Genome-Wide Gene-Set Analysis Approaches in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The rapid increase in the number of genetic variants identified to be associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has created an emerging need to understand the functional pathways that are implicated in the pathology of ALS. Gene-set analysis (GSA) is a powerful method that can provide insight into the associated biological pathways, determining the joint effect of multiple genetic markers. The main contribution of this review is the collection of ALS GSA studies that employ GWAS or individual-based genotype data, investigating their methodology and results related to ALS-associated molecular pathways. Furthermore, the limitations in standard single-gene analyses are summarized, highlighting the power of gene-set analysis, and a brief overview of the statistical properties of gene-set analysis and related concepts is provided. The main aims of this review are to investigate the reproducibility of the collected studies and identify their strengths and limitations, in order to enhance the experimental design and therefore the quality of the results of future studies, deepening our understanding of this devastating disease.

Automated summary

This review collects gene-set analysis studies related to ALS, using GWAS or individual-based genotype data, exploring their methodology and ALS-associated molecular pathways. By summarizing the limitations of standard single-gene analyses and highlighting the advantages of gene-set analysis, an overview of the statistical properties of gene-set analysis and related concepts is provided. The main aims of this review are to investigate the reproducibility of the collected studies and identify their strengths and limitations, in order to enhance the experimental design and quality of future studies, deepening our understanding of this disease.