GENETIC ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CYTOCHROME P450IA1 GENE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PARKINSONS-DISEASE

Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerat ive disorder resulting from environmental factors acting on geneticall y susceptible individuals with normal aging. Cytochrome P450IA1 is a d ioxin-inducible enzyme which is responsible for the activation of proc arcinogens and environmental pollutants, such as benzo[a]pyrene and ot her aromatic hydrocarbons. The frequencies of polymorphic alleles of c ytochrome P450IA1 gene (CYPIA1) were studied in 126 unrelated patients with PD in comparison with 176 healthy Japanese. The frequency of the Msp I polymorphic allele, a variant of CYPIA1 (m2), was significantly higher in patients with PD (0.444) than in controls (0.349). The risk of PD in homozygotes for m2 was 2.34-fold greater than homozygotes fo r the wild-type, m1. The relative risk for PD in homozygotes for CYPIA 1Val was 6.54-fold higher than in homozygotes for the wild type (CYPIA 1Ile)(p < 0.001). These results strongly suggest that the CYPIA1 might be one of the susceptibility genes for PD.