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Unuma K, Tomomasa D, Noma K, Yamamoto K, Matsuyama TA, Makino Y, Hijikata A, Wen S, Ogata T, Okamoto N, Okada S, Ohashi K, Uemura K, Kanegane H. Case Report: Molecular autopsy underlie COVID-19-associated sudden, unexplained child mortality. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1121059. [PMID: 37143668 PMCID: PMC10151512 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1121059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Herein, we report a child with COVID-19 and seemingly no underlying disease, who died suddenly. The autopsy revealed severe anemia and thrombocytopenia, splenomegaly, hypercytokinemia, and a rare ectopic congenital coronary origin. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the patient had acute lymphoblastic leukemia of the B-cell precursor phenotype (BCP-ALL). The complex cardiac and hematological abnormalities suggested the presence of an underlying disease; therefore, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES). WES revealed a leucine-zipper-like transcription regulator 1 (LZTR1) variant, indicating Noonan syndrome (NS). Therefore, we concluded that the patient had underlying NS along with coronary artery malformation and that COVID-19 infection may have triggered the sudden cardiac death due to increased cardiac load caused by high fever and dehydration. In addition, multiple organ failure due to hypercytokinemia probably contributed to the patient's death. This case would be of interest to pathologists and pediatricians because of the limited number of NS patients with LZTR1 variants; the complex combination of an LZTR1 variant, BCP-ALL, and COVID-19; and a rare pattern of the anomalous origin of the coronary artery. Thus, we highlight the significance of molecular autopsy and the application of WES with conventional diagnostic methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kana Unuma
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
- *Correspondence: Kana Unuma,
| | - Dan Tomomasa
- Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kosuke Noma
- Department of Pediatrics, Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kouhei Yamamoto
- Department of Comprehensive Pathology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taka-aki Matsuyama
- Department of Legal Medicine, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yohsuke Makino
- Department of Forensic Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsushi Hijikata
- Department of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shuheng Wen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Ogata
- Department of Pediatrics, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Department of Medical Genetics, Osaka Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Izumi, Osaka, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okada
- Department of Pediatrics, Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kenichi Ohashi
- Department of Comprehensive Pathology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Koichi Uemura
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Kanegane
- Department of Child Health and Development, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
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Tartaglia M, Aoki Y, Gelb BD. The molecular genetics of RASopathies: An update on novel disease genes and new disorders. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS. PART C, SEMINARS IN MEDICAL GENETICS 2022; 190:425-439. [PMID: 36394128 PMCID: PMC10100036 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.c.32012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Enhanced signaling through RAS and the mitogen-associated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade underlies the RASopathies, a family of clinically related disorders affecting development and growth. In RASopathies, increased RAS-MAPK signaling can result from the upregulated activity of various RAS GTPases, enhanced function of proteins positively controlling RAS function or favoring the efficient transmission of RAS signaling to downstream transducers, functional upregulation of RAS effectors belonging to the MAPK cascade, or inefficient signaling switch-off operated by feedback mechanisms acting at different levels. The massive effort in RASopathy gene discovery performed in the last 20 years has identified more than 20 genes implicated in these disorders. It has also facilitated the characterization of several molecular activating mechanisms that had remained unappreciated due to their minor impact in oncogenesis. Here, we provide an overview on the discoveries collected during the last 5 years that have delivered unexpected insights (e.g., Noonan syndrome as a recessive disease) and allowed to profile new RASopathies, novel disease genes and new molecular circuits contributing to the control of RAS-MAPK signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Tartaglia
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Yoko Aoki
- Department of Medical Genetics, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Bruce D Gelb
- Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.,Department of Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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Farncombe KM, Thain E, Barnett-Tapia C, Sadeghian H, Kim RH. LZTR1 molecular genetic overlap with clinical implications for Noonan syndrome and schwannomatosis. BMC Med Genomics 2022; 15:160. [PMID: 35840934 PMCID: PMC9288044 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-022-01304-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Noonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic disorder characterized by developmental delays, typical facial gestalt and cardiovascular defects. LZTR1 variants have been recently described in patients with NS and schwannomatosis, but the association, inheritance pattern and management strategy has not been fully elucidated. Here, we review the contribution of LZTR1 in NS and describe a patient with a novel, likely pathogenic variant in LZTR1. Case presentation A female patient was diagnosed with clinical NS at 8 months of age. She presented in adulthood when a brain and spine MRI identified plexiform neurofibromas; however, she did not meet the clinical criteria for Neurofibromatosis type 1. No pathogenic variants were identified through molecular genetic analysis of NF1, SPRED1 and a multigene NS panel. Whole exome sequencing at age 23 identified a novel de novo likely pathogenic heterozygous variant in the LZTR1 gene denoted as c.743G>A (p.Gly248Glu). Serial MRIs have shown stable imaging findings and the patient is being followed clinically by cardiology, neurology and medical genetics. Conclusions We identified a novel mutation in the LZTR1 gene, not previously reported in association with NS. This report provides additional evidence to support for the assessment of schwannomatosis in patients with LZTR1-NS and may have overlap with Neurofibromatosis type 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten M Farncombe
- Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Emily Thain
- Bhalwani Familial Cancer Clinic, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Carolina Barnett-Tapia
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Ellen and Martin Prossermann Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Hamid Sadeghian
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Ellen and Martin Prossermann Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Raymond H Kim
- Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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He D, Li Y, Yang W, Chen S, Sun H, Li P, Zhang M, Ban B. Molecular diagnosis for growth hormone deficiency in Chinese children and adolescents and evaluation of impact of rare genetic variants on treatment efficacy of growth hormone. Clin Chim Acta 2022; 524:1-10. [PMID: 34826401 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2021.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Growth hormone is an effective therapy for growth hormone deficiency (GHD) but with a rather variable individual sensitivity. It is unclear whether rare genetic variants may contribute to the differential GH responsiveness. METHODS The present study aims to investigate the molecular etiology of GHD in Chinese children and adolescents and evaluate the impact of rare variants on therapeutic efficacies of GH. RESULTS Twenty-one rare heterozygous variant were classified as promising uncertain significance (n = 14), pathogenic (n = 5) or likely pathogenic (n = 2) for 21 of the 93 GHD patients. After GHD patients harboring these rare variants were excluded, inter-individual variability in the response to GH therapy obviously reduced and the negative correlation between initiation age of treatment and height SDS change became stronger in the group without rare variants. Among rare variants, 7 (likely) pathogenic variants (7.5%, 7/93) involved a total of 6 genes not only associated with GH secretion (PROKR2, LZTR1), but also growth plate chondrocyte signaling (ACAN, FBN1, COL9A1) or genetic syndromes (PTPN11). CONCLUSIONS Rare genetic variants are an important factor contributing to differential GH responsiveness and genetic testing should be factored into accurate diagnosis and treatment decision making in the future. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ChiCTR1900026510.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongye He
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Medical Research Center, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China
| | - Yanying Li
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China
| | - Wanling Yang
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, PR China
| | - Shuxiong Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Medical Research Center, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China
| | - Hailing Sun
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China
| | - Mei Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China.
| | - Bo Ban
- Department of Endocrinology, Genetics and Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Medical Research Center, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, PR China; Chinese Research Center for Behavior Medicine in Growth and Development, Jining, PR China.
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