Alternative splicing patterns of CYP2D genes in human brain and neurodegenerative disorders

The expression patterns of alternatively spliced forms of the CYP2D (6, 7, 7A, 7B) gene were analyzed in the brains of individuals with Lewy body dise ase (LBD) and correlated with CYP2D6 polymorphisms. Five different alternat ively spliced transcripts were identified. The most common was the deletion of axon 6 (87.3% of cases), followed by a 91-base pair fragment deletion a t the 3' end of the gene (63.9% of cases). There was no correlation between the polymorphisms in the CYP2D6B gene or presence of LED and these five al ternatively spliced transcripts. Susceptibility to LED may occur through me chanisms other than altered mRNA splicing of the CYP2D6 gene.