[A case of sporadic late-onset nemaline myopathy associated with myasthenia gravis positive for anti-titin antibody and anti-Kv1.4 antibody].

A 66-year-old woman who had myasthenia gravis (MG) admitted for type II respiratory failure and right heart failure. Although she had neither ptosis, eye movement disorder, nor diplopia, she had orbital muscles weakness, reduction of gag reflex, dysarthria, dysphagia, and mild proximal muscle weakness. Blood tests showed anti-striated muscle antibodies (anti-titin antibody and anti-Kv1.4 antibody). A muscle biopsy of the left biceps showed a marked variation in fiber size, mild mononuclear cell infiltration was seen surrounding blood vessels in perimysium and nemaline bodies in some fibers. Immunohistochemical stains showed many muscle fibers express HLA-ABC. The patient was diagnosed as sporadic late-onset nemaline myopathy (SLONM) with MG, and treated by tacrolimus. After treatment, her respiratory function gradually improved and she discharged. In the case of atypical MG, measurement of anti-striated muscle antibody or muscle biopsy should be considered.

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in a case of intranuclear rod myopathy without any prenatal sentinel event.

Intranuclear rod myopathy (IRM), a variant of nemaline myopathy, is characterized by the presence of nemaline bodies in myonuclei. We report a case of IRM presenting with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). There were no prenatal complications caused by fetal brain injury. Although no nemaline bodies were observed in the cytoplasm, intranuclear rods were observed in some fibers under light and electron microscopy. Molecular analysis identified a heterozygous variant, c.449C>T (p.Thr150Ile), in ACTA1. On magnetic resonance imaging at 9days of age, injuries to the basal ganglia, thalamus, and brainstem consistent with perinatal HIE were seen. Respiratory insufficiency at birth was strongly suspected to be the cause of HIE. Our case highlights that a patient with a congenital neuromuscular disorder who presents with severe respiratory dysfunction requiring substantial resuscitative efforts at birth can be complicated by HIE without any prenatal sentinel event. Prenatal detection of neuromuscular disorders, careful management of delivery, and neonatal resuscitation and adequate respiratory management are important in preventing irreversible brain injury in these patients.

KLHL40 deficiency destabilizes thin filament proteins and promotes nemaline myopathy.

Nemaline myopathy (NM) is a congenital myopathy that can result in lethal muscle dysfunction and is thought to be a disease of the sarcomere thin filament. Recently, several proteins of unknown function have been implicated in NM, but the mechanistic basis of their contribution to disease remains unresolved. Here, we demonstrated that loss of a muscle-specific protein, kelch-like family member 40 (KLHL40), results in a nemaline-like myopathy in mice that closely phenocopies muscle abnormalities observed in KLHL40-deficient patients. We determined that KLHL40 localizes to the sarcomere I band and A band and binds to nebulin (NEB), a protein frequently implicated in NM, as well as a putative thin filament protein, leiomodin 3 (LMOD3). KLHL40 belongs to the BTB-BACK-kelch (BBK) family of proteins, some of which have been shown to promote degradation of their substrates. In contrast, we found that KLHL40 promotes stability of NEB and LMOD3 and blocks LMOD3 ubiquitination. Accordingly, NEB and LMOD3 were reduced in skeletal muscle of both Klhl40-/- mice and KLHL40-deficient patients. Loss of sarcomere thin filament proteins is a frequent cause of NM; therefore, our data that KLHL40 stabilizes NEB and LMOD3 provide a potential basis for the development of NM in KLHL40-deficient patients.

Myopathy-causing actin mutations promote defects in serum-response factor signalling.

Mutations in the gene encoding skeletal muscle alpha-actin (ACTA1) account for approx. 20% of patients with the muscular disorder nemaline myopathy. Nemaline myopathy is a muscular wasting disease similar to muscular dystrophy, but distinguished by deposits of actin and actin-associated proteins near the z-line of the sarcomere. Approx. one-third of the over 140 myopathy actin mutations have been characterized either biochemically or in cultured cells to determine their effects on the actin cytoskeleton. However, the actin defects causing myopathy are likely to be heterogeneous, with only a few common trends observed among the actin mutants, such as reduced polymerization capacity or an inability to fold properly. Notably, the transcriptional programme regulated by serum-response factor, which is instrumental in muscle development and maintenance, is directly controlled by the balance of actin assembly and disassembly in cells. In the present study, we explored the impact of myopathy mutations in actin on the control of the transcriptional response by serum-response factor and found that the majority of mutants examined have altered serum-response factor signalling. We propose that altered serum-response factor signalling could be a major factor in actin-based nemaline myopathy, and that this area could be exploited to develop therapies for sufferers.

A second pedigree with autosomal dominant nemaline myopathy caused by TPM3 mutation: a clinical and pathological study.

The slow alpha-tropomyosin (TPM3) gene has to date been associated with few cases of both dominant and recessive nemaline myopathies. We report the identification of a p.Arg167His mutation in a four-generation family presenting with a mild classical form of the disease. Clinically, there was no correlation between the age at presentation and the severity of the disease. The dominant-negative p.Arg167His mutation is a recurrent mutation, previously reported in one sporadic case. Histological studies showed discrepancy between the two reports. While a type II fibre predominance was described in the sporadic case, we observed an almost complete type I fibre predominance. This study emphasizes the variability in histopathological phenotypes seen with TPM3 mutations.

Nemaline myopathy caused by absence of alpha-skeletal muscle actin.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate seven congenital myopathy patients from six families: one French Gypsy, one Spanish Gypsy, four British Pakistanis, and one British Indian. Three patients required mechanical ventilation from birth, five died before 22 months, one is ventilator-dependent, but one, at 30 months, is sitting with minimal support. All parents were unaffected. METHODS: The alpha-skeletal muscle actin gene (ACTA1) was sequenced. Available muscle biopsies were investigated by standard histological and electron microscopic techniques. The expression of various proteins was determined by immunohistochemistry, western blotting, or both. RESULTS: Three homozygous ACTA1 null mutations were identified: p.Arg41X in the French patient, p.Tyr364fsX in the Spanish patient, and p.Asp181fsX10 in all five British patients. An absence of alpha-skeletal muscle actin protein but presence of alpha-cardiac actin was shown in all muscle biopsies examined, with more alpha-cardiac actin in the biopsy from the child with the greatest muscle function. Muscle biopsies from all patients exhibited nemaline bodies whereas three also contained zebra bodies. INTERPRETATION: The seven patients have recessive nemaline myopathy caused by absence of alpha-skeletal muscle actin. The level of retention of alpha-cardiac actin, the skeletal muscle fetal actin isoform, may determine alpha-skeletal muscle actin disease severity. This has implications for possible future therapy.

[Adult onset nemaline myopathy revealed by respiratory insufficiency]. / Révélation d'une myopathie à bâtonnets par une insuffisance respiratoire de l'adulte.

INTRODUCTION: We report a case of nemaline myopathy revealed in adulthood by a respiratory insufficiency. CASE REPORT: A 26-year-old patient, without past history, was admitted with respiratory and right cardiac insufficiency which appeared in a few days. There was a severe restrictive lung impairment with nocturnal hypoventilation. Minor skeletal abnormalities and areflexia suggested a congenital myopathy. Muscle biopsy revealed a nemaline myopathy. CONCLUSION: Respiratory insufficiency is common in nemaline myopathy with infancy or childhood onset, but very rare in adults. It may be explained by multiple mechanisms.

[An adulthood progressive case of congenital nemaline myopathy showing rimmed vacuoles in muscle biopsy and diffuse neurogenic changes on electromyography].

A 29-year-old woman with benign congenital nemaline myopathy is reported. She did not walk until the age of one year and seven months. Although she acquired the ability to run, she ran very slowly. She first noticed the progression of weakness of the limbs at age 21, and it worsened gradually. On admission, she showed moderate weakness in the face, neck, and four limbs. Serum creatine kinase was elevated to 218 U/l. Needle electromyography showed giant and polyphasic motor unit potentials with a reduced reference pattern in the four limbs diffusely. In muscle biopsy, about 10% of fibers had many small vacuoles, and half of them were rimmed. Modified Gomori trichrome stain revealed nemaline rods in about 20% of both type I and type II fibers. Fibers with large diameter and atrophic ones showed increased acid phosphatase activity. Type I fibers were small, and type II fibers numbered only 2%. We diagnosed her illness as a congenital nemaline myopathy that began in infancy and progressed in adulthood. The increased autophagic activity probably caused the progression of muscle weakness. Moreover, the presence of both nemaline rods and rimmed vacuoles may have contributed to the development of diffuse neurogenic changes seen in electromyography.

Nemaline myopathy: a possible late complication of Hodgkin's disease therapy.

Patients who have undergone "mantle" field irradiation for Hodgkin's disease may develop symptomatic muscle atrophy in the treatment portal. This complication has received only scant attention in the clinical literature and its pathologic substrate has not been elucidated. We report the finding of nemaline myopathy in the previously irradiated and atrophic trapezius muscle of such a patient. Biopsy of clinically uninvolved gracilis muscle outside of the radiation portal revealed normal histology and ultrastructure. We are unaware of previous reports documenting such a phenomenon, which suggests that nemaline myopathy may evolve as a radiation-related disorder.

Distinct light microscopic changes in human immunodeficiency virus-associated nemaline myopathy.

The purpose of this study was to compare histologic characteristics of congenital nemaline myopathy (CNM), adult-onset nemaline myopathy (AONM), and human immunodeficiency virus-associated adult-onset nemaline myopathy (HAONM). There was no difference between the pathology of CNM and AONM; however, HAONM had distinctive pathologic features by light microscopy. The fibers in HAONM showed marked intrasarcoplasmic changes, including small vacuoles and granular degeneration.

Central core disease associated with scoliosis: report of one case.

A 13 year-old girl with scoliosis and central core disease is reported. She was noted to have mild psychomotor developmental delay since early infancy. Scoliosis with minimal muscle weakness was noted at about five years old. The neurological examination disclosed absent knee jerk. The spine MRI showed no significant finding. The serum CK revealed 518 U/L. The muscle biopsy obtained from the quadriceps femoris muscle showed Type 1 fiber atrophy and predominance, as is commonly seen in congenital myopathies. Under nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase (NADH) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) stains, core structures were identified and the diagnosis of central core disease (CCD) was made. Since kyphoscoliosis usually becomes prominent as muscle weakness progresses to loss of ambulation in other myopathies, the disproportionate spinal involvement in central core disease appears to be a striking feature. We suggest that all patients with idiopathic scoliosis deserve a thorough neurological evaluation if congenital myopathies are suspected. Muscle biopsy should also be recommended for a confirmatory diagnosis even if only minimal muscle weakness present. Besides, early detection of CCD helps us to identify the population who are at a higher risk for malignant hyperthermia.

Nemaline bodies of skeletal muscle fibers of the neck in a case of pharyngeal cancer.

Nemaline bodies were found in the regenerating muscle fibers of the neck of a 74-year-old Japanese male with pharyngeal cancer. Histologically, the nemaline bodies were needle-shaped structures and hematoxophilic with phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin stain. Electron microscopic examination suggested that they arise as extensions of the Z bands. Although nemaline bodies occur in a variety of pathological conditions other than nemaline myopathy, their occurrence in regenerating skeletal muscle fibers invaded by cancer has not been reported previously. The pathogenesis of the nemaline body formation in the present case is discussed.

[Development of core/targetoid fibers in the diaphragm of chronically hypercapnic rats].

We tested the hypothesis that chronic hypercapnia contributes to the development of core/targetoid fibers in ventilatory muscles. Five Wistar rats were kept in 5% CO2 in air for 13 weeks. Arterial blood gases (mean +/- SE) were pH 7.402 +/- 0.017, PaCO2 47.4 +/- 2.4 Torr, and PaO2 105.2 +/- 13.2 Torr. While the rats were chronically hypercapnic, their mean minute ventilation was about 1.7 times higher than that of rats that breathed air. This level was maintained throughout the exposure to CO2. Approximately 6% to 12% of the diaphragmatic type-I fibers were replaced by core/targetoid fibers in 3 of 5 chronically hypercapnic rats but not in the 3 control rats. Chronic hypercapnia may have continuously stimulated the respiratory center and resulted in more work done by the ventilatory muscles. Long-term overuse of the ventilatory muscles, which may occur in patients with chronic respiratory failure, can cause morphological changes in type-I fibers in the diaphragm.