Publications by authors named "Torao Tokuda"

The tripartite ancestral structure is a recently proposed model for the genetic origin of modern Japanese, comprising indigenous Jomon hunter-gatherers and two additional continental ancestors from Northeast Asia and East Asia. To investigate the impact of the tripartite structure on genetic and phenotypic variation today, we conducted biobank-scale analyses by merging Biobank Japan (BBJ; n = 171,287) with ancient Japanese and Eurasian genomes (n = 22). We demonstrate the applicability of the tripartite model to Japanese populations throughout the archipelago, with an extremely strong correlation between Jomon ancestry and genomic variation among individuals.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by selective motor neuron death in the brain and spinal cord. Many disease genes for ALS have been identified; however, each disease gene is responsible for very small fractions of ALS. Recently, mutations of the gene encoding optineurin (OPTN) are reported in familial and sporadic ALS.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons. Several susceptibility genes for ALS have been reported; however, ALS etiology and pathogenesis remain largely unknown. To identify further ALS-susceptibility genes, we conducted a large-scale case-control association study using gene-based tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

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We performed a replication study of the 2 genetic variants, rs2814707 on 9p21.2 and rs12608932 on 19p13.3 that are recently reported to be most significantly associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Caucasians.

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Mutations in TARDBP encoding TDP (TAR DNA binding protein)-43 have been reported in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but mostly in Caucasians. In other ethnic groups, four types of mutations are found in familial ALS. In sporadic ALS, the TARDBP mutations frequency is low in Caucasians (0-5%) and no mutation has been found in other ethnic groups.

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