Objective: The objective of this study was to replicate an association study on a newly collected Italian autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cohort by studying the genetic markers associated with ASDs from recent genome-wide and candidate gene association studies.
Methods: We have genotyped 746 individuals from 227 families of the Italian Autism Network using allelic discrimination TaqMan assays for seven common single-nucleotide polymorphisms: rs2292813 (SLC25A12 gene), rs35678 (ATP2B2 gene), rs4307059 (between CDH9 and CDH10 genes), rs10513025 (between SEMA5A and TAS2R1 genes), rs6872664 (PITX1 gene), rs1861972 (EN2 gene), and rs4141463 (MACROD2 gene). A family-based association study was conducted.
Results: A significant association was found for two of seven markers: rs4307059 T allele (odds ratio: 1.758, SE=0.236; P-value=0.017) and rs35678 TC genotype (odds ratio: 0.528, SE=0.199; P-value=0.0013).
Conclusion: A preferential allele transmission of two markers located at loci previously associated with social and verbal communication skill has been confirmed in patients of a new ASD family sample.