GGC repeat expansions in NOTCH2NLC causing a phenotype of distal motor neuropathy and myopathy.
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ABSTRACT: Background
The expansion of GGC repeat in the 5' untranslated region of the NOTCH2NLC has been associated with various neurogenerative disorders of the central nervous system and, more recently, oculopharyngodistal myopathy. This study aimed to report patients with distal weakness with both neuropathic and myopathic features on electrophysiology and pathology who present GGC repeat expansions in the NOTCH2NLC.Methods
Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and long-read sequencing were implemented to identify the candidate genes. In addition, the available clinical data and the pathological changes associated with peripheral nerve and muscle biopsies were reviewed and studied.Results
We identified and validated GGC repeat expansions of NOTCH2NLC in three unrelated patients who presented with progressive weakness predominantly affecting distal lower limb muscles, following negative results in an initial WES. We found intranuclear inclusions with multiple proteins deposits in the nuclei of both myofibers and Schwann cells. The clinical features of these patients are compatible with the diagnosis of distal motor neuropathy and rimmed vacuolar myopathy.Interpretation
These phenotypes enrich the class of features associated with NOTCH2NLC-related repeat expansion disorders (NRED), and provide further evidence that the neurological symptoms of NRED include not only brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves damage, but also myopathy, and that overlapping symptoms might exist.
SUBMITTER: Yu J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8164861 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:There is still a considerable proportion of patients with inherited peripheral neuropathy (IPN) whose pathogenic genes are unknown. This study was intended to investigate whether the GGC repeat expansion in the NOTCH2NLC is presented in some patients with IPN. A total of 142 unrelated mainland Chinese patients with highly suspected diagnosis of IPN without any known causative gene were recruited. Repeat-primed polymerase chain reaction (RP-PCR) was performed to screen GGC repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC, followed by fluorescence amplicon length analysis-PCR (AL-PCR) to determine the GGC repeat size. Detailed clinical data as well as nerve, muscle, and skin biopsy were reviewed and analyzed in the NOTCH2NLC-related IPN patients. In total, five of the 142 patients (3.52%) were found to have pathogenic GGC expansion in NOTCH2NLC, with repeat size ranging from 126 to 206 repeats. All the NOTCH2NLC-related IPN patients presented with adult-onset motor-sensory and autonomic neuropathy that predominantly affected the motor component of peripheral nerves. While tremor and irritating dry cough were noted in four-fifths of the patients, no other signs of the central nervous system were presented. Electrophysiological studies revealed both demyelinating and axonal changes of polyneuropathy that were more severe in lower limbs and asymmetrically in upper limbs. Sural nerve pathology was characterized by multiple fibers with thin myelination, indicating a predominant demyelinating process. Muscle pathology was consistent with neuropathic changes. P62-positive intranuclear inclusions were observed in nerve, skin, and muscle tissues. Our study has demonstrated that GGC expansion in NOTCH2NLC is associated with IPN presenting as predominant motor-sensory and autonomic neuropathy, which expands the phenotype of the NOTCH2NLC-related repeat expansion spectrum. Screening of GGC repeat expansions in the NOTCH2NLC should be considered in patients presenting with peripheral neuropathy with tremor and irritating dry cough.
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Project description:Oculopharyngodistal myopathy (OPDM) is an adult-onset neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive ocular, facial, pharyngeal and distal limb muscle involvement. Trinucleotide repeat expansions in LRP12 or GIPC1 were recently reported to be associated with OPDM. However, a significant portion of OPDM patients have unknown genetic causes. In this study, long-read whole-genome sequencing and repeat-primed PCR were performed and we identified GGC repeat expansions in the NOTCH2NLC gene in 16.7% (4/24) of a cohort of Chinese OPDM patients, designated as OPDM type 3 (OPDM3). Methylation analysis indicated that methylation levels of the NOTCH2NLC gene were unaltered in OPDM3 patients, but increased significantly in asymptomatic carriers. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that NOTCH2NLC mRNA levels were increased in muscle but not in blood of OPDM3 patients. Immunofluorescence on OPDM muscle samples and expressing mutant NOTCH2NLC with (GGC)69 repeat expansions in HEK293 cells indicated that mutant NOTCH2NLC-polyglycine protein might be a major component of intranuclear inclusions, and contribute to toxicity in cultured cells. In addition, two RNA-binding proteins, hnRNP A/B and MBNL1, were both co-localized with p62 in intranuclear inclusions in OPDM muscle samples. These results indicated that a toxic protein gain-of-function mechanism and RNA gain-of-function mechanism may both play a vital role in the pathogenic processes of OPDM3. This study extended the spectrum of NOTCH2NLC repeat expansion-related diseases to a predominant myopathy phenotype presenting as OPDM, and provided evidence for possible pathogenesis of these diseases.
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Project description:ImportanceThe presence of Notch homolog 2 N-terminal-like C (NOTCH2NLC) repeat expansions are associated with neuronal intranuclear inclusion body disease (NIID), with varied neurological signs, including neuropathy, ataxia, parkinsonism, and tremor. To date, genetic screening of NOTCH2NLC GGC repeats in a cohort with typical Parkinson disease (PD) appears not to have been reported.ObjectiveTo investigate if NOTCH2NLC GGC expansions are present in a cohort of patients with PD and controls.Design, setting, and participantsThis case-control study was conducted in 2 tertiary movement disorder centers in Singapore. Participants were recruited and followed up from January 2005 to January 2020. The presence of NOTCH2NLC GGC expansion repeats was screened using polymerase chain reaction tests, and representative samples were verified with long-read genome sequencing.Main outcomes and measuresQualitative and quantitative comparisons between participants with sporadic PD, healthy control participants, and individuals with NIID.ResultsA total of 2076 participants, including 1000 with sporadic PD (600 men [60.0%]; mean age at onset, 62.6 [7.7] years) and 1076 healthy controls (581 men [54.0%]; mean age at study recruitment, 54.9 [9.4] years) were recruited. A total of 13 patients with PD and no healthy control participants were identified as carrying NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansions of more than 40 units; the frequency of more than 40 repeat expansions was higher in participants with PD than controls (P < .001). None of the patients with PD were carriers of known PD-associated genes. Ten patients with PD carried a GGC expansion of between 41 and 64 repeats (1% of patients with sporadic PD; mean [SD], 49.4 [9.2] repeats). The other 3 patients carried GGC repeats of 79 or more units, 2 with 122 and 79 repeats, respectively, exhibited typical parkinsonism and were responsive to small dosages of levodopa over many years, with no clinical or imaging features of NIID. The other patient with PD, who had 130 repeats, only developed cognitive impairment before death. Within the GGC expansions, there was no GGA interruptions (mean [SD] GGA percentage in the 3 patients with PD vs patients with NIID, 0% vs 12% [9%]), and the frequency of AGC interruptions was 3 times higher in these patients with PD than patients with NIID (mean [SD], 25% [12%] vs 8% [8%]).Conclusions and relevanceThis study demonstrated that individuals with sporadic PD who carried pathogenic NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansions can present with typical parkinsonism, requiring only low dosages of levodopa, without displaying other clinical or imaging features of NIID even after several years of follow-up. None of the patients with PD had GGA interruptions within their GGC expansions, and the frequency of AGC interruptions was much higher than that of patients with NIID. The functional significance of a higher moderate repeat expansion in patients with PD compared with healthy controls needs to be further investigated.
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Project description:BackgroundThe objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of the GGC-repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC in whites presenting with movement disorders.MethodsWe searched for the GGC-repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC using repeat-primed polymerase chain reaction in 203 patients with essential tremor, 825 patients with PD, 194 patients with spinocerebellar ataxia, 207 patients with "possible" or "probable" MSA, and 336 patients with pathologically confirmed MSA. We also screened 30,008 patients enrolled in the 100,000 Genomes Project for the same mutation using ExpansionHunter, followed by repeat-primed polymerase chain reaction. All possible expansions were confirmed by Southern blotting and/or long-read sequencing.ResultsWe identified 1 patient who carried the NOTCH2NLC mutation in the essential tremor cohort, and 1 patient presenting with recurrent encephalopathy and postural tremor/parkinsonism in the 100,000 Genomes Project.ConclusionsGGC-repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC is rare in whites presenting with movement disorders. In addition, existing whole-genome sequencing data are useful in case ascertainment. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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Project description: Not available
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2023-01-04 | GSE182878 | GEO
Project description:PurposeTo report the ocular characteristics of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID)-related retinopathy with expansion of the CGG repeats in the NOTCH2NLC gene.MethodsSeven patients from six families (aged 66-81 years) diagnosed with adult-onset NIID were studied. Ophthalmologic examinations, including the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), Goldmann perimetry, fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and full-field electroretinography (ERGs), were performed. The expansion of the CGG repeats in the NOTCH2NLC gene was determined.ResultsAll patients had an expansion of the CGG repeats (length approximately from 330-520 bp) in the NOTCH2NLC gene. The most common symptoms of the five symptomatic cases were reduced BCVA and night blindness. The other two cases did not have any ocular symptoms. The decimal BCVA varied from 0.15 to 1.2. Goldmann perimetry was constricted in all four cases tested; physiological blind spot was enlarged in two of the cases. The FAF images showed an absence of autofluorescence (AF) around the optic disc in all cases and also showed mild hypo-AF or extinguished AF in the midperiphery. In all cases, the OCT images showed an absence of the ellipsoid zone of the photoreceptors in the peripapillary region, and hyperreflective dots were also present between the retinal ganglion cell layer and outer nuclear layer. The macular region was involved in the late stage of the retinopathy. The full-field ERGs showed rod-cone dysfunction.ConclusionsPatients with adult-onset NIID with CGG repeats expansions in the NOTCH2NLC gene had similar ophthalmologic features, including rod-cone dysfunction with progressive retinal degeneration in the peripapillary and midperipheral regions. The primary site is most likely the photoreceptors. Because the ocular symptoms are often overlooked due to dementia and occasionally precede the onset of dementia, detailed ophthalmological examinations are important for the early diagnosis of NIID-related retinopathy.
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