F., Logullo FO., D'Alfonso S., Corrado L., Capasso M., Ferrucci L., Genomic Translation for ALS Care (GTAC) Consortium None., Moreno CDAM., Kamalakaran S., Goldstein DB., ALS Sequencing Consortium None., Gitler AD., Harris T., Myers RM., NYGC ALS Consortium None., Phatnani H., Musunuri RL., Evani US., Abhyankar A., Zody MC., Answer ALS Foundation None., Kaye J., Finkbeiner S., Wyman SK., LeNail A., Lima L., Fraenkel E., Svendsen CN., Thompson LM., Van Eyk JE., Berry JD., Miller TM., Kolb SJ., Cudkowicz M., Baxi E., Clinical Research in ALS and Related Disorders for Therapeutic Development (CReATe) Consortium None., Benatar M., Taylor JP., Rampersaud E., Wu G., Wuu J., SLAGEN Consortium None., Lauria G., Verde F., Fogh I., Tiloca C., Comi GP., Sorarù G., Cereda C., French ALS Consortium None., Corcia P., Laaksovirta H., Myllykangas L., Jansson L., Valori M., Ealing J., Hamdalla H., Rollinson S., Pickering-Brown S., Orrell RW., Sidle KC., Malaspina A., Hardy J., Singleton AB., Johnson JO., Arepalli S., Sapp PC., McKenna-Yasek D., Polak M., Asress S., Al-Sarraj S., King A., Troakes C., Vance C., de Belleroche J., Baas F., Ten Asbroek ALMA., Muñoz-Blanco JL., Hernandez DG., Ding J., Gibbs JR., Scholz SW., Floeter MK., Campbell RH., Landi F., Bowser R., Pulst SM., Ravits JM., MacGowan DJL., Kirby J., Pioro EP., Pamphlett R., Broach J., Gerhard G., Dunckley TL., Brady CB., Kowall NW., Troncoso JC., Le Ber I., Mouzat K., Lumbroso S., Heiman-Patterson TD., Kamel F., Van Den Bosch L., Baloh RH., Strom TM., Meitinger T., Shatunov A., Van Eijk KR., de Carvalho M., Kooyman M., Middelkoop B., Moisse M., McLaughlin RL., Van Es MA., Weber M., Boylan KB., Van Blitterswijk M., Rademakers R., Morrison KE., Basak AN., Mora JS., Drory VE., Shaw PJ., Turner MR., Talbot K., Hardiman O., Williams KL., Fifita JA., Nicholson GA., Blair IP., Rouleau GA., Esteban-Pérez J., García-Redondo A., Al-Chalabi A., Project MinE ALS Sequencing Consortium None., Rogaeva E., Zinman L., Ostrow LW., Maragakis NJ., Rothstein JD., Simmons Z., Cooper-Knock J., Brice A., Goutman SA., Feldman EL., Gibson SB., Taroni F., Ratti A., Gellera C., Van Damme P., Robberecht W., Fratta P., Sabatelli M., Lunetta C., Ludolph AC., Andersen PM., Weishaupt JH., Camu W., Trojanowski JQ., Van Deerlin VM., Brown RH., van den Berg LH., Veldink JH., Harms MB., Glass JD., Stone DJ., Tienari P., Silani V., Chiò A., Shaw CE., Traynor BJ., Landers JE.
To identify novel genes associated with ALS, we undertook two lines of investigation. We carried out a genome-wide association study comparing 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls. Independently, we performed a rare variant burden analysis comparing 1,138 index familial ALS cases and 19,494 controls. Through both approaches, we identified kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) as a novel gene associated with ALS. Interestingly, mutations predominantly in the N-terminal motor domain of KIF5A are causative for two neurodegenerative diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). In contrast, ALS-associated mutations are primarily located at the C-terminal cargo-binding tail domain and patients harboring loss-of-function mutations displayed an extended survival relative to typical ALS cases. Taken together, these results broaden the phenotype spectrum resulting from mutations in KIF5A and strengthen the role of cytoskeletal defects in the pathogenesis of ALS.