Author:
De Ridder Willem,Nelson Isabelle,Asselbergh Bob,De Paepe Boel,Beuvin Maud,Ben Yaou Rabah,Masson Cécile,Boland Anne,Deleuze Jean-François,Maisonobe Thierry,Eymard Bruno,Symoens Sofie,Schindler Roland,Brand Thomas,Johnson Katherine,Töpf Ana,Straub Volker,De Jonghe Peter,De Bleecker Jan L.,Bonne Gisèle,Baets Jonathan
Abstract
ObjectiveTo study the genetic and phenotypic spectrum of patients harboring recessive mutations in BVES.MethodsWe performed whole-exome sequencing in a multicenter cohort of 1929 patients with a suspected hereditary myopathy, showing unexplained limb-girdle muscular weakness and/or elevated creatine kinase levels. Immunohistochemistry and mRNA experiments on patients' skeletal muscle tissue were performed to study the pathogenicity of identified loss-of-function (LOF) variants in BVES.ResultsWe identified 4 individuals from 3 families harboring homozygous LOF variants in BVES, the gene that encodes for Popeye domain containing protein 1 (POPDC1). Patients showed skeletal muscle involvement and cardiac conduction abnormalities of varying nature and severity, but all exhibited at least subclinical signs of both skeletal muscle and cardiac disease. All identified mutations lead to a partial or complete loss of function of BVES through nonsense-mediated decay or through functional changes to the POPDC1 protein.ConclusionsWe report the identification of homozygous LOF mutations in BVES, causal in a young adult-onset myopathy with concomitant cardiac conduction disorders in the absence of structural heart disease. These findings underline the role of POPDC1, and by extension, other members of this protein family, in striated muscle physiology and disease. This disorder appears to have a low prevalence, although it is probably underdiagnosed because of its striking phenotypic variability and often subtle yet clinically relevant manifestations, particularly concerning the cardiac conduction abnormalities.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Subject
Genetics (clinical),Neurology (clinical)