Evaluation of the Golgi trafficking protein VPS54 (wobbler) as a candidate for ALS

VPS54 is a component of the Golgi-associated retrograde protein (GARP) complex of vesicle sorting proteins. A missense mutation of Vps54 is responsible for motor neuron disease in the wobbler mouse, but the human gene on chromosome 2p14-15 has not been evaluated as a disease gene. We completely sequenced the 22 coding exons from 96 individuals with sporadic ALS, 96 individuals with familial ALS, and 96 controls. Twenty-one novel SNPs were …