Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Comprehensive Natural History Study in a Dutch National Cohort of 142 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is a rare connective tissue disorder with a high risk for arterial, bowel, and uterine rupture, caused by heterozygous pathogenic variants in COL3A1. The aim of this cohort study is to provide further insights into the natural history of vEDS and describe genotype-phenotype correlations in a Dutch multicenter cohort to optimize patient care and increase awareness of the disease. METHODS: Individuals with vEDS throughout the Netherlands were included. The phenotype was charted by retrospective analysis of molecular and clinical data, combined with a one-time physical examination. RESULTS: A total of 142 individuals (50% female) participated the study, including 46 index patients (32%). The overall median age at genetic diagnosis was 41.0 years. More than half of the index patients (54.3%) and relatives (53.1%) had a physical appearance highly suggestive of vEDS. In these individuals, major events were not more frequent (P=0.90), but occurred at a younger age (P=0.01). A major event occurred more often and at a younger age in men compared with women (P<0.001 and P=0.004, respectively). Aortic aneurysms (P=0.003) and pneumothoraces (P=0.029) were more frequent in men. Aortic dissection was more frequent in individuals with a COL3A1 variant in the first quarter of the collagen helical domain (P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Male sex, type and location of the COL3A1 variant, and physical appearance highly suggestive of vEDS are risk factors for the occurrence and early age of onset of major events. This national multicenter cohort study of Dutch individuals with vEDS provides a valuable basis for improving guidelines for the diagnosing, follow-up, and treatment of individuals with vEDS.

Effect of vertical sleeve gastrectomy in melanocortin receptor 4-deficient rats.

Bariatric surgery is currently the most effective treatment for obesity. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), a commonly applied bariatric procedure, involves surgically incising most of the volume of the stomach. In humans, partial loss of melanocortin receptor-4 (MC4R) activity is the most common monogenic correlate of obesity regardless of lifestyle. At present it is unclear whether genetic alteration of MC4R signaling modulates the beneficial effects of VSG. Following VSG, we analyzed body weight, food intake, glucose sensitivity, and macronutrient preference of wild-type and MC4R-deficient (Mc4r(+/-) and Mc4r(-/-)) rats compared with sham-operated controls. VSG reduced body weight and fat mass and improved glucose metabolism and also shifted preference toward carbohydrates and away from fat. All of this occurred independently of MC4R activity. In addition, MC4R was resequenced in 46 human subjects who underwent VSG. We observed common genetic variations in the coding sequence of MC4R in five subjects. However, none of those variations appeared to affect the outcome of VSG. Taken together, these data suggest that the beneficial effect of VSG on body weight and glucose metabolism is not mediated by alterations in MC4R activity.

Long-Term Weight Outcome After Bariatric Surgery in Patients with Melanocortin-4 Receptor Gene Variants: a Case-Control Study of 105 Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Pathogenic heterozygous MC4R variants are associated with hyperphagia and variable degrees of obesity. Several research groups have reported short-term weight loss outcomes after bariatric surgery in a few patients with MC4R variants, but lack of longer-term data prevents evidence-based clinical decision-making. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bariatric surgery patients with heterozygous (likely) pathogenic MC4R variants, from three collaborating centers in the Netherlands, France, and the UK, were compared to matched controls (matched 2:1 for age, sex, preoperative BMI, surgical procedure, and diabetes mellitus, but without MC4R mutations). Weight loss and regain outcomes up to 6 years of follow-up were compared. RESULTS: At 60 months of follow-up after RYGB, cases with MC4R variants showed weight regain with a mean of 12.8% (± 10.4 SD) total weight loss (TWL) from nadir, compared to 7.9% (± 10.5 SD) in the controls (p = 0.062). Among patients receiving SG, the cases with MC4R variants experienced inferior weight loss (22.6% TWL) during the first year of follow-up compared to the controls (29.9% TWL) (p = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study reveals inferior mid-term weight outcomes of cases with MC4R variants after SG, compared to RYGB. Since adequate weight loss outcomes were observed after RYGB, this procedure would appear to be an appropriate surgical approach for this group. However, the pattern of weight regain seen in cases with MC4R variants after both RYGB and SG highlights the need for pro-active lifelong management to prevent relapse, as well as careful expectation management.

Genetic Evaluation in a Cohort of 126 Dutch Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe, life-threatening disease, and in some cases is caused by genetic defects. This study sought to assess the diagnostic yield of genetic testing in a Dutch cohort of 126 PAH patients. Historically, genetic testing in the Netherlands consisted of the analysis of BMPR2 and SMAD9. These genes were analyzed in 70 of the 126 patients. A (likely) pathogenic (LP/P) variant was detected in 22 (31%) of them. After the identification of additional PAH associated genes, a next generation sequencing (NGS) panel consisting of 19 genes was developed in 2018. Additional genetic testing was offered to the 48 BMPR2 and SMAD9 negative patients, out of which 28 opted for NGS analysis. In addition, this gene panel was analyzed in 56 newly identified idiopathic (IPAH) or pulmonary veno occlusive disease (PVOD) patients. In these 84 patients, NGS panel testing revealed LP/P variants in BMPR2 (N = 4), GDF2 (N = 2), EIF2AK4 (N = 1), and TBX4 (N = 3). Furthermore, 134 relatives of 32 probands with a LP/P variant were tested, yielding 41 carriers. NGS panel screening offered to IPAH/PVOD patients led to the identification of LP/P variants in GDF2, EIF2AK4, and TBX4 in six additional patients. The identification of LP/P variants in patients allows for screening of at-risk relatives, enabling the early identification of PAH.

Truncating Homozygous Mutation of Carboxypeptidase E (CPE) in a Morbidly Obese Female with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Intellectual Disability and Hypogonadotrophic Hypogonadism.

Carboxypeptidase E is a peptide processing enzyme, involved in cleaving numerous peptide precursors, including neuropeptides and hormones involved in appetite control and glucose metabolism. Exome sequencing of a morbidly obese female from a consanguineous family revealed homozygosity for a truncating mutation of the CPE gene (c.76_98del; p.E26RfsX68). Analysis detected no CPE expression in whole blood-derived RNA from the proband, consistent with nonsense-mediated decay. The morbid obesity, intellectual disability, abnormal glucose homeostasis and hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism seen in this individual recapitulates phenotypes in the previously described fat/fat and Cpe knockout mouse models, evidencing the importance of this peptide/hormone-processing enzyme in regulating body weight, metabolism, and brain and reproductive function in humans.