Biomedical subjects

Marcus Deschauer

Publications and source records attributed to Marcus Deschauer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Increased metabolic muscle fatigue is caused by some but not all mitochondrial mutations.

CONTEXT: Excessive muscle fatigue occurs in patients with a mitochondrial encephalomyopathy (MEM), but it is also a frequent problem in patients with other neuromuscular disorders (ONMD). OBJECTIVE: To determine whether, and to what extent, metabolic muscle fatigue specifically occurs in patients with an MEM. DESIGN: Metabolic muscle fatigue was assessed in a series of 21 patients with an MEM, including 13 patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia and 8 patients with various mitochondrial point mutations; 27 patients with ONMD; and 25 healthy controls. Isometric twitch force of the ankle dorsiflexors was measured after supramaximal stimulation of peroneal nerves. Six trains of stimuli (of 1 minute's duration with rates from 0.2 to 5 stimuli per second) were given to each subject. RESULTS: An abnormal decrement of the twitch amplitude that occurred during a stimulation train was found in patients with MEM and in those with ONMD. The decrement of the twitch amplitude of controls and of patients with ONMD was strongly influenced by their muscle force (P<.001). After subtraction of the influence of the muscle force, specific fatigue was notably higher in patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia than in patients with ONMD and in controls, and it correlated well with elevations of serum lactate. Specific fatigue was also abnormal in a patient with a mitochondrial G7497A mutation, but normal in patients with an A3243G or a G11778A mutation. The heteroplasmy of mitochondrial DNA in muscle correlated neither with the force measures nor with the serum lactate levels. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, metabolic muscle fatigue accompanies muscular weakness. Specifically, some but not all mitochondrial mutations cause excessive metabolic muscle fatigue.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2003

Two novel mutations in the myophosphorylase gene in a patient with McArdle disease.

We identified two novel mutations in exon 2 of the myophosphorylase gene in a 33-year-old German women with McArdle disease. The patient was compound heterozygous for a novel nonsense mutation at codon 84 changing tyrosine to stop codon (Y84X) and for a novel missense mutation at codon 93 changing arginine to tryptophan (R93W). These mutations are the first to be described in exon 2 and expand the genetic heterogeneity in patients with McArdle disease.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A novel Twinkle gene mutation in autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia.

Autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia is a common neurological presentation of mitochondrial disease and is characterised by multiple deletions of mitochondrial DNA in muscle. We describe a family with autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia caused by a novel heterozygous A to C transversion at nucleotide 956 of the Twinkle gene. The deltoid muscle biopsy of the index case revealed sparse respiratory deficient cells. Multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions were clearly evident in the index case by both long-range and real-time polymerase chain reaction assays but not by Southern blotting, highlighting the diagnostic difficulties associated with characterising patients with multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A splice junction mutation in muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency.

We report the first splice junction mutation to be described in the carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 2 gene in a patient with the muscle form of CPT II deficiency. The patient, a 25-year-old man, suffered from attacks of myalgia and muscle weakness in early adult life. There was biochemical evidence of CPT II deficiency. Molecular genetic analysis revealed the common S113L mutation on one allele whilst a novel mutation at the splice donor junction in intron 3 was identified on the other allele. Sequencing of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) products clearly demonstrated that this mutation causes the skipping of exon 3, thus establishing its pathogenic role.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Mitochondrial respiratory rates and activities of respiratory chain complexes correlate linearly with heteroplasmy of deleted mtDNA without threshold and independently of deletion size.

To clarify the importance of deleted protein and tRNA genes on the impairment of mitochondrial function, we performed a quantitative analysis of biochemical, genetic and morphological findings in skeletal muscles of 16 patients with single deletions and 5 patients with multiple deletions of mtDNA. Clinically, all patients showed chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO). The size of deletions varied between 2.5 and 9 kb, and heteroplasmy between 31% and 94%. In patients with single deletions, the citrate synthase (CS) activity was nearly doubled. Decreased ratios of pyruvate- and succinate-dependent respiration were detected in fibers of all patients in comparison to controls. Inverse and linear correlations without thresholds were established between heteroplasmy and (i) CS referenced activities of the complexes of respiratory chain, (ii) CS referenced maximal respiratory rates, (iii) and cytochrome-c-oxidase (COX) negative fibers. In patients with single and multiple deletions, all respiratory chain complexes as well as the respiratory rates were decreased to a similar extent. All changes detected in patients with single deletions were independent of deletion size. In one patient, only genes of ND5, ND4L as well as tRNA(Leu(CUN)), tRNA(Ser(AGY)), and tRNA(His) were deleted. The pronounced decrease in COX activity in this patient points to the high pathological impact of these missing tRNA genes. The activity of nuclear encoded SDH was also significantly decreased in patients, but to a lesser extent. This is an indication of secondary disturbances of mitochondria at CPEO. In conclusion, we have shown that different deletions cause mitochondrial impairments of the same phenotype correlating with heteroplasmy. The missing threshold at the level of mitochondrial function seems to be characteristic for large-scale deletions were tRNA and protein genes are deleted.

Citrate (si)-Synthase↗

PubMed2002

A novel nonsense mutation (515del4) in muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency.

We identified a novel nonsense mutation in the carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT; EC 2.3.1.21) II gene in a patient with biochemical evidence of CPT II deficiency. The 39-year-old man suffered from the muscle form of CPT II deficiency. Attacks of myalgia and muscle weakness started in childhood and led to renal failure five times. A mild proximal weakness of the lower limbs was left as a residue. Molecular genetic analysis revealed the common S113L mutation on one allele. On the other allele a novel 4-bp deletion starting at codon 515 (515del4) was found leading to frameshift that results in a stop codon 15 codons upstream. Our data further expand the genetic heterogeneity in patients with CPT II deficiency.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Energetic depression caused by mitochondrial dysfunction.

Mitochondria not only provide most of the ATP needed for cell work and numerous specific anabolic and catabolic functions, they also contribute to Ca++ signalling and play a key role in the pathway to cell death. Impairment of mitochondrial functions caused by mutations of the mt-genome or by acute processes, is responsible for numerous diseases. Decreased concentrations of adenine nucleotides, leaky outer and inner mitochondrial membranes, and decreased activities of respiratory chain enzymes contribute to depression of cellular energy metabolism, one of the most important consequences of mitochondrial impairment as characterized by decreased cytosolic phosphorylation potentials.

Adenine Nucleotides↗