Identification and characterization of exonic variants related with familial essential tremor

Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder in humans. Despite its high heritability and frequency, the genetic basis and pathophysiology of ET is not well understood. In this study, whole exome sequencing and pedigree analyses were performed in unrelated ET families from Anatolia. Whole exome sequencing analysis of family members resulted in the identification of MMP19 p.R456Q in families ET-5 and ET-49. Expression analysis in mice showed a possible developmental pattern for expression of MMP-19 as well as a tissue-specific expression pattern showing high levels of expression in the brain for this gene. Two other families, ET-17 and ET-19 were also analyzed; however the results were not able to identify variant cosegregating with ET in these families. Identification of the new genes related with ET will provide invaluable insights into the underlying mechanism of thıs most common movement disorder and will potentially open new avenues for its treatment.