A family with a dystrophin gene mutation specifically affecting dystrophin expression in the heart
- Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London (United Kingdom); and others
We recently described a family with X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy where a large deletion in the muscle promoter region of the dystrophin gene was associated with a severe dilated cardiomyopathy in absence of clinical skeletal muscle involvement. The deletion removed the entire muscle promoter region, the first muscle exon and part of intron 1. The brain and Purkinje cell promoters were not affected by the deletion. Despite the lack of both the muscle promoter and the first muscle exon, dystrophin was detected immunocytochemically in relative high levels in the skeletal muscle of the affected males. We have now found that both the brain and Purkinje cell promoters were transcribed at high levels in the skeletal muscle of these individuals. This phenomenon, that does not occur in normal skeletal muscle, indicates that these two isoforms, physiologically expressed mainly in the central nervous system, can be transcribed and be functionally active in skeletal muscle under specific circumstances. Contrary to what is observed in skeletal muscle, dystrophin was not detected in the heart of one affected male using immunocytochemistry and an entire panel of anti-dystrophin antibodies. This was most likely the cause for the pronounced cardiac fibrosis observed and eventually responsible for the severe cardiac involvement invariably seen in seven affected males. In conclusion, the mutation of the muscle promoter, first muscle exon and part of intron 1 specifically affected expression of dystrophin in the heart. We believe that this deletion removes sequences involved in regulation of dystrophin expression in the heart and are at the moment characterizing other families with X-linked cardiomyopathy secondary to a dystrophinopathy.
- OSTI ID:
- 134266
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009-; ISSN 0002-9297; TRN: 95:005313-1002
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 55, Issue Suppl.3; Conference: 44. annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Montreal (Canada), 18-22 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
X-linked cardiomyopathy is heterogeneous
Screening of point mutations by multiple SSCP analysis in the dystrophin gene