Impact of coding and non-coding variation in progressive supranuclear palsy

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Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is the most common frontotemporal lobar degeneration associated with tau pathology. While rare pathogenic variants, common risk factors, and – more recently – rare risk-associated variants have been identified in PSP, a significant proportion of the heritability for neurodegenerative tauopathies and other frontotemporal lobar degenerations remains unexplained, strongly suggesting that additional genetic risk factors await discovery. In this application, we propose to identify novel genetic variation associated with PSP using a multi-stage strategy. First, we will detect variants through whole-genome sequencing of neuropathologically characterized PSP. Second, we will prioritize pathological brain tissue samples for a multidimensional screen that includes transcriptional, proteomics, and epigenetic assays. Through recursive application of a prioritization algorithm, regions and variants most likely to have a high impact on disease risk will be identified. Finally, we will follow up on these variants using a high-throughput functional screen. This project taps unprecedented pathologic resources of PSP, leverages a pathologic and genetic infrastructure created with support from private foundations, and offers to transform our understanding of the genetic architecture of PSP and to advance towards the biology and downstream effects of this prototypical tauopathy downstream effects of this prototypical tauopathy.