Evaluating the effect of spastin splice mutations by quantitative allele-specific expression assay.

BACKGROUND: mutations in the SPG4/SPAST gene are the most common cause for hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). The splice-site mutations make a significant contribution to HSP and account for 17.4% of all types of mutations and 30.8% of point mutations in the SPAST gene. However, only few studies with limited molecular approach were conducted to investigate and decipher the role of SPAST splice-site mutations in HSP. METHODS: a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and quantitative allele-specific expression assay were performed. RESULTS: we have characterized the consequence of two novel splice-site mutations (c.1493 + 1G>A and c.1414-1G>A) in the SPAST gene in two different families with pure HSP. The RT-PCR analysis revealed that both spastin mutations are indeed splice-site mutations and cause skipping of exon 12. Furthermore, RT-PCR data suggested that these splice-site mutations may cause leaky splicing. By means of a quantitative allele-specific expression assay, we could confirm that both splice-site mutations cause leaky splicing, as the relative expression of the exon 12-skipped transcript was reduced (21.1 ± 3.6 compared to expected 50%). CONCLUSIONS: our finding supports a "threshold-effect-model" for functional spastin in HSP. A higher level (78.8 ± 3.9%) of functional spastin than the expected ratio of 50% owing to leaky splicing might cause late age at onset of HSP. Remarkably, we could show that a quantitative allele-specific expression assay is a simple and effective tool to evaluate the role of most types of spastin splice-site mutations in HSP.

Compound heterozygosity in the SPG4 gene causes hereditary spastic paraplegia.

The SPG4 gene is frequently mutated in autosomal dominant form of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). We report that the compound heterozygous sequence variants S44L, a known polymorphism, and c.1687G>A, a novel mutation in SPG4 cause a severe form of HSP in a patient. The family members carrying solely c.1687G>A mutation are asymptomatic for HSP. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis revealed that the c.1687G>A mutation is a splice site mutation and causes skipping of the exon 15 of spastin. Furthermore, quantification of RT-PCR products by sequencing and quantification of allele-specific expression by pyrosequencing assay revealed that c.1687G>A is a leaky or hypomorphic splice site mutation. At the protein level, c.1687G>A mutation in SPG4 leads to E563K substitution. In ex vivo study, about 10% of cells expressing E563K mutant spastin showed filamentous expression pattern, suggesting a hypomorphic effect at the protein level. Collectively, our results suggest that S44L in association with c.1687G>A (E563K) drops the functional level of spastin below a threshold limit sufficient to manifest HSP.