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The protein encoded by COQ7 is required for CoQ10 synthesis in humans, hydroxylating 3‐demethoxyubiquinol (DMQ10) in the second to last steps of the pathway. COQ7 mutations lead to a primary CoQ10 deficiency syndrome associated with a pleiotropic neurological disorder. This study shows the clinical, physiological, and molecular characterization of four new cases of CoQ10 primary deficiency caused by five mutations in COQ7, three of which have not yet been described, inducing mitochondrial dysfunction in all patients. However, the specific combination of the identified variants in each patient generated precise pathophysiological and molecular alterations in fibroblasts, which would explain the differential in vitro response to supplementation therapy. Our results suggest that COQ7 dysfunction could be caused by specific structural changes that affect the interaction with COQ9 required for the DMQ10 presentation to COQ7, the substrate access to the active site, and the maintenance of the active site structure. Remarkably, patients' fibroblasts share transcriptional remodeling, supporting a modification of energy metabolism towards glycolysis, which could be an adaptive mechanism against CoQ10 deficiency. However, transcriptional analysis of mitochondria‐associated pathways showed distinct and dramatic differences between patient fibroblasts, which correlated with the extent of pathophysiological and neurological alterations observed in the probands. Overall, this study suggests that the combination of precise genetic diagnostics and the availability of new structural models of human proteins could help explain the origin of phenotypic pleiotropy observed in some genetic diseases and the different responses to available therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the presence of an interstitial pure duplication of 19p13.3 (4.95 Mb) in a patient with intellectual disability studied by array-CGH which was initially considered as a de novo alteration. The discovery of the same chromosomal alteration in a first-degree cousin of this patient led us to investigate the presence of insertional translocations, which were consequently found in three family generations. The same duplication was found in three intellectually disabled patients and among the translocation carrier family members a very high incidence of miscarriages are reported. A review of other published cases has allowed us to find three other patients with a similar pure duplication, all of them sharing some common clinical findings such as intrauterine growth retardation, microcephaly, motor and speech delay, moderate to severe intellectual disability, and dysmorphic features. These findings allow us to suggest the presence of a new microduplication syndrome in chromosomal region 19p13.3. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NSDHL gene encodes 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase involved in one of the later steps of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. Mutations in this gene can cause CHILD syndrome (OMIM 308050) and CK syndrome (OMIM 300831). CHILD syndrome is an X-linked dominant, male lethal disorder caused by mutations in the NSDHL gene that result in the loss of the function of the NSDHL protein. CK syndrome is an allelic X-linked recessive disorder. So far, 13 patients with CK syndrome from two families have been reported on. We present a new five-generation family with affected males manifesting clinical features of CK syndrome. Next generation sequencing was targeted to a custom panel of 542 genes with known or putative implication on intellectual disability. Missense mutation p.Gly152Asp was identified in the NSDHL gene in the DNA sample of the affected male. Mutation carrier status was confirmed for all the obligate carriers in the family. The clinical features of the affected males in the family manifested as weak fetal movements, severe intellectual disability, seizures, spasticity, atrophy of optic discs, microcephaly, plagiocephaly, skeletal abnormalities, and minor facial anomalies, including a high nasal bridge, strabismus, and micrognathia. A highly significant preferential transmission of the mutation was observed in this and previous families segregating CK syndrome. Our report expands the clinical spectrum of this syndrome to include weak fetal movements, spasticity, and plagiocephaly, and transmission ratio distortion. The various findings in these patients increase our understanding of the diversity of the clinical presentation of cholesterol biosynthesis disorders. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report on two unrelated male patients with syndromic intellectual disability (ID) due to duplication at Xq13.3-q21.1, a region of about 6 Mb and 25 genes. Among these, the most outstanding is ATRX, the causative gene of X-linked alpha-thalassemia/mental retardation. ATRX belongs to the growing list of genes implied in chromatin remodeling causing ID. Many these genes, such as MECP2, are dose-sensitive so that not only deletions and point mutations, but also duplications cause ID. Both patients have severe ID, absent expressive speech, early hypotonia, behavior problems (hyperactivity, repetitive self-stimulatory behavior), postnatal growth deficiency, microcephaly, micrognathia, cryptorchidism, low-set, posteriorly angulated ears, and downslanting palpebral fissures. These findings are also usually present among patients with loss-of-function mutations of the ATRX gene. Completely skewed X inactivation was observed in the only informative carrier mother, a constant finding among female carriers of inactivating point mutations of this gene. Participation of other duplicated genes cannot be excluded; nevertheless we propose that the increased dosage of ATRX is the major pathogenic mechanism of this X-linked disorder, a syndrome reminiscent of MECP2 duplication. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniparental isodisomy arises when an individual inherits two copies of a specific chromosome from a single parent, which can unmask a recessive mutation or cause a problem of genetic imprinting. Here we describe an exceptional case in which the patient simultaneously presents tyrosinemia type 1 and Angelman syndrome. The genetic studies showed that the patient presents paternal uniparental isodisomy of chromosome 15, with absence of the maternal homolog. As a consequence of this isodisomy, the patient is homozygous for the mutation IVS12+5G>A in the FAH gene, located in the chromosomal region 15q23-25, causing tyrosinemia type 1. The mutation was inherited from his father in double dosage, whereas the mother is not a carrier, which implies that the recurrence risk in the family is negligible. On the other hand, the lack of maternal contribution causes Angelman syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with a loss of maternal gene expression in chromosome region 15q11-q13, and more specifically, of the UBE3A gene. This gene shows a tissue-specific imprinting, and only the maternally derived allele is expressed in certain areas of the brain. We observed through a literature review that uniparental disomy probably occurs more frequently than suspected, although it is more usually detected when the uniparental disomy implies the appearance of a disease because of the gene imprinting or by reduction to homozygosity of a recessive mutation. The conclusion is that uniparental disomy should always be considered when more than one genetic disease mapping to the same chromosome is present in a patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]