Myotonic Dystrophy: Increased expression of the normal allele in CDM infants muscle
- Inserm U, Paris (France)
Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is an autosomal dominant multisystemic disorder characterized by a highly variable clinical phenotype. The mutation has been identified as an unstable trinucleotide CTG repeat in the 3{prime} untranslated region of the myotonin-protein kinase (MT-PK) gene. Congenital myotonic dystrophy (CDM), which represents the most severe phenotype, is exclusively maternally inherited. Recent studies, analysis by Northern blots and RT-PCR provided apparently conflicting results on the mutated allele expression in samples from congenitally affected children. The level of expression of the mutant allele depends on the extent of the repeat in the adult form and is no longer expressed when over 800-1300 repeats, whether in adult forms or in CDM. Could this decrease account for the late onset forms? However, the differences between the two phenotypes cannot be explained by the same mechanism. Alternatively, these differences could be due to differences in expression of the normal allele. We analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR the expression of the MT-PK gene in muscle samples from four CDM infants and two aged-matched normal controls. In two of these, the mutant allele (3.3 and 8 kb) was undetectable on Northern blots. We observed an increased expression of the MT-PK gene (10- to 20-fold) in tissues of severely affected congenital patients which can be attributed to the normal allele. Since expression of the normal allele is either normal or slightly decreased in the adult form, the dramatic increase in the congenital form could reflect a disturbance in muscle differentiation. Expression studies of MT-PK at different stages of development and, especially after the 20th week, are therefore required.
- OSTI ID:
- 134298
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009--
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Journal Name: American Journal of Human Genetics Journal Issue: Suppl.3 Vol. 55; ISSN AJHGAG; ISSN 0002-9297
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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