Variants of the MAPT gene have been suggested to be associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to modify the risk for leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) Parkinsonism. However, this has not been confirmed in Asians with ethnicity-specific variants of MAPT and LRRK2. In this study, Asian-specific LRRK2 p. G2385R variant and IVS1 broken vertical bar 124 C>G, a functional single-nucleotide polymorphism located in the MAPT promoter region, were genotyped in 561 Chinese PD patients and 556 control subjects. Allelic and genotypic frequencies of the 2 variants were compared between cases and control subjects independently and in combination. As a result, the LRRK2 p. G2385R variant alone was associated with an increased risk for PD (Odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence intervals, 1.08-3.19; p = 0.014), whereas MAPT IVS1+124 C>G was not (p = 0.34). However, the coexistence of MAPT IVS1+124C>G significantly enhanced the LRRK2 G2385R-conferred risk for PD (Odds ratio, 2.30; 95% confidence intervals, 1.14-4.54; p = 0.012). These results provide further evidence supporting the interaction between MAPT and LRRK2 genes, which increases the susceptibility to PD in Chinese individuals. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.