Rare variant analysis of UQCRC1 in Chinese patients with early-onset Parkinson's disease

Mitochondrial ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase core protein 1 (UQCRC1) gene has been identified as a causative gene for autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD), with the p.Y314S variant potentially associated with polyneuropathy in PD patients. The objectives of our study were to screen for UQCRC1 variants in Chinese patients with early-onset PD (EOPD) and explore the role of UQCRC1 in EOPD. We investigated the rare variants in 913 EOPD patients in our cohort using whole-exome sequencing, assessing their link to PD at both allele and gene levels. A total of 7 rare variants (minor allele frequency < 0.1%) of UQCRC1 were identified. However, no excessive burden of rare UQCRC1 variants was suggested in the EOPD patients. Further analysis with larger sample size and diverse regions is needed to determine the role of UQCRC1 in PD.