Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD): Clinical and Genetic Correlations.

OBJECTIVE: Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) corresponds to the severe end of the clinical spectrum of neuromuscular disorders caused by mutations in the genes encoding collagen VI (COL VI). We studied four unrelated families with six affected children that had typical UCMD with dominant and recessive inheritance. MATERIALS & METHODS: Four unrelated Iranian families with six affected children with typical UCMD were analyzed for COLVI secretion in skin fibroblast culture and the secretion of COLVI in skin fibroblast culture using quantitative RT-PCR (Q-RT-PCR), and mutation identification was performed by sequencing of complementary DNA. RESULTS: COL VI secretion was altered in all studied fibroblast cultures. Two affected sibs carried a homozygous nonsense mutation in exon 12 of COL6A2, while another patient had a large heterozygous deletion in exon 5-8 of COL6A2. The two other affected sibs had homozygote mutation in exon 24 of COL6A2, and the last one was homozygote in COL6A1. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found out variability in clinical findings and genetic inheritance among UCMD patients, so that the patient with complete absence of COLVI was severely affected and had a large heterozygous deletion in COL6A2. In contrast, the patients with homozygous deletion had mild to moderate decrease in the secretion of COL VI and were mildly to moderately affected.

Early onset collagen VI myopathies: Genetic and clinical correlations.

OBJECTIVE: Mutations in the genes encoding the extracellular matrix protein collagen VI (ColVI) cause a spectrum of disorders with variable inheritance including Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy, Bethlem myopathy, and intermediate phenotypes. We extensively characterized, at the clinical, cellular, and molecular levels, 49 patients with onset in the first 2 years of life to investigate genotype-phenotype correlations. METHODS: Patients were classified into 3 groups: early-severe (18%), moderate-progressive (53%), and mild (29%). ColVI secretion was analyzed in patient-derived skin fibroblasts. Chain-specific transcript levels were quantified by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and mutation identification was performed by sequencing of complementary DNA. RESULTS: ColVI secretion was altered in all fibroblast cultures studied. We identified 56 mutations, mostly novel and private. Dominant de novo mutations were detected in 61% of the cases. Importantly, mutations causing premature termination codons (PTCs) or in-frame insertions strikingly destabilized the corresponding transcripts. Homozygous PTC-causing mutations in the triple helix domains led to the most severe phenotypes (ambulation never achieved), whereas dominant de novo in-frame exon skipping and glycine missense mutations were identified in patients of the moderate-progressive group (loss of ambulation). INTERPRETATION: This work emphasizes that the diagnosis of early onset ColVI myopathies is arduous and time-consuming, and demonstrates that quantitative RT-PCR is a helpful tool for the identification of some mutation-bearing genes. Moreover, the clinical classification proposed allowed genotype-phenotype relationships to be explored, and may be useful in the design of future clinical trials.

A single homozygous point mutation in a 3'untranslated region motif of selenoprotein N mRNA causes SEPN1-related myopathy.

Mutations in the SEPN1 gene encoding the selenoprotein N (SelN) have been described in different congenital myopathies. Here, we report the first mutation in the selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) of SelN messenger RNA, a hairpin structure located in the 3' untranslated region, in a patient presenting a classical although mild form of rigid spine muscular dystrophy. We detected a significant reduction in both mRNA and protein levels in the patient's skin fibroblasts. The SECIS element is crucial for the insertion of selenocysteine at the reprogrammed UGA codon by recruiting the SECIS-binding protein 2 (SBP2), and we demonstrated that this mutation abolishes SBP2 binding to SECIS in vitro, thereby preventing co-translational incorporation of selenocysteine and SelN synthesis. The identification of this mutation affecting a conserved base in the SECIS functional motif thereby reveals the structural basis for a novel pathological mechanism leading to SEPN1-related myopathy.

Prenatal diagnosis in laminin alpha2 chain (merosin)-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy: a collective experience of five international centers.

The congenital muscular dystrophies (CMD) are clinically and genetically heterogeneous. The merosin (laminin alpha2 chain) deficient form (MDC1A), is characterized clinically by neonatal hypotonia, delayed motor milestones and associated contractures. It is caused by deficiency in the basal lamina of muscle fibers of the alpha2 chain of laminins 2 and 4 (LAMA2 gene at 6q22-23). Laminin alpha2 chain is also expressed in fetal trophoblast, which provides a suitable tissue for prenatal diagnosis in families where the index case has total deficiency of the protein. This article reports the collective experience of five centers over the past 10 years in 114 prenatal diagnostic studies using either protein analysis of the chorionic villus (CV) of the trophoblast plus DNA molecular studies with markers flanking the 6q22-23 region and intragenic polymorphisms (n=58), or using only DNA (n=44) or only protein (n=12) approaches. Of the 102 fetuses studied by molecular genetics, 27 (26%) were predicted to be affected while 75 (74%) were considered as unaffected, with 52 (51%) being heterozygous, thus conforming closely to an autosomal recessive inheritance. In 18 of the 27 affected fetuses, the trophoblast was studied by immunocytochemistry and there was a total or only traces deficiency of the protein in CV basement membrane in all. In 10 cases material from the presumably affected fetus was available for analysis after termination of the pregnancy and immunohistochemical study confirmed the diagnosis in all of them. Prenatal studies of 'at risk' pregnancies in the five centers produced neither false negative (merosin-deficiency in CVs in a normal fetus), nor false positive (normal merosin expression in CVs and affected child), indicating the reliability of the technique, when all the necessary controls are done. Our experience suggests that protein and DNA analysis can be used either independently or combined, according to the facilities of each center, to provide accurate prenatal diagnosis of the MDC1A, and have an essential role in genetic counseling.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: distribution of disease genes, spectrum of mutations, and implications for a molecular diagnosis strategy.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an autosomal-dominant disorder in which 10 genes and numerous mutations have been reported. The aim of the present study was to perform a systematic screening of these genes in a large population, to evaluate the distribution of the disease genes, and to determine the best molecular strategy in clinical practice. METHODS AND RESULTS: The entire coding sequences of 9 genes (MYH7, MYBPC3, TNNI3, TNNT2, MYL2, MYL3, TPM1, ACTC, andTNNC1) were analyzed in 197 unrelated index cases with familial or sporadic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Disease-causing mutations were identified in 124 index patients ( approximately 63%), and 97 different mutations, including 60 novel ones, were identified. The cardiac myosin-binding protein C (MYBPC3) and beta-myosin heavy chain (MYH7) genes accounted for 82% of families with identified mutations (42% and 40%, respectively). Distribution of the genes varied according to the prognosis (P=0.036). Moreover, a mutation was found in 15 of 25 index cases with "sporadic" hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (60%). Finally, 6 families had patients with more than one mutation, and phenotype analyses suggested a gene dose effect in these compound-heterozygous, double-heterozygous, or homozygous patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results might have implications for genetic diagnosis strategy and, subsequently, for genetic counseling. First, on the basis of this experience, the screening of already known mutations is not helpful. The analysis should start by testing MYBPC3 and MYH7 and then focus on TNNI3, TNNT2, and MYL2. Second, in particularly severe phenotypes, several mutations should be searched. Finally, sporadic cases can be successfully screened.