In this study, two different approaches were applied in the analysis of the GAA gene. One was analyzed based on patients with Pompe disease, and the other was analyzed based on GAA genomic data from unaffected carriers in a general population genetic database. For this, GAA variants in Korean and Japanese patients reported in previous studies and in patients reported in the Pompe disease GAA variant database were analyzed as a model. In addition, GAA variants in the Korean Reference Genome Database (KRGDB), the Japanese Multi Omics Reference Panel (jMorp), and the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) were analyzed. Overall, approximately 50% of the pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (PLPVs) found in unaffected carriers were also found in real patients with Pompe disease (Koreans, 57.1%; Japanese, 46.2%). In addition, there was a moderate positive correlation (Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.45-0.69) between the proportion of certain PLPVs in patients and the minor allele frequency of their variants in a general population database. Based on the analysis of general population databases, the total carrier frequency for Pompe disease in Koreans and Japanese was estimated to be 1.7% and 0.7%, respectively, and the predicted genetic prevalence was 1:13,657 and 1:78,013, respectively.
Keywords: GAA gene; Pompe disease; carrier frequency; general population database; genetic prevalence.