Genomic structure and mutational analysis of the human KIF1Balpha gene located at 1p36.2 in neuroblastoma.

KIF1a is a member of the kinesin superfamily proteins that are microtubule-dependent molecular motors involved in important intracellular functions such as organelle transport and cell division. We previously determined the structure of the human KIF1Bbeta gene, which was found to be a homologue of the murine Kif1bbeta, and demonstrated that the human KIF1Bbeta is a causative gene of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A although we did not prove that it is a tumor suppressor gene of neuroblastoma. Here, we identified another isoform of the human KIF1B gene, KIF1Balpha. The KIF1Balpha and KIF1Bbeta are alternative splicing products of the KIF1B gene located on 1p36.2. The KIF1Balpha is distinct from KIF1Bbeta in the C-terminal cargo-binding domain; however, they have the same N-terminal motor domain. We found that the transcript of approximately 7.8 kb of KIF1Balpha was expressed in several tissues, especially in skeletal muscle, by Northern blot analysis. To determine whether this gene is one of the candidate tumor suppressor genes for neuroblastoma (NB) or other pediatric solid tumors, we performed mutational screening of KIF1Balpha in 25 NB, 9 rhabdomyosarcoma, 12 Ewing sarcoma and 24 other pediatric solid tumor cell lines. Using RT-PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing we detected a missense mutation (M807I) in 1 NB cell line (SK-N-SH), 3 silent mutations in 2 NB cell lines and 1 primitive neuroectodermal tumor cell line, respectively. RT-PCR analysis revealed that KIF1Balpha was obviously expressed in almost all of the tumor cell lines examined except NB-1. Furthermore, real-time quantitative RT-PCR showed that there was no significant difference in KIF1Balpha expression between 14 early-stage (stage I and II) and 14 advanced-stage (stage III and IV) NB fresh tumor specimens. These results suggest that KIF1Ba in addition to KIF1Bbeta may not be a candidate tumor suppressor gene for NB.

Lack of aberrations of the BMP4, BMP2, and PTX1 genes in a patient with pituitary hypoplasia, os odontoideum, renal dysplasia, and right leg anomalies.

We report on a 15-year-old girl who presented with pituitary hypoplasia, os odontoideum, renal dysplasia, an asymmetrically short right leg, and postaxial hypodactyly of the right foot. Her endocrinological data showed anterior pituitary hormone deficiency. The fact that she had healthy parents and an elder sister suggests that she had either a de novo mutation or autosomal recessive inheritance. We speculated that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), BMP2, or pituitary homeobox 1 (PTX1) might be the responsible genes in this patient based on the similarity of her clinical symptoms and phenotypes to knock-out mice of these genes. We performed mutation analysis of these genes by direct sequencing of genomic DNA. In BMP2 gene, AGA right curved arrow AGT transversion in exon 3, converting arginine to serine was detected. In PTX1 gene, transversion of GCC right curved arrow GGC in exon 2, converting alanine to glycine at codon 184 was found in the patient and controls. We did not find any non-sense mutations although 5 polymorphisms of these genes were found. This constellation of findings may represent a new entity of congenital combined pituitary hormone deficiency.

The kinesin superfamily protein Rab6KIFL is not involved in the pathophysiology of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4C.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4C (CMT4C) is an autosomal recessive peripheral neuropathy reported in several Algerian families. The gene locus of this disease has been narrowed to 5q31-33. Recently, a missense mutation in the gene for the kinesin superfamily KIF1B was reported as the cause of Charcot Marie Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A). We suspected that Rab6KIFL, one of the kinesin superfamily proteins, might be involved in the pathophysiology of CMT4C, because Rab6KIFL gene is located in 5q31. The coding regions of the Rab6KIFL gene of genomic DNA derived from one Algerian family with CMT4C were analyzed by direct sequencing. No mutation in Rab6KIFL gene was found in this family. Further investigation is necessary to identify the causative gene for CMT4C.

Interstitial deletion of 13q14.13-q32.3 presenting with Arima syndrome and bilateral retinoblastoma.

A patient with a large deletion of the distal part of the long arm of chromosome 13 showed severe psychomotor retardation, a characteristic face, nystagmus, retinopathy, cystic kidney disease, and brain malformation with molar tooth sign and cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, a phenotype typical of Arima syndrome. This patient also had bilateral retinoblastoma. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and single-nucleotide-polymorphism genotyping microarray demonstrated an interstitial deletion of 54 Mbp, ranging from 13q14.13 to 13q32.3 and involving the RB1 gene. This patient is the first case of Arima syndrome, or a Joubert syndrome-related disorder, that showed linkage to chromosome 13q.