PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Sara Shanske

Publications and source records attributed to Sara Shanske.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Mutation screening in patients with isolated cytochrome c oxidase deficiency.

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency has been associated with a variety of clinical conditions and can be due to mutations in nuclear or mitochondrial genes. Despite recent progress in our understanding of the molecular bases of COX deficiency, the genetic defect remains elusive in many cases. We performed mutation screening in 30 patients with biochemical evidence of isolated COX deficiency and heterogeneous clinical phenotypes. Sixteen patients had various forms of encephalomyopathy, and six of these had the neuroradiological features of Leigh syndrome. Four patients had encephalohepatopathy, six had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and four had other phenotypes. We studied the three mtDNA genes encoding COX subunits, the 22 mtDNA tRNA genes, and seven COX assembly genes: SCO1, SCO2, SURF1, COX10, COX11, COX15, and COX17. We report two novel pathogenic SURF1 mutations in a patient with Leigh syndrome and one novel SCO2 mutation in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. These data show that heterogeneous clinical phenotypes are associated with COX deficiency, that mutations in mtDNA COX genes are rare, and that mutations in additional genes remain to be identified.

Age of Onset↗

Identical mitochondrial DNA deletion in a woman with ocular myopathy and in her son with pearson syndrome.

Single deletions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are associated with three major clinical conditions: Kearns-Sayre syndrome, a multisystem disorder; Pearson syndrome (PS), a disorder of the hematopoietic system; and progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO), primarily affecting the ocular muscles. Typically, single mtDNA deletions are sporadic events, since the mothers, siblings, and offspring of affected individuals are unaffected. We studied a woman who presented with PEO, ptosis, and weakness of pharyngeal, facial, neck, and limb muscles. She had two unaffected children, but another of her children, an infant son, had sideroblastic anemia, was diagnosed with PS, and died at age 1 year. Morphological analysis of a muscle biopsy sample from the mother showed cytochrome c oxidase-negative ragged-red fibers-a typical pattern in patients with mtDNA deletions. Southern blot analysis using multiple restriction endonucleases and probed with multiple mtDNA fragments showed that both the mother and her infant son harbored an identical 5,355-bp single deletion in mtDNA, without flanking direct repeats. The deletion was the only abnormal species of mtDNA identified in both patients, and there was no evidence for duplications. We conclude that, although the vast majority of single large-scale deletions in mtDNA are sporadic, in rare cases, single deletions can be transmitted through the germline.

Adolescent↗

A new stop codon mutation (Y52X) in the myophosphorylase gene in a Greek patient with McArdle's disease.

We identified a novel stop codon mutation in the myophosphorylase gene in a Greek patient with typical symptoms of McArdle's disease. This is the first genetic study of myophosphorylase deficiency in a Greek family, showing that the proband was a compound heterozygous for the common "caucasian" mutation (R49X) and a new nonsense mutation (Y52X), both within exon 1. The new point mutation, a C-to-G transversion at codon 52, converts an encoded tyrosine to a stop codon. Our study confirms that the R49X is also present in the Greek population. The Y52X may represent a private mutation or a common mutation among Greeks. Our data further expand the already remarkable genetic heterogeneity of McArdle's disease. The prevalence of the Y52X mutation in Greek patients with McArdle's disease remains to be determined.

Adult↗

Cytochrome c oxidase deficiency due to a novel SCO2 mutation mimics Werdnig-Hoffmann disease.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the SCO2 gene have been associated with fatal cardioencephalomyopathy. OBJECTIVE: To report a novel SCO2 mutation with prominent spinal cord involvement mimicking spinal muscular atrophy (Werdnig-Hoffmann disease). PATIENT AND METHODS: An infant girl presented at birth with generalized weakness, hypotonia, and lactic acidosis. At 1 month of age she developed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and died of heart failure 1 month later. Neuroradiological studies were unremarkable. Muscle biopsy specimens showed groups of atrophic and hypertrophic fibers, but mutation screening of the SMN gene was negative. Histochemical and biochemical studies of respiratory chain complexes were performed, and the whole coding region of the SCO2 gene was sequenced. RESULTS: Findings from muscle histochemistry studies showed virtually undetectable cytochrome c oxidase activity, but normal succinate dehydrogenase reaction. Biochemical analysis in muscle confirmed a severe isolated cytochrome c oxidase deficiency. Pathologic findings of the brain were unremarkable, but the ventral horns of the spinal cord showed moderate-to-severe loss of motor neurons and astrocytosis. Sequencing of the SCO2 gene showed the common E140K mutation, and a novel 10 base-pair duplication of nucleotides 1302 to 1311, which disrupts the reading frame of the messenger RNA and gives rise to a truncated protein. CONCLUSION: The SCO2 mutations should be considered in the differential diagnosis of children with spinal muscular atrophy without mutations in the SMN gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Complex neurologic syndrome associated with the G1606A mutation of mitochondrial DNA.

OBJECTIVES: To confirm the pathogenicity of the G-to-A substitution at nucleotide 1606 (G1606A) mutation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) tRNA(Val) gene, and to characterize genotype-phenotype correlation. PATIENT AND METHODS: A 37-year-old man since childhood developed a complex clinical picture characterized by hearing loss, migraine, ataxia, seizures, cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, mental deterioration, and hypothyroidism. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed diffuse calcification of the basal ganglia and cerebral cortical atrophy. Morphologic and biochemical studies of respiratory chain complexes were performed in skeletal muscle. All 22 mitochondrial tRNA genes were screened for mutations by direct sequencing. RESULTS: Biochemical analysis showed normal activities of respiratory chain enzymes and citrate synthase; morphologic examination showed scattered ragged-red fibers and poor or absent cytochrome c oxidase staining in 10% of the fibers. A heteroplasmic G1606A transition in the mtDNA tRNA(Val) gene was found. Mutant DNA was 70% of the total in the proband's muscle. The mutation was absent in blood samples and urinary sediment from his healthy brother and mother. CONCLUSION: This second patient with the G1606A mutation confirms both the pathogenicity of the mutation and its association with a characteristic complex neurologic phenotype.

Adenine↗

Molecular genetic study of myophosphorylase deficiency (McArdle's disease) in two Yemenite-Jewish families.

Using direct sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, we identified two novel mutations in two unrelated Yemenite-Jewish families with typical symptoms of McArdle's disease. In one family, both father and daughter were affected, an example of pseudo-dominant transmission. The daughter was a compound heterozygote for a new nonsense mutation (R207X) and a new missense mutation (R602Q) while her father was homozygous for the R207X mutation. The mother carried only the R602Q mutation and was an asymptomatic heterozygote. In the second family, the only affected member was homozygous for the R207X mutation. This first molecular genetic study of McArdle's disease in Yemenite-Jewish patients expands the already remarkable genetic heterogeneity of McArdle's disease and suggests the existence of ethnic or private mutations within this group.

Adult↗

Mitochondrial myopathy and ophthalmoplegia in a sporadic patient with the G12315A mutation in mitochondrial DNA.

A 21-year-old woman described proximal muscle weakness since early childhood. At age 16, she developed bilateral ptosis, progressive external ophthalmoplegia, and exercise intolerance. She harbored a heteroplasmic G12315A mutation in the mitochondrial DNA tRNA(Leu(CUN)) gene, which disrupts a highly conserved G-C base pair in the TPsiC stem of the molecule. Mutant mitochondrial DNA was 62% of total in muscle and 17% in blood. The mutation was undetectable in blood, urinary sediment, and hair follicles from the patient's mother. This second patient with G12315A and progressive external ophthalmoplegia confirms the pathogenicity of the mutation and helps to define the correlation between genotype and phenotype.

Adult↗

Risk of developing a mitochondrial DNA deletion disorder.

BACKGROUND: Pathogenic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are found in at least one in 8000 individuals. No effective treatment for mtDNA disorders is available, making disease prevention important. Many patients with mtDNA disease harbour a single pathogenic mtDNA deletion, but the risk factors for new cases and disease recurrence are not known. METHODS: We did a multicentre study of 226 families in which a single mtDNA deletion had been identified in the proband, including patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, Kearns Sayre syndrome, or Pearson's syndrome. We studied the relation between maternal age and the risk of unaffected mothers having an affected child, and determined the recurrence risks among the siblings and offspring of affected individuals. FINDINGS: We noted no relation between maternal age and the risk of unaffected mothers having children with an mtDNA deletion disorder. None of the 251 siblings of the index cases developed clinical features of mtDNA disease. Risk of recurrence among the offspring of affected women was 4.11% (95% CI 0.86-11.54, or one in 117 to one in nine births). Only one of the mothers who had an affected child had a duplication of mtDNA in skeletal muscle. INTERPRETATION: Unlike nuclear chromosomal rearrangements, incidence of mtDNA deletion disorders does not increase with maternal age, and unaffected mothers are unlikely to have more than one affected child. Affected women were previously thought to have a negligible chance of having clinically affected offspring, but the actual risk is, on average, about one in 24 births.

Adult↗

Study of mitochondrial DNA mutations in patients with migraine with prolonged aura.

Ten patients with migraine with prolonged aura were studied for the presence of mitochondrial DNA point mutations utilizing DNA isolated from blood and hair samples. We analyzed for nine point mutations reported in patients with MELAS (A3243G, C3256T, T3271C, T3291C, A5814G, T8356C, T9957C, G13513A, and A13514G) and three secondary LHON mutations (T4216C, A4917G, and G13708A). None of the patients tested had any of these mutations in mitochondrial DNA. However, one patient was found to have a tRNA(Gln) A4336G mitochondrial DNA variant. From this study it appears that migraine with prolonged aura is not an oligosymptomatic form of MELAS and is not related to secondary LHON mutations. The significance of the tRNA A4336G variant is unknown.

Base Sequence↗