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Biomedical subjects

E Lamantea

Publications and source records attributed to E Lamantea.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

A novel mutation (8342G-->A) in the mitochondrial tRNA(Lys) gene associated with progressive external ophthalmoplegia and myoclonus.

We describe a patient who suffered from impaired ocular motility from age 10 years and at 16 years developed ptosis, proximal weakness and progressive fatigability. At 35 years she developed massive myoclonic jerks, and head and distal tremor. A muscle biopsy showed a high percentage of cytochrome c oxidase negative fibers but no ragged-red fibers. A novel heteroplasmic mutation (8342G-->A) was found in the mitochondrial transfer RNA(Lys) gene by single-strand conformation polymorphism screening, followed by sequence and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Approximately 80% of muscle mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) harbored the mutation, while the mutation was absent in lymphocyte DNA of the proband, as well as of her mother, daughter and a maternal aunt. However, the pathogenicity of the mutation was confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of single muscle fibers, which revealed a significantly greater level of mutant mtDNA in cytochrome c oxidase negative over cytochrome c oxidase positive fibers.

Adenine↗
PubMed1999

3-Methylglutaconic aciduria and hypermethioninaemia in a child with clinical and neuroradiological findings of Leigh disease.

We report on a child with a clinical and neuroradiological picture consistent with Leigh disease and an unusual association of isolated hypermethioninaemia and 3-methylglutaconic aciduria. A low-methionine diet normalized both plasma methionine and urine 3-methylglutaconic acid; a methionine-loading test led to significant increase of both metabolites. In the skin fibroblasts the activity of 3-methylglutaconyl-CoA hydratase was essentially normal. No explanation of this uncommon association of hypermethioninaemia and glutaconic aciduria is available. The possibility of a common transporter for 3-methylglutaconic acid and methionine is an attractive hypothesis.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
PubMed1998

Mild or absent clinical signs in twin sisters with short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.

UNLABELLED: Two HLA-identical twin sisters are reported, of whom one has remained essentially asymptomatic, and an episode of hypotonia and decreased level of conciousness being the only relevant clinical finding in the other. Organic acid-analysis revealed that ethylmalonate was constantly, although sometimes only slightly, increased. No abnormal acylglycines or acylcarnitines could be detected. Enzyme assay in cultured skin fibroblasts confirmed short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency. CONCLUSION: The lack of appropriate biochemical markers for this deficiency makes the diagnosis difficult and consequently, the low number of patients described may be the result of underdiagnosis.

Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1997

A single cell complementation class is common to several cases of cytochrome c oxidase-defective Leigh's syndrome.

A generalized defect of complex IV (cytochrome C oxidase, COX) is frequently found in subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy (Leigh's syndrome), the most common mitochondrial disorder in infancy. We previously demonstrated the nuclear origin of the COX defect in one case, by fusing nuclear DNA-less cytoplasts derived from normal fibroblasts with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-less transformant fibroblasts derived from a patient with COX-defective [COX(-)] Leigh's syndrome. The resulting cybrid line showed a specific and serve COX(-) phenotype. Conversely, in the present study, we demonstrated that a COX(+) phenotype could be restored in hybrids obtained by fusing COX(-) transformant fibroblasts of seven additional Leigh's syndrome patients with mtDNA-less, COX(-) tumor-derived rho degree cells. Both these results are explained by the presence of a mutation in a nuclear gene. In a second set of experiments, in order to demonstrate whether COX(-) Leigh's syndrome is due to a defect in the same gene, or in different genes, we tested several hybrids derived by fusing our original COX(-) cell line with each of the remaining seven cell lines. COX activity was evaluated in situ by histochemical techniques and in cell extracts by a spectrophotometric assay. No COX complementers were found among the resulting hybrid lines. This result demonstrates that all our cases were genetically homogeneous, and suggests that a major nuclear disease locus is associated with several, perhaps most, of the cases of infantile COX(-) Leigh's syndrome. This information should make it easier to identify the gene responsible.

Cell Fusion↗
PubMed1997

Mitochondrial disease associated with the T8993G mutation of the mitochondrial ATPase 6 gene: a clinical, biochemical, and molecular study in six families.

AIM: To contribute to the establishment of a rational clinical, neuroradiological, and molecular approach to neurogenic muscle weakness, ataxia, and retinitis pigmentosa (NARP) and maternally inherited Leigh's syndrome (MILS). METHODS AND RESULTS: The T8993G mutation in the mitochondrial genome was found in several maternal members of six pedigrees, whose clinical status ranged from no symptoms to severe infantile subacute necrotising encephalomyelopathy (Leigh's disease). In one case a MELAS-like syndrome was documented both clinically and neuroradiologically. Relevant genetic features of the series were anticipation of symptoms through subsequent generations, and the presence of several cases in whom the mutation apparently occurred recently or was new. A uniform distribution of the mutation in many tissues was shown in one patient subjected to necropsy. In general, a good correlation was found between clinical severity and mutation heteroplasmy in readily accessible tissues, such as lymphocytes or fibroblasts. By contrast, a consistent reduction of the mitochondrial ATPase activity, to about half of the normal values, was found in most of the clinically affected cases, irrespective of the amount of mutant mitochondrial DNA. CONCLUSIONS: Although the measurement of ATP hydrolysis in cultured fibroblasts was a reliable, and sometimes instrumental, means to identify T8993G positive patients, the relation between the mutation and the oxidative phosphorylation defect is probably very complex, and its understanding requires more complex biochemical analysis.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1995

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency: structure of the gene and characterization of two novel disease-causing mutations.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) II deficiency is the most common inherited disorder of lipid metabolism affecting skeletal muscle. To facilitate the identification of disease-causing mutations in the CPT II gene (CPT1), we have established the genomic organization of this gene. CPT1 spans approximately 20 kb of 1p32 and is composed of five exons ranging from 81 to 1305 bp. The sequences of the exon--intron boundaries were determined for each exon and conformed to the consensus splice junction sequences. The 5' and 3' untranslated regions in exon 1 and 5, respectively, were also determined, including the polyadenylation signal and the polyadenylation site. The mature transcript is predicted to be 3090 nt in length. CPT1 exons from CPT II-deficient patients were amplified and directly sequenced. Two novel disease-causing mutations were identified and characterized. The first mutation was a C-665-to-A transversion in exon 1 resulting in a proline-to-histidine substitution at residue 50 of the protein (P50H). This amino acid substitution occurs within a leucine-proline motif that is highly conserved in acyltransferases from different species. The mutation was detected in both alleles of patient 05SB of Italian ancestry, and in one allele of patients 11EG, 38PG, and 26FD of Italian, Dutch, and French ancestry, respectively. The second mutation was a rare G-2173-to-A transition in exon 5 causing an aspartic-acid-to-asparagine substitution at amino acid 553 (D553N) and the generation of a new MseI site. The mutation was detected only in one allele of patient 15MB, of Italian ancestry, who was also heterozygous for the common S113L substitution. Transfection experiments in COS cells demonstrated that both mutations drastically depressed the catalytic activity of CPT II. Biochemical characterization of P50H mutant CPT II in cultured cells from patient 05SB showed that the mutation does not affect substrate binding sites. Finally, immunoblot analysis demonstrated that both mutations were associated with markedly reduced steady-state level of the protein, thus indicating decreased stability of the mutant CPT II.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Nuclear DNA origin of cytochrome c oxidase deficiency in Leigh's syndrome: genetic evidence based on patient's-derived rho degrees transformants.

Defects of the respiratory chain carrying out oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) are the biochemical hallmark of human mitochondrial disorders. Faulty OXPHOS can be due to mutations in either nuclear or mitochondrial genes, that are involved in the synthesis of individual respiratory subunits or in their post-translational control. The most common mitochondrial disorder of infancy and childhood is Leigh's syndrome, a severe encephalopathy, often associated with a defect of cytochrome c oxidase (COX). In order to demonstrate which genome is primarily involved in COX-deficient (COX(-))-Leigh's syndrome, we generated two lines of transmitochondrial cybrids. The first was obtained by fusing nuclear DNA-less cytoplasts derived from normal fibroblasts, with mitochondrial DNA-less (rho degree) transformant fibroblasts derived from a patient with COX(-))-Leigh's syndrome. The second cybrid line was obtained by fusing rho degree cells derived from 143B.TK- human osteosarcoma cells, with cytoplasts derived from the same patient. The first cybrid line showed a specific and severe COX(-) phenotype, while in the second all the respiratory chain complexes, including COX, were normal. These results indicate that the COX defect in our patient is due to a mutation of a nuclear gene. The use of cybrids obtained from 'customized', patient-derived rho degree cells can have wide applications in the identification of respiratory chain defects originated by nuclear DNA-encoded mutations, and in the study of nuclear DNA-mitochondrial DNA interactions.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1992

Molecular characterization of inherited carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency.

Deficiency of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPTase II; palmitoyl-CoA:L-carnitine O-palmitoyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.21) is a clinically heterogeneous autosomal recessive disorder of energy metabolism. We studied the molecular basis of CPTase II deficiency in an early-onset patient presenting with hypoketotic hypoglycemia and cardiomyopathy. cDNA and genomic DNA analysis demonstrated that the patient was homozygous for a mutant CPTase II allele (termed ICV), which carried three missense mutations: a G-1203----A transition, predicting a Val-368----Ile substitution (V368I); a C-1992----T transition, predicting an Arg-631----Cys substitution (R631C); and an A-2040----G transition, predicting a Met-647----Val substitution (M647V). Genomic DNA analysis of family members showed that the mutations cosegregated with the disease in the family. However, screening of 59 healthy controls demonstrated that both the V368I and M647V mutations are sequence polymorphisms with allele frequencies of 0.5 and 0.25, respectively. By contrast, the R631C substitution was not detected in 22 normal individuals or in 12 of 14 CPTase II-deficient patients with the adult muscular form. Notably, 2 adult CPTase II-deficient patients were heterozygous for the ICV allele, thus suggesting compound heterozygosity for this and a different mutant allele. The consequences of the three mutations on enzyme activity were investigated by expressing normal and mutated CPTase II cDNAs in COS cells. The R631C substitution drastically depressed the catalytic activity of CPTase II, thus confirming that this is the crucial mutation. Interestingly, the V368I and M647V substitutions, which did not affect enzyme activity alone, exacerbated the effects of the R631C substitution. Biochemical characterization of mutant CPTase II in patient's cells showed that the mutations are associated with (i) severe reduction of Vmax (approximately 90%), (ii) normal apparent Km values, and (iii) decreased protein stability.

Base Sequence↗