RGD Reference Report - Association of the human NPPS gene with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine (OPLL). - Rat Genome Database

Send us a Message



Submit Data |  Help |  Video Tutorials |  News |  Publications |  Download |  REST API |  Citing RGD |  Contact   

Association of the human NPPS gene with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine (OPLL).

Authors: Nakamura, I  Ikegawa, S  Okawa, A  Okuda, S  Koshizuka, Y  Kawaguchi, H  Nakamura, K  Koyama, T  Goto, S  Toguchida, J  Matsushita, M  Ochi, T  Takaoka, K  Nakamura, Y 
Citation: Nakamura I, etal., Hum Genet. 1999 Jun;104(6):492-7.
RGD ID: 1601041
Pubmed: PMID:10453738   (View Abstract at PubMed)

OPLL (ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine) is a common form of human myelopathy with a prevalence of as much as 4% in a variety of ethnic groups. To clarify the genetic factors that predispose to OPLL, we have studied ttw (tiptoe walking), a mouse model that presents ectopic ossification of the spinal ligaments similar to OPLL and have found that the ttw phenotype is caused by the nonsense mutation of the gene encoding nucleotide pyrophosphatase (NPPS), a membrane-bound glycoprotein thought to produce inorganic pyrophosphate, a major inhibitor of calcification and mineralization. To investigate a possible role of NPPS in the etiology of OPLL, we have examined its genetic variations in OPLL patients. A total of 323 OPLL patients was screened by means of polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis covering all the exons and their surrounding introns, plus about 1.5-kb of the promoter region. We identified ten nucleotide variations in the NPPS gene; five of the alterations caused amino-acid substitutions, and two of them were found specifically in OPLL patients. Subsequently, we performed an association study using these variations and found a significant association of an allele, viz., a deletion of T at a position 11 nucleotides upstream from the splice acceptor site of intron 20 (IVS20-11delT), with OPLL; the proportion of the individuals having this deletion was significantly higher (P = 0.0029) in OPLL patients than in controls, indicating that those who have this variation may be more susceptible to the abnormal ossification of the spinal ligaments. Thus, our study suggests that NPPS plays an important role in the etiology of human OPLL.



RGD Manual Disease Annotations    Click to see Annotation Detail View

  

Objects Annotated

Genes (Rattus norvegicus)
Enpp1  (ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1)

Genes (Mus musculus)
Enpp1  (ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1)

Genes (Homo sapiens)
ENPP1  (ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1)


Additional Information