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An isolated case of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in a female with a deletion of DMD cDNA.

An isolated case of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in a female who has a deletion of the DMD locus is described. This patient was a 26-year-old woman born to unrelated, healthy parents. She was initially examined at age 6 because of a waddling gait. At age 15, pseudohypertrophy of calves and pes equinus were observed along with proximal muscular weakness and wasting. Her serum creatine kinase level was high and histological evidence of muscular dystrophy was apparent on muscle biopsy. The patient was ambulant at age 15 and progression of motor disability has been slow. Chromosomal studies revealed a normal karyotype, and mental retardation is moderate. DNA analysis at age 26 revealed that she has a deletion of DMD cDNA 8 mapped within Xp21 and is heterozygous for the deletion. Since diagnosis of DMD is now dependent on the evidence of mutation or deletion at Xp21, this patient is thought to have a form of DMD. Expression of the DMD gene in the heterozygous state might be due to random but unequal lyonization.

Adult

The myoblast defect identified in Duchenne muscular dystrophy is not a primary expression of the DMD mutation. Clonal analysis of myoblasts from five double heterozygotes for two X-linked loci: DMD and G6PD.

We previously proposed the hypothesis that the primary expression of the defect in X-linked Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) occurred in the myoblast, or muscle precursor cell. This was based on the observation that the number of viable myoblasts obtained per gram DMD muscle tissue was greatly reduced and those that grew in culture had decreased proliferative capacity and an aberrant distended flat morphology. Here we test that hypothesis by determining whether the expression of the myoblast defect is X-linked. Muscle cells were obtained from five doubly heterozygous carriers of two X-linked loci, DMD and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), and compared with those from five sex- and age-matched controls heterozygous for G6PD only. A total of 1,355 individual clones were determined to be muscle and evaluated at the single cell level for proliferative capacity, morphology, and G6PD isozyme expression. The results demonstrate that the proportion of defective myoblast clones is significantly increased in DMD carriers. However, since this cellular defect does not consistently segregate with a single G6PD phenotype in the myoblast clones derived from any of the carriers, it is unlikely to be the primary expression of the DMD mutant allele.

Adult

Complete cloning of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) cDNA and preliminary genomic organization of the DMD gene in normal and affected individuals.

The 14 kb human Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) cDNA corresponding to a complete representation of the fetal skeletal muscle transcript has been cloned. The DMD transcript is formed by at least 60 exons which have been mapped relative to various reference points within Xp21. The first half of the DMD transcript is formed by a minimum of 33 exons spanning nearly 1000 kb, and the remaining portion has at least 27 exons that may spread over a similar distance. The DNA isolated from 104 DMD boys was tested with the cDNA for detection of deletions and 53 patients exhibit deletion mutations. The majority of deletions are concentrated in a single genomic segment corresponding to only 2 kb of the transcript.

Amino Acid Sequence

Allosteric transition of erythrocyte alkaline phosphatase from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and Duchenne muscular dystrophy carriers (Homo sapiens).

1. The kinetic properties of the p-nitrophenylphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) from erythrocytes was investigated in DMD-patients and DMD-carriers. 2. A different allosteric behaviour in the p-nitrophenylphosphatase from DMD-patients and DMD-carriers compared to controls is supported by the following findings: (a) values of n altered in F- inhibition of (K+)-activated p-nitrophenylphosphatase with Hill coefficients -1.5, -2.2 and -3.1; (b) heterotropic effect of increased concentration of Mg2+ on F- inhibition which is reverted by K+ in DMD-carriers and in control, but not in DMD-patients. 3. Evidence is presented showing that in DMD-patients and in DMD-carriers the interaction membrane-enzyme is different from the corresponding controls.

4-Nitrophenylphosphatase

Serum creatine-kinase (CK) and pyruvate-kinase (PK) activities in Duchenne (DMD) as compared with Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophy.

Serum creatine-kinase (CK) activities were determined in 536 patients affected with X-linked muscular dystrophy (456 with Duchenne or DMD and 80 with Becker or BMD) and serum pyruvate-kinase (PK) in 360 among them (309 DMD and 51 BMD). The aim of this investigation was to assess the variability and rate of decrease in serum activity in DMD as compared with BMD as a function of age and in DMD as a function of Vignos scale as well. In DMD, maximum CK and PK activities were found around 1-6 years old and the average rate of decline according to age was estimated as 0.18 per year and 0.27-0.29 for both enzymes as a function of Vignos scale (assessed in 291 cases). For BMD, maximum serum enzyme levels were found around 10-15 years old and the rate of decline of serum activity per year was 0.06 for CK and 0.07 for PK. If maximum levels of serum enzyme reflect active muscle degeneration and the rate of decline per year to progressive loss of muscle mass (responsible for the release of muscle enzymes to the blood stream) our observations suggest: (a) active muscle degeneration occurs, on average, 5 years later in the group of outliers and 10 years later in BMD as compared with severe DMD; (b) the rate in which muscle mass is lost is significantly greater in DMD than in BMD and therefore serum enzyme determinations may represent an important test for evaluation of therapeutic trials; (c) serum enzymes determination may represent an important preliminary test to discriminate in a proportion of young patients if they will develop a severe or milder phenotype.

Adolescent

Long-range genomic map of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene: isolation and use of J66 (DXS268), a distal intragenic marker.

By cloning the endpoints of a DMD-associated deletion, we have "jumped" 1100 kb from pERT87-1 (DSX164) to a new locus designated J66 (DXS268), mapping distally within the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene. Both J66 and JBir are mapped by field-inversion gel electrophoresis and detect abnormal SfiI fragments in DMD patients and distal DMD-associated X; autosome translocations. Our long-range map extends the physical map of the DMD gene from 800 to 2000 kb (2 Mb) and increases the mapped portion of Xp21 to approximately 8 Mb. The position of the glycerol kinase gene and the adrenal hypoplasia locus are further confined to the region between J66 and the nearest distal probe L1-4. This region spans at least 1.5 Mb. The multiallelic J66 polymorphism has immediate application in the diagnosis of DMD and generally appears to be distal to DMD mutations.

Chromosome Deletion

Analysis of a dystrophin gene deletion by amplification of mRNA isolated from DMD myotubes cultured in vitro.

The most frequent causes for the X-linked muscular dystrophy of the allelic Duchenne (DMD) or Becker (BMD) type are partial deletions of the dystrophin gene. These mutations are accompanied either by disrupted or by preserved translational reading frames in mRNAs derived from the deleted genes. As a rule, the reading frame is destroyed in the more severe DMD, whereas it is preserved in the less severe BMD (M. Koenig et al., 1989, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 45, 498-506). We have analyzed in detail a deletion that was detected in a fetus at risk of DMD. The analysis of this mutation included the delineation of the altered subregion in the dystrophin mRNA. mRNA was isolated from myotubes derived from embryonic DMD myoblasts propagated in vitro. This study was based on enzymatic amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of dystrophin mRNA and direct sequencing of the amplified cDNA. Exons 47 to 50 were found to be missing in the mRNA. The splicing of exon 46 to exon 51 resulted in a reading frameshift, indicating that this mutation is likely to be responsible for a DMD type of dystrophy. The clinical diagnosis of DMD for a 10-year-old patient in this family was compatible with the "reading frame" assumption.

Base Sequence

Detection of Duchenne muscular dystrophy carriers by dosage analysis using the DMD cDNA clone 8.

Deletion screening in 11 unrelated DMD patients has been performed using DMD cDNA clones 1-8. Of these 11 patients, 6 exhibit deletions of the cDNA clone 8. The carriership of 18 female relatives from these six DMD families has been investigated by dosage analysis. It is shown that dosage analysis is an available method to determine the carrier status of the female relatives of DMD patients showing a deletion within a DMD cDNA clone.

Chromosome Deletion

[Clinical implications of enhanced caffeine contracture in malignant hyperthermia (MH) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)].

The caffeine contracture response was studied on the skinned muscle fiber in patients with MH episodes or with DMD. An abnormally enhanced caffeine contracture was observed in 12 out of 14 subjects with MH episodes and 11 out of 13 patients with DMD. The extent of abnormality was almost the same in both group of patients. Ca-induced Ca release (CICR) of the sarcoplasmic reticulum was also analyzed on the same specimens. CICR was increased in 3 out of 4 cases with MH episodes, but it was decreased or unchanged in 4 patients with DMD. It was suggested that the mechanism of abnormal caffeine contracture might not be the same between MH and DMD. Thus, adverse anesthetic reactions, which are occasionally reported in DMD, could be different from genuine MH in its pathophysiology. However, before concluding this issue, further studies seem necessary concerning the molecular mechanism of abnormal Ca release. In the meantime, studies of caffeine contracture on the skinned fiber are helpful as one of predictive tests of MH and related disorders.

Adolescent

The value of deletion analysis for carrier detection in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

We performed genetic analysis for carrier detection for several at-risk females in a four-generation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) pedigree using deletion analysis. We demonstrated that dosage analysis is a suitable alternative method to determine the carrier status of female relatives of DMD patients shown to have a deletion within the DMD gene. Subsequently, we diagnosed an affected male fetus for an at-risk female shown to be a DMD carrier by deletion analysis. The usefulness of deletion and linkage analysis are compared. In this family, linkage analysis was complicated by the unavailability of key family members, two recombination events and by previously undisclosed nonpaternity. We found that dosage analysis was more efficient than linkage for carrier evaluation in this family.

Adult

Molecular and phenotypic analysis of patients with deletions within the deletion-rich region of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene.

Eighty unrelated individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) or Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) were found to have deletions in the major deletion-rich region of the DMD locus. This region includes the last five exons detected by cDNA5b-7, all exons detected by cDNA8, and the first two exons detected by cDNA9. These 80 individuals account for approximately 75% of 109 deletions of the gene, detected among 181 patients analyzed with the entire dystrophin cDNA. Endpoints for many of these deletions were further characterized using two genomic probes, p20 (DXS269; Wapenaar et al.) and GMGX11 (DXS239; present paper). Clinical findings are presented for all 80 patients allowing a correlation of phenotypic severity with the genotype. Thirty-eight independent patients were old enough to be classified as DMD, BMD, or intermediate phenotype and had deletions of exons with sequenced intron/exon boundaries. Of these, eight BMD patients and one intermediate patient had gene deletions predicted to leave the reading frame intact, while 21 DMD patients, 7 intermediate patients, and 1 BMD patient had gene deletions predicted to disrupt the reading frame. Thus, with two exceptions, frameshift deletions of the gene resulted in more severe phenotype than did in-frame deletions. This is in agreement with recent findings by Baumbach et al. and Koenig et al. but is in contrast to findings, by Malhotra et al., at the 5' end of the gene.

Chromosome Aberrations

Topography of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene: FIGE and cDNA analysis of 194 cases reveals 115 deletions and 13 duplications.

We have studied 34 Becker and 160 Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients with the dystrophin cDNA, using conventional blots and FIGE analysis. One hundred twenty-eight mutations (65%) were found, 115 deletions and 13 duplications, of which 106 deletions and 11 duplications could be precisely mapped in relation to both the mRNA and the major and minor mutation hot spots. Junction fragments, ideal markers for carrier detection, were found in 23 (17%) of the 128 cases. We identified eight new cDNA RFLPs within the DMD gene. With the use of cDNA probes we have completed the long-range map of the DMD gene, by the identification of a 680-kb SfiI fragment containing the gene's 3' end. The size of the DMD gene is now determined to be about 2.3 million basepairs. The combination of cDNA hybridizations with long-range analysis of deletion and duplication patients yields a global picture of the exon spacing within the dystrophin gene. The gene shows a large variability of intron size, ranging from only a few kilobases to 160-180 kb for the P20 intron.

Chromosome Deletion

Rethinking the pathogenicity of intragenic DMD duplications detected by carrier screening: High prevalence of nontandem duplications revealed by long-read sequencing.

PURPOSE: The pathogenicity of intragenic duplications depends on their structural configuration. Tandem duplications often disrupt reading frames and cause gene loss of function, whereas interspersed (nontandem) duplications are largely benign. When the configuration cannot be determined, current guidelines presume a tandem structure, leading to some laboratories automatically classifying such variants as likely pathogenic or pathogenic. This study evaluates the validity of this presumption for DMD, in patients with and without clinical indications of dystrophinopathy. METHODS: We performed high-coverage long-read genome sequencing on 15 patients with intragenic DMD duplications. A total of 4 patients had clinically indicated dystrophinopathy testing, whereas in the remaining 11 patients, the duplications were detected without clear indications of dystrophinopathy (eg, through carrier screening). RESULTS: All 4 patients with clinical indications had tandem duplications. In contrast, 64% (7/11) of the cases without such indications had interspersed duplications, with 4 subsequently reclassified as likely benign, 2 (likely) pathogenic, and 1 uncertain. These duplications were often complex, involving coduplications or codeletions with other regions. CONCLUSION: Our findings challenge the presumption that intragenic DMD duplications are predominantly in tandem. This highlights the need for a cautious variant interpretation approach, particularly in carrier screening and other settings in which variants are identified without indications of dystrophinopathy.

Humans

X-irradiation improves mdx mouse muscle as a model of myofiber loss in DMD.

The mdx mouse, although a genetic and biochemical homologue of human Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), presents a comparatively mild histopathological and clinical phenotype. These differences are partially attributable to the greater efficacy of regeneration in the mdx mouse than in DMD muscle. To lessen this disparity, we have used a single dose of X-irradiation (16 Gy) to inhibit regeneration in one leg of mdx mice. The result is an almost complete block of muscle fiber regeneration leading to progressive loss of muscle fibers and their replacement by loose connective tissue. Surviving fibers are mainly peripherally nucleated and, surprisingly, of large diameter. Thus, X-irradiation converts mdx muscle to a model system in which the degenerative process can be studied in isolation from the complicating effect of myofiber regeneration. This system should be of use for testing methods of alleviating the myofiber degeneration which is common to mdx and DMD.

Animals

The DMD gene promoter: a potential role in gene therapy.

The studies I've outlined here are obviously at a preliminary stage but do offer some insight into the complexity of DMD gene regulation and do suggest that an understanding of this regulation may have some potential benefit in gene therapy for this disease. The high promoter activity found was unexpected and suggests that in vivo the activity of the endogenous gene may be repressed by elements not present within this region. Of course, other interpretations are possible. The transcripts in vivo may turn over very quickly, or the very large size of the DMD gene may in itself limit the rate of transcription. Alternatively, the gene may be actively transcribed only during the early stages of differentiation. A more detailed analysis of developmental expression and of DNA sequences surrounding exon one is required to address these alternatives, but the possibility for augmenting dystrophin synthesis during myoblast therapy clearly exists. The high level of activity and the tissue and developmental specificity exhibited by the HP2 construct suggest this may be the promoter of choice in future gene therapy experiments. The high degree of specificity shown by this promoter would reduce the need to target gene constructs to muscle cells and would reduce the potential complications of uncontrolled gene expression. Of course, before any of these benefits could be realized much more work must be done both in analysing DMD gene expression and in testing potential gene therapy constructs both in culture and in animal models of this disease.

Chromosome Mapping

X-linked recessive (Duchenne) muscular dystrophy (DMD) and purine metabolism: effects of oral allopurinol and adenylate.

Data are presented which suggest that Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) may have some origin in a severe deficiency of total muscle adenine nucleotides. Using double-blind techniques, this possibility was tested in 16 DMD patients by giving oral allopurinol, a synthetic inhibitor of the purine catabolic enzyme xanthine oxidase. Sublingual procaine adenylate was also briefly tested. Instances of clinical improvement quickly occurred which were statistically significant; they were accompanied by a significant increase in physical strength. These improvements have been maintained for more than 6 mo by administration of a small amount of allopurinol daily. Procaine adenylate had little effect. These results support the above view of DMD and seem to indicate that existing purines, retained and recycled after allopurinol, can sustain such improvement, and that additional adenylate is unnecessary.

Adenosine Monophosphate

An explanation for the phenotypic differences between patients bearing partial deletions of the DMD locus.

Deletions giving rise to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and the less severe Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) occur in the same large gene on the short arm of the human X chromosome. We present a molecular mechanism to explain the clinical difference in severity between DMD and BMD patients who bear partial deletions of the same gene locus. The model is based on the breakpoints of intragenic deletions and their effect on the translation of triplet codons into amino acids of the protein product. Deletions identified in three DMD patients are shown to shift the translational open reading frame (ORF) of triplet codons for amino acids, and each deletion is predicted to result in a truncated, abnormal protein product. Deletions identified in three BMD patients are shown to maintain the translational ORF for amino acids and predict a shorter, lower molecular weight protein. The smaller protein product is presumed to be semifunctional and to result in a milder clinical phenotype. The same ORF mechanism is also applicable to potential 5' and 3' intron splice mutations and their effect on protein production and clinical phenotype.

Adolescent