1. Father-to-daughter transmission in late-onset OTC deficiency: an underestimated mechanism of inheritance of an X-linked disease
- Author
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Barbara Siri, Giorgia Olivieri, Francesca Romana Lepri, Martin Poms, Bianca Maria Goffredo, Anna Commone, Antonio Novelli, Johannes Häberle, and Carlo Dionisi-Vici
- Subjects
Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) ,X-Linked ,Father-to-daughter transmission ,Hyperammonemia ,Medicine - Abstract
Abstract Background Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency (OTCD) is an X-linked urea cycle disorder characterized by acute hyperammonemic episodes. Hemizygous males are usually affected by a severe/fatal neonatal-onset form or, less frequently, by a late-onset form with milder disease course, depending on the residual enzymatic activity. Hyperammonemia can occur any time during life and patients could remain non- or mis-diagnosed due to unspecific symptoms. In heterozygous females, clinical presentation varies based on the extent of X chromosome inactivation. Maternal transmission in X-linked disease is the rule, but in late-onset OTCD, due to the milder phenotype of affected males, paternal transmission to the females is possible. So far, father-to-daughter transmission of OTCD has been reported only in 4 Japanese families. Results We identified in 2 Caucasian families, paternal transmission of late-onset OTCD with severe/fatal outcome in affected males and 1 heterozygous female. Furthermore, we have reassessed the pedigrees of other published reports in 7 additional families with evidence of father-to-daughter inheritance of OTCD, identifying and listing the family members for which this transmission occurred. Conclusions Our study highlights how the diagnosis and pedigree analysis of late-onset OTCD may represent a real challenge for clinicians. Therefore, the occurrence of paternal transmission in OTCD should not be underestimated, due to the relevant implications for disease inheritance and risk of recurrence.
- Published
- 2024
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