Identification of Modifier Genes in a Mouse Model of Gaucher Disease

Andres D Klein, Natalia-Santos Ferreira, Shifra Ben-Dor, Jingjing Duan, John Hardy, Timothy M Cox, Alfred H Jr Merrill, Anthony H. Futerman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Diseases caused by single-gene mutations can display substantial phenotypic variability, which may be due to genetic, environmental, or epigenetic modifiers. Here, we induce Gaucher disease (GD), a rare inherited metabolic disorder, by injecting 15 inbred mouse strains with a low dose of a chemical inhibitor of acid beta-glucosidase, the enzyme defective in GD. Different mouse strains exhibit widely different lifespans, which is unrelated to levels of acid beta-glucosidase's substrate accumulation. Genome-wide association reveals a number of candidate risk loci, including a marker within Grin2b, which in combination with another marker allows us to predict the lifespan of additional mouse strains. An antagonist of the NMDA receptor (encoded by Grin2b) significantly increases the lifespan of GD mice that would otherwise have lived for a short time. Our data identify putative modifier genes that may be involved in determining GD severity, which might help elucidate phenotypic variability between patients with similar GD mutations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2546-2553
Number of pages8
JournalCell Reports
Volume16
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 6 Sep 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology

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