A recurrent familial partial lipodystrophy due to a monoallelic or biallelic LMNA founder variant highlights the multifaceted cardiac manifestations of metabolic laminopathies.

AIMS: LMNA-linked familial partial lipodystrophy type 2 (FPLD2) leads to insulin resistance-associated metabolic complications and cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to characterise the disease phenotype in a cohort of patients carrying an LMNA founder variant. METHODS: We collected clinical and biological data from patients carrying the monoallelic or biallelic LMNA p.(Thr655Asnfs*49) variant (n = 65 and 13, respectively) and 19 non-affected relative controls followed-up in Reunion Island Lipodystrophy Competence Centre, France. RESULTS: Two-thirds of patients with FPLD2 (n = 51) and one-third of controls (n = 6) displayed lipodystrophy and/or lean or android morphotype (P = 0.02). Although age and BMI were not statistically different between the two groups, the insulin resistance index (median HOMA-IR: 3.7 vs 1.5, P = 0.001), and the prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were much higher in patients with FPLD2 (51.3 vs 15.8%, 83.3 vs 42.1%, and 83.1 vs 33.3% (all P ≤ 0.01), respectively). Atherosclerosis tended to be more frequent in patients with FPLD2 (P = 0.07). Compared to heterozygous, homozygous patients displayed more severe lipoatrophy and metabolic alterations (lower BMI, fat mass, leptin and adiponectin, and higher triglycerides P ≤ 0.03) and tended to develop diabetes more frequently, and earlier (P = 0.09). Dilated cardiomyopathy and/or rhythm/conduction disturbances were the hallmark of the disease in homozygous patients, leading to death in four cases. CONCLUSIONS: The level of expression of the LMNA 'Reunionese' variant determines the severity of both lipoatrophy and metabolic complications. It also modulates the cardiac phenotype, from atherosclerosis to severe cardiomyopathy, highlighting the need for careful cardiac follow-up in affected patients.

Individualized Exercise Training at Maximal Fat Oxidation Combined with Fruit and Vegetable-Rich Diet in Overweight or Obese Women: The LIPOXmax-Réunion Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Lifestyle combined interventions are a key strategy for preventing type-2 diabetes (T2DM) in overweight or obese subjects. In this framework, LIPOXmax individualized training, based on maximal fat oxidation [MFO], may be a promising intervention to promote fat mass (FM) reduction and prevent T2DM. Our primary objective was to compare three training programs of physical activity combined with a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet in reducing FM in overweight or obese women. DESIGN AND SETTING: A five months non-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) with three parallel groups in La Réunion Island, a region where metabolic diseases are highly prevalent. SUBJECTS: One hundred and thirty-six non-diabetic obese (body mass index [BMI]: 27-40 kg/m2) young women (aged 20-40) were randomized (G1: MFO intensity; G2: 60% of VO2-peak intensity; G3: free moderate-intensity at-home exercise following good physical practices). OUTCOMES: Anthropometry (BMI, bodyweight, FM, fat-free mass), glucose (fasting plasma glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR) and lipid (cholesterol and triglycerides) profiles, and MFO values were measured at month-0, month-3 and month-5. RESULTS: At month-5, among 109 women assessed on body composition, the three groups exhibited a significant FM reduction over time (G1: -4.1±0.54 kg; G2: -4.7±0.53 kg; G3: -3.5±0.78 kg, p<0.001, respectively) without inter-group differences (p = 0.135). All groups exhibited significant reductions in insulin levels or HOMA-IR index, and higher MFO values over time (p<0.001, respectively) but glucose control improvement was higher in G1 than in G3 while MFO values were higher in G1 than in G2 and G3. Changes in other outcome measures and inter-group differences were not significant. CONCLUSION: In our RCT the LIPOXmax intervention did not show a superiority in reducing FM in overweight or obese women but is associated with higher MFO and better glucose control improvements. Other studies are required before proposing LIPOXmax training for the prevention of T2DM in overweight or obese women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClincialTrials.gov NCT01464073.

Metabolic and cardiac phenotype characterization in 37 atypical Dunnigan patients with nonfarnesylated mutated prelamin A.

BACKGROUND: Laminopathies are associated with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, from lipodystrophy to cardiac diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess genotype-phenotype correlations in a lipodystrophic laminopathy caused by the Lamin A (LMNA) mutation T655fsX49. This mutation leads to synthesis of nonfarnesylated-mutated prelamin A that does not undergo the physiologic lamin A maturation process. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 35 patients originating from Reunion Island who carried the LMNA T655fsX49 mutation. Comparisons of cardiac and endocrinologic features were made between homozygous and heterozygous patients. Homozygous patients presented more overlapping syndromes with severe cardiac phenotypes, defined by cardiolaminopathy, early atheroma with coronary heart disease (CHD) and high-degree conduction disorder compared with heterozygous (40% vs 4%; P = .016). Moreover, homozygous patients had earlier onset (49.6 vs 66 years old; P = .0002). Left ventricle lowered ejection fraction associated with heart failure was more frequent in homozygous than in heterozygous patients (40% vs 0%, respectively). Lipodystrophic traits were more marked in the homozygous group but only reached statistical significance for L4 subcutaneous fat measurement (2.8 ± 2.16 vs 18.7 ± 8.9 mm; P = .008) and leptin levels (2.45 ± 1.6 vs 11.26 ± 7.2 ng/mL; P = .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that there is a relationship between mutated prelamin-A accumulation and the severity of the phenotypes in homozygous familial partial lipodystrophy type 2 patients who harbor the LMNA T655fsX49 mutation. A dose-dependent effect seems likely.

A homozygous mutation of prelamin-A preventing its farnesylation and maturation leads to a severe lipodystrophic phenotype: new insights into the pathogenicity of nonfarnesylated prelamin-A.

CONTEXT: Mutations in LMNA, encoding A-type lamins, lead to multiple laminopathies, including lipodystrophies, progeroid syndromes, and cardiomyopathies. Alterations in the prelamin-A posttranslational maturation, resulting in accumulation of farnesylated isoforms, cause human progeroid syndromes. Accumulation of mutant nonfarnesylated prelamin-A leads to cardiomyopathy or progeria in mice, but no data have been provided in humans. OBJECTIVE, DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: We searched for LMNA mutations in seven women originating from Reunion Island who were referred for a severe lipodystrophic syndrome. Clinical, molecular, genealogical, and cellular studies were performed in probands and relatives. RESULTS: The seven probands showed a severe partial lipodystrophic syndrome with diabetes and/or acanthosis nigricans, liver steatosis, hypertriglyceridemia, and low serum leptin and adiponectin levels. Three probands also had severe cardiac rhythm and conduction disturbances. We identified in all probands a homozygous LMNA p.T655fsX49 mutation leading to expression of a mutated prelamin-A with 48 aberrant C-terminal amino acids, preventing its physiological posttranslational farnesylation and maturation. Genealogical and haplotype analyses were consistent with a founder mutation transmitted from a common ancestor in the 17th century. In probands' cultured fibroblasts, mutated prelamin-A was associated with typical laminopathic nuclear dysmorphies, increased oxidative stress, and premature senescence. Heterozygous relatives were asymptomatic or partially affected, in favor of a codominant transmission of the disease with incomplete penetrance in heterozygotes. CONCLUSIONS: We reveal that a homozygous mutation of prelamin-A preventing its farnesylation leads to a severe lipodystrophic laminopathy in humans, which can be associated with cardiac conduction disturbances, stressing the pathogenicity of nonfarnesylated prelamin-A in human laminopathies.