A gene for an autosomal recessive lower motor neuron disease with childhood onset maps to 1p36.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical features of a novel variant of autosomal recessive lower motor neuron disease (LMND) with childhood onset and to map the disease-causing gene. METHODS: The authors performed a clinical study in a large consanguineous African family. After linkage exclusion to SMN1 and SOD1 loci, they performed a genome-wide linkage analysis to map the underlying genetic defect. RESULTS: This novel variant of LMND with childhood onset and autosomal recessive mode of inheritance is characterized by a progressive symmetric and generalized involvement of the musculature. Four of the five affected patients had muscle weakness since age 3, strongly worsening during childhood and leading to generalized tetraplegia in adulthood. Genetic analyses using homozygosity mapping strategy assigned this progressive generalized LMND locus to an interval of 3.9 cM (or 1.5 megabases) on chromosome 1p36, between loci D1S508 and D1S2633 (Z(max) = 3.79 at theta = 0.00 at locus D1S253). This region encloses 27 candidate genes. CONCLUSION: Genetic mapping of a novel rare phenotype of lower motor neuron disease opens the way toward the identification of a new gene involved in motor neuron degeneration, located in the 1p36 chromosomal region.

Allelic heterogeneity of SMARD1 at the IGHMBP2 locus.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress (SMARD) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by neurogenic muscular atrophy due to progressive anterior horn cell degeneration and early life-threatening respiratory failure ascribed to diaphragmatic dysfunction. SMARD is clinically and genetically heterogeneous. SMARD type 1 is characterized by onset of respiratory failure within the first weeks of life and has been ascribed to mutations in the immunoglobulin mu-binding protein 2 (IGHMBP2) gene on chromosome 11q13-q21. We report here the identification of nine novel IGHMBP2 mutations in five SMARD1 patients, including seven missense [ c.587A>G (p.Gln196Arg), c.647C>T (p.Pro216Leu), c.752T>C (p.Leu251Pro), c.1693G>A (p.Asp565Asn), c.1730T>C (p.Leu577Pro), c.1807C>T (p.Arg603Cys), c.1909C>T (p.Arg637Cys)] and two nonsense mutations [ c.1488C>A (p.Cys496X), c.2368C>T (p.Arg790X)]. Interestingly, 7 of 9 mutations occurred at highly conserved residues of the putative DNA helicase domain. The identification of novel IGHMBP2 variants will hopefully help diagnosing SMARD1 and contribute to a better functional characterization of IGHMBP2 gene product.