RESUMEN
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is the most common inherited neuromuscular disease and is characterized by considerable clinical and genetic heterogeneity. We previously reported a Russian family with autosomal dominant axonal CMT and assigned the locus underlying the disease (CMT2F; OMIM 606595) to chromosome 7q11-q21 (ref. 2). Here we report a missense mutation in the gene encoding 27-kDa small heat-shock protein B1 (HSPB1, also called HSP27) that segregates in the family with CMT2F. Screening for mutations in HSPB1 in 301 individuals with CMT and 115 individuals with distal hereditary motor neuropathies (distal HMNs) confirmed the previously observed mutation and identified four additional missense mutations. We observed the additional HSPB1 mutations in four families with distal HMN and in one individual with CMT neuropathy. Four mutations are located in the Hsp20-alpha-crystallin domain, and one mutation is in the C-terminal part of the HSP27 protein. Neuronal cells transfected with mutated HSPB1 were less viable than cells expressing the wild-type protein. Cotransfection of neurofilament light chain (NEFL) and mutant HSPB1 resulted in altered neurofilament assembly in cells devoid of cytoplasmic intermediate filaments.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Charcot-Marie-Tooth/genética , Proteínas de Choque Térmico/genética , Neuropatía Hereditaria Motora y Sensorial/genética , Mutación Missense , Proteínas de Neoplasias/genética , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Línea Celular , ADN Complementario/genética , Femenino , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP27 , Humanos , Masculino , Ratones , Chaperonas Moleculares , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Degeneración Nerviosa/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , TransfecciónRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to ascertain patients with Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) in the Russian population and characterize the clinical phenotype and molecular genotype of these patients. STUDY DESIGN: Eight unrelated Russian patients with possible diagnoses of NBS were identified. Family histories were collected and clinical and laboratory analyses were carried out. Mutation screening of the NBS1 gene was carried out to confirm the diagnosis in 7 cases. RESULTS: All patients had the key diagnostic features of NBS. One patient had acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). Two patients had bone marrow aplasia, not previously described as a feature of NBS. Mutation screening of the NBS1 gene revealed that 6 patients were homozygous for the 657del5 mutation, whereas a seventh patient was a compound heterozygote, having the 657del5 mutation and an additional novel mutation, 681delT. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular analyses confirmed the diagnosis of NBS in 7 of the patients. The surprising finding of bone marrow aplasia or AML in 3 of 7 patients raises the possibility of a connection between NBS and another DNA damage disorder, Fanconi anemia.