Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026838 (spasticity)
 6,471 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Miles-Carpenter syndrome (MCS) was described in 1991 as an XLID syndrome with fingertip arches and contractures and mapped to proximal Xq. Patients had microcephaly, short stature, mild spasticity, thoracic scoliosis, hyperextendable MCP joints, rocker-bottom feet, hyperextended elbows and knees. A mutation, p.L66H, in ZC4H2, was identified in a XLID re-sequencing project. Additional screening of linked families and next generation sequencing of XLID families identified three ZC4H2 mutations: p.R18K, p.R213W and p.V75in15aa. The families shared some relevant clinical features. In silico modeling of the mutant proteins indicated all alterations would destabilize the protein. Knockout mutations in zc4h2 were created in zebrafish and homozygous mutant larvae exhibited abnormal swimming, increased twitching, defective eye movement and pectoral fin contractures. Because several of the behavioral defects were consistent with hyperactivity, we examined the underlying neuronal defects and found that sensory neurons and motoneurons appeared normal. However, we observed a striking reduction in GABAergic interneurons. Analysis of cell-type-specific markers showed a specific loss of V2 interneurons in the brain and spinal cord, likely arising from mis-specification of neural progenitors. Injected human wt ZC4H2 rescued the mutant phenotype. Mutant zebrafish injected with human p.L66H or p.R213W mRNA failed to be rescued, while the p.R18K mRNA was able to rescue the interneuron defect. Our findings clearly support ZC4H2 as a novel XLID gene with a required function in interneuron development. Loss of function of ZC4H2 thus likely results in altered connectivity of many brain and spinal circuits.
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PMID:ZC4H2, an XLID gene, is required for the generation of a specific subset of CNS interneurons. 2605 27

ZC4H2 is involved in human brain development, and, if mutated, can be responsible for a rare X-linked disorder, originally presented in literature as Wieacker-Wolff syndrome and Miles-Carpenter syndrome. In males, severe intellectual disability is associated with variable symptoms of central and peripheral nervous system involvement, such as spasticity, hyperreflexia, muscle weakness, and arthrogryposis. Female carriers are usually described as asymptomatic or only mildly affected. Here, we report on a girl carrying a de novo deletion of ZC4H2 detected by array-CGH analysis. She showed a complex neurodevelopmental disorder resembling the clinical picture commonly observed in male patients. X-inactivation was found to be random. Additionally, she had an unusual appearance of fingers and hand creases, and electromyography showed a peculiar pattern of both neurogenic and myopathic anomalies. The present patient confirms that female carriers can also be severely affected. Systematic clinical investigations of both males and females are needed to define the variety in nature and severity of phenotypes related to ZC4H2 variants.
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PMID:ZC4H2 deletions can cause severe phenotype in female carriers. 2834 1