Genetic variation in the KIF1B locus influences susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.
Aulchenko YS., Hoppenbrouwers IA., Ramagopalan SV., Broer L., Jafari N., Hillert J., Link J., Lundström W., Greiner E., Dessa Sadovnick A., Goossens D., Van Broeckhoven C., Del-Favero J., Ebers GC., Oostra BA., van Duijn CM., Hintzen RQ.
The few loci associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) are all related to immune function. We report a GWA study identifying a new locus replicated in 2,679 cases and 3,125 controls. An rs10492972[C] variant located in the KIF1B gene was associated with MS with an odds ratio of 1.35 (P = 2.5 x 10(-10)). KIF1B is a neuronally expressed gene plausibly implicated in the irreversible axonal loss characterizing MS in the long term.