PMCID
PMC13131769

Single-cell eQTL mapping reveals convergent glial-neuronal risk architecture in Parkinson's disease.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Authors
Abstract

Synucleinopathies affect ~15 million people and are classically divided into neuronal (Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies) and glial (multiple system atrophy) disorders. Here we challenge this dichotomy. We functionally fine-map 90 PD GWAS signals across nine cell types in cortex and substantia nigra using disease-context, population-scale single-nucleus eQTL meta-analysis (N = 1,197), bulk brain eQTL analysis (N = 1,182), and Mendelian randomization. A stringent causal framework integrates single-nucleus allelic imbalance (snASE) with orthogonal validation. We identify 125 functional risk genes for 50 loci-nearly doubling supported genes-and assign genes and cell types to over half of GWAS signals. Unexpectedly, 51% of risk genes are regulated in glia, particularly oligodendrocytes and their precursors. Across cell types, risk converges on a shared glial-neuronal vesiculopathy network. These findings uncover a convergent glial-neuronal risk architecture and establish a single-cell atlas for context-aware gene discovery and precision therapeutics for PD.

Year of Publication
2026
Journal
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Date Published
04/2026
ISSN
2692-8205
DOI
10.64898/2026.04.24.720642
PubMed ID
42079086
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