ABSTRACT
Human ALG2 encodes an α 1,3mannosyltransferase that catalyzes the first steps in the synthesis of N-glycans in the endoplasmic reticulum. Variants in ALG2cause a congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) known as ALG2-CDG. Up to date, nine ALG2-CDG patients have been reported worldwide. ALG2-CDG is a rare autosomal recessive inherited disorder characterized by neurological involvement, convulsive syndrome of unknown origin, axial hypotonia, and mental and motor regression. In this study, we used MALDI-TOF MS to define both total serum protein and transferrin (Tf) N-glycan phenotypes in three ALG2-CDG patients carrying a c.752G > T, p.Arg251Leu ALG2 missense variant in homozygous state, as determined by exome sequencing. Comparing it to control samples, we have observed Tf under-occupancy of glycosylation site(s) typical of a defective N-glycan assembly and the occurrence of oligomannose and hybrid type N-glycans. Moreover, we have observed a slight oligomannose accumulation in total serum glyco-profiles. The increased heterogeneity of serum N-glycome in the studied patients suggests a marginal disarrangement of the glycan processing in ALG2-CDG. Previous studies reported on slightly increased concentrations of abnormal serum N-glycans in CDG-I due to defects in the mannosylation steps of dolichol-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis. This preliminary work aims at considering serum N-glycan accumulation of high mannosylated glycoforms, such as oligomannose and hybrid type N-glycans, as potential diagnostic signals for ALG2-CDG patients.
Subject(s)
Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation/etiology , Mannosyltransferases/genetics , Polysaccharides/blood , Argentina , Child , Child, Preschool , Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation/genetics , Female , Glycosylation , Homozygote , Humans , Isoelectric Focusing , Male , Phenotype , Polysaccharides/analysis , Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization , Transferrin/metabolism , Exome SequencingABSTRACT
Asparagine-linked glycosylation 13 homolog (ALG13) encodes a nonredundant, highly conserved, X-linked uridine diphosphate (UDP)-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase required for the synthesis of lipid linked oligosaccharide precursor and proper N-linked glycosylation. De novo variants in ALG13 underlie a form of early infantile epileptic encephalopathy known as EIEE36, but given its essential role in glycosylation, it is also considered a congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG), ALG13-CDG. Twenty-four previously reported ALG13-CDG cases had de novo variants, but surprisingly, unlike most forms of CDG, ALG13-CDG did not show the anticipated glycosylation defects, typically detected by altered transferrin glycosylation. Structural homology modeling of two recurrent de novo variants, p.A81T and p.N107S, suggests both are likely to impact the function of ALG13. Using a corresponding ALG13-deficient yeast strain, we show that expressing yeast ALG13 with either of the highly conserved hotspot variants rescues the observed growth defect, but not its glycosylation abnormality. We present molecular and clinical data on 29 previously unreported individuals with de novo variants in ALG13. This more than doubles the number of known cases. A key finding is that a vast majority of the individuals presents with West syndrome, a feature shared with other CDG types. Among these, the initial epileptic spasms best responded to adrenocorticotropic hormone or prednisolone, while clobazam and felbamate showed promise for continued epilepsy treatment. A ketogenic diet seems to play an important role in the treatment of these individuals.
