Publications by authors named "Winkelmann J"

Recent advances in the identification of susceptibility genes and environmental exposures provide broad support for a post-infectious autoimmune basis for narcolepsy/hypocretin (orexin) deficiency. We genotyped loci associated with other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in 1,886 individuals with hypocretin-deficient narcolepsy and 10,421 controls, all of European ancestry, using a custom genotyping array (ImmunoChip). Three loci located outside the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) region on chromosome 6 were significantly associated with disease risk.

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Background: Recently, mutations in an open-reading frame on chromosome 19 (C19orf12) were identified as a novel genetic factor in neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). Because of the mitochondrial localization of the derived protein, this variant is referred to as mitochondrial membrane protein-associated neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (MPAN).

Methods/results: We describe the clinical phenotype and MRI of 3 newly identified individuals with MPAN due to either previously reported or novel homozygous or compound heterozygous genetic alterations in C19orf12.

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Background: Genetic variation in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene is strongly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Transport of glucocerebrosidase to the lysosome involves the protein encoded by the SCARB2 gene. An association between the common SNP rs6812193, upstream of SCARB2, and PD has been reported previously.

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Objective: Intrathecal synthesis of immunoglobulin gamma (IgG) synthesis is frequently observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Whereas the extent of intrathecal IgG synthesis varies largely between patients, it remains rather constant in the individual patient over time. The aim of this study was to identify common genetic variants associated with the IgG index as a marker of intrathecal IgG synthesis in MS.

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To gain further insight into the genetic architecture of psoriasis, we conducted a meta-analysis of 3 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and 2 independent data sets genotyped on the Immunochip, including 10,588 cases and 22,806 controls. We identified 15 new susceptibility loci, increasing to 36 the number associated with psoriasis in European individuals. We also identified, using conditional analyses, five independent signals within previously known loci.

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Article Synopsis
  • Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, leading types of inflammatory bowel disease, are increasingly affecting diverse populations, with over 2.5 million cases reported in those of European descent.
  • Genome-wide association studies have revealed new mechanisms and shared genetic loci between these diseases and other inflammatory conditions, identifying a total of 163 significant loci after a comprehensive analysis of over 75,000 individuals.
  • The findings highlight the influence of both natural selection on these genetic loci and their connections to other immune disorders and mycobacterial infections.
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Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have provided a large set of genetic loci influencing the risk for many common diseases. Association studies typically analyze one specific trait in single populations in an isolated fashion without taking into account the potential phenotypic and genetic correlation between traits. However, GWA data can be efficiently used to identify overlapping loci with analogous or contrasting effects on different diseases.

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Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common multifactorial disease. Some genetic risk factors have been identified. RLS susceptibility also has been related to iron.

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Twin CX(9)C proteins constitute a large protein family among all eukaryotes; are putative substrates of the mitochondrial Mia40-dependent import machinery; contain a coiled coil-helix-coiled coil-helix (CHCH) fold stabilized by two disulfide bonds as exemplified by three structures available for this family. However, they considerably differ at the primary sequence level and this prevents an accurate prediction of their structural models. With the aim of expanding structural information on CHCH proteins, here we structurally characterized human CHCHD5 and CHCHD7.

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Most genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are restricted to one phenotype, even if multiple related or unrelated phenotypes are available. However, an integrated analysis of multiple phenotypes can provide insight into their shared genetic basis and may improve the power of association studies. We present a new method, called "phenotype set enrichment analysis" (PSEA), which uses ideas of gene set enrichment analysis for the investigation of phenotype sets.

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Recently, mutations in eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G1 (EIF4G1) were reported as a rare cause of familial Parkinson's disease (PD). We screened the 33 exons of EIF4G1 by high-resolution melting curve analysis for variants in our Central European cohort of 376 PD cases. Variant frequency was assessed in a total of 975 PD cases and 1,014 general population controls.

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Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a frequent neurological disorder which is presented in idiopathic and secondary form. Idiopathic RLS is associated with common genetic variants in four chromosomal regions. Recently, multiple sclerosis (MS) was identified as a common cause for secondary RLS.

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Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, deafness and narcolepsy (ADCA-DN) is characterized by late onset (30-40 years old) cerebellar ataxia, sensory neuronal deafness, narcolepsy-cataplexy and dementia. We performed exome sequencing in five individuals from three ADCA-DN kindreds and identified DNMT1 as the only gene with mutations found in all five affected individuals. Sanger sequencing confirmed the de novo mutation p.

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Genetics of the variability of normal and diseased brain structure largely remains to be elucidated. Expansions of certain trinucleotide repeats cause neurodegenerative disorders of which Huntington's disease constitutes the most common example. Here, we test the hypothesis that variation within the IT15 gene on chromosome 4, whose expansion causes Huntington's disease, influences normal human brain structure.

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Background: Action myoclonus-renal failure syndrome is a hereditary form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy associated with renal failure. It is considered to be an autosomal-recessive disease related to loss-of-function mutations in SCARB2. We studied a German AMRF family, additionally showing signs of demyelinating polyneuropathy and dilated cardiomyopathy.

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The disease classification neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) comprises a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of progressive neurodegenerative disorders characterized by brain iron deposits in the basal ganglia. For about half of the cases, the molecular basis is currently unknown. We used homozygosity mapping followed by candidate gene sequencing to identify a homozygous 11 bp deletion in the orphan gene C19orf12.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Genetic factors, particularly those within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), play a significant role in MS risk, with studies revealing both a familial connection and numerous susceptibility loci through genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
  • * A large collaborative GWAS identified additional risk loci and refined the understanding of specific genes like HLA-DRB1 and HLA-A, suggesting a strong immunological component in the development of MS, particularly involving T-helper cell differentiation.
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Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder with an age-dependent prevalence of up to 10% in the general population above 65 years of age. Affected individuals suffer from uncomfortable sensations and an urge to move in the lower limbs that occurs mainly in resting situations during the evening or at night. Moving the legs or walking leads to an improvement of symptoms.

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To identify rare causal variants in late-onset Parkinson disease (PD), we investigated an Austrian family with 16 affected individuals by exome sequencing. We found a missense mutation, c.1858G>A (p.

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Human anamorsin was implicated in cytosolic iron-sulfur (Fe/S) protein biogenesis. Here, the structural and metal-binding properties of anamorsin and its interaction with Mia40, a well-known oxidoreductase involved in protein trapping in the mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS), were characterized. We show that (1), anamorsin contains two structurally independent domains connected by an unfolded linker; (2), the C-terminal domain binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster through a previously unknown cysteine binding motif in Fe/S proteins; (3), Mia40 specifically introduces two disulfide bonds in a twin CX(2)C motif of the C-terminal domain; (4), anamorsin and Mia40 interact through an intermolecular disulfide-bonded intermediate; and (5), anamorsin is imported into mitochondria.

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Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep related movement disorder that occurs both in an idiopathic form and in symptomatic varieties. RLS is a frequent and distressing comorbidity in end stage renal disease (ESRD). For idiopathic RLS (iRLS), genetic risk factors have been identified, but their role in RLS in ESRD has not been investigated yet.

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