Since the discovery of the Parkin gene in the late 1990s, researchers in many countries have begun extensive research on this gene and found that in addition to AR-JP, the Parkin gene is associated with many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, leprosy, Alzheimer's, autism, and cancer.
We also sequenced the entire exons of PARL, PINK1 and PARK2 in 80 patients with a family history of leprosy by using the next generation sequencing technology (NGS).
Interaction analysis between PARK2 and significant SNPs of anti-inflammatory/proinflammatory cytokine genes, including BAT1 to BTNL2-DR spanning the HLA (6p21.3) region in a case-control comparison, showed that the combined analysis of: (1) PARK2, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), BTNL2-DR, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-6 and TGFBR2 increased the risk towards leprosy (OR=2.54); (2) PARK2, BAT1, NFKBIL1, LTA, TNF-LTB, IL12B and IL10RB provided increased protection (OR=0.26) in comparison with their individual contribution.
Here, we conducted high-density association mapping of PARK2/PACRG SNPs with leprosy and identified 69 SNPs significantly associated with leprosy in 198 single-case Vietnamese leprosy families.
Mapping of the PARK2 and PACRG gene regulatory region with 96 SNPs, with a resolution of 1 SNP per 1 Kb for PARK2 gene regulatory region in a North Indian population, showed an involvement of 11 SNPs in determining the susceptibility towards leprosy.
The noninvolvement of major risk SNPs in the regulatory region of PARK2 and PACRG locus with leprosy susceptibility in Indian population highlights the differential effect of these SNPs in regulating genetic susceptibility to leprosy in different populations.
Although within the PARK2/PACRG gene cluster the PARK2_e01(-2599) allele T was most strongly associated with leprosy (OR approximately 3-5), the association with typhoid is much less strong.
With respect to genome-wide screens, a major breakthrough has been reported this year; variants in the regulatory region shared by PARK2 and PACRG have been identified as being common risk factors for leprosy.