Abstract
Despite its significant heritability, the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains incompletely understood. Here, in analyzing whole-genome sequence data from 3,809 PD cases and 247,101 controls in the UK Biobank, we discover that protein-truncating variants in ITSN1 confer a substantially increased risk of PD (p = 6.1 × 10-7; odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 10.5 [5.2, 21.3]). We replicate this association in three independent datasets totaling 8,407 cases and 413,432 controls (combined p = 4.5 × 10-12). Notably, ITSN1 haploinsufficiency has also been associated with autism spectrum disorder, suggesting variable penetrance/expressivity. In Drosophila, we find that loss of the ITSN1 ortholog Dap160 exacerbates α-synuclein-induced neuronal toxicity and motor deficits, and in vitro assays further suggest a physical interaction between ITSN1 and α-synuclein. These results firmly establish ITSN1 as a PD risk gene with an effect size exceeding previously established loci, implicate vesicular trafficking dysfunction in PD pathogenesis, and potentially open new avenues for therapeutic development.