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1From the Program in Genomics and the 2Department of Neurology, Childrens Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; the 3Department of Neurology and 4Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; the 5Departments of Ophthalmology and 6Neurology, Jules Stein Eye Institute, and the 7Bioengineering and 8Neuroscience Interdepartmental Programs, University of California, Los Angeles, California.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Members of two large dominant DRS pedigrees were enrolled in an ongoing study of the genetic basis of the congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders, and linkage analysis was conducted to determine whether their DRS phenotype maps to the DURS2 locus.
RESULTS. By haplotype analysis, the DRS phenotype in each family cosegregates with markers spanning the DURS2 region. Linkage analysis reveals maximum lod scores >2, establishing that the DRS phenotype in these two pedigrees maps to the DURS2 locus.
CONCLUSIONS. These two pedigrees double the published pedigrees known to map to the DURS2 locus and can thus contribute toward the search for the DURS2 gene. The affected members represent a genetically defined population of DURS2-linked DRS individuals, and hence studies of their clinical and structural features can enhance understanding of the DURS2 phenotype, as described in the companion paper.
Early studies of DRS reported fibrosis, abnormal insertions, and adhesions of the lateral (LR) or medial (MR) rectus muscles and suggested a primary myopathic etiology.1 5 6 Subsequently, two postmortem examinations in cases of DRS revealed absence of the abducens nucleus and cranial nerve VI (CN6) on the affected side(s), and partial innervation of the LR muscle(s) by branches of the oculomotor nerve (CN3).7 8 Electromyographic (EMG) studies have revealed that simultaneous activation of the MR and LR muscles is associated with cocontraction and globe retraction.9 10 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has verified the absence of CN6 at the pons11 and has documented cocontraction of the MR and LR on attempted adduction12 13 14 in sporadic DRS. These studies suggest that at least a subset of DRS results from aberrant development of CN6, with varying amounts of primary or secondary anomalous innervation of the LR by CN3.
Although DRS is most commonly a sporadic trait, it can be inherited. Identification of the genes mutated in inherited DRS can provide insight both into the cause of the disorder and the molecular pathways essential to ocular motoneuron and axon development. Using this approach, we have identified several gene defects that result in syndromic DRS. Mutations in the transcription factor SALL4 cause DRS in association with variably penetrant radial ray deformities and deafness.15 16 Homozygous loss-of-function mutations in the homeodomain transcription factor HOXA1 result in DRS in association with variable penetrance of deafness, hypoventilation, internal carotid and cardiac outflow vascular defects, and cognitive deficits.17 Recessive mutations in the axon guidance molecule ROBO3 result in absent horizontal eye movements and progressive scoliosis.18 19
In most individuals, DRS occurs in isolation without additional congenital defects, and among individuals with isolated DRS, a positive family history is reported in only 2% to 20% of cases.3 6 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Individuals with isolated DRS have not been found to harbor mutations in HOXA128 or SALL4,29 supporting the hypothesis that isolated familial and sporadic DRS is genetically different from syndromic DRS.
It is rare to find large multigenerational families with isolated DRS that are amenable to linkage analysis and, hence, to the identification of isolated DRS genes. In 1999, however, Appukuttan et al.30 successfully ascertained a four-generation family from Mexico with fully penetrant isolated DRS and mapped their phenotype to a 17.8-cM region of 2q31 flanked by D2S2330 and D2S364, now referred to as the DURS2 locus (OMIM 604356; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Omim/ provided in the public domain by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bethesda, MD). A maximum lod score of 11.73 was obtained at
= 0. A detailed clinical description of the pedigree31 revealed that, of the 25 affected participants, 24 (96%) had bilateral DRS, with DRS-I noted in 20 (80%) and DRS-III in 5 (20%). Nineteen (76%) had strabismus in primary gaze (10 esotropic, 1 exotropic, 8 manifest hypertropia, and 4 dissociated vertical deviation). In addition, 48% had amblyopia, 12% had trochlear nerve palsy, and a majority had vertical as well as horizontal movement abnormalities. Two affected individuals (8%) did not have retraction, as was true of 5% in Duanes original study.1
In 2000, Evans et al.32 analyzed a four-generation British pedigree with fully penetrant isolated DRS and confirmed linkage to the DURS2 locus with a maximum lod score of 3.3 at
= 0. A recombination event in one affected individual reduced the DURS2 critical region to 8.8 cM flanked by D2S326 and D2S364. All nine affected members of this family had bilateral disease. Five had DRS-1, 2 had DRS-III, and 2 had DRS-I on the right and DRS-III on the left. The HOXD gene cluster falls within the DURS2 region but no mutations of HOXD1, HOXD3, and HOXD4 were identified in affected members of either family.
We have now ascertained two large, previously unreported pedigrees that cosegregate Duanes syndrome as an autosomal dominant trait. In this report, we describe their genetic mapping to the DURS2 locus. In the companion paper, we describe their clinical examinations and brain stem and orbital MRI.33
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Linkage Analysis
High-molecular-weight genomic DNA was extracted from each blood sample using the Puregene kit (Gentra. Minneapolis, MN). Linkage studies were conducted using six fluorescently labeled microsatellite markers spanning the DURS2 locus (D2S2330, D2S335, D2S326, D2S2314, D2S364, and D2S117), five spanning the SALL4 locus (D20S119, D20S178, D20S196, D20S100, and D20S171), and five spanning the HOXA1 locus (D7S493, D7S1821, MT26723, MT27012, and D7S516). Fluorescently labeled primers were purchased from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA), and amplicons were generated by 30 cycles of PCR amplification containing 10 to 30 ng of genomic DNA in 5-µL reaction volumes of Taq PCR master mix (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) containing 2 picomoles of each fluorescent primer pair, 1 nanomole each of dATP, dTTP, dGTP, and dCTP, and 0.15 U Taq polymerase. The products were analyzed in a DNA analyzer (model 3730; Applied Biosystems [ABI], Foster City, CA).
For linkage analysis, an individual was scored as affected based on clinical examination and/or clinical examination records. Lod scores were calculated with the MLINK (v5.1 with 2-point autosomal data) part of the LINKAGE package,34 assuming autosomal dominant inheritance with 95% penetrance and a disease incidence of 1 in 1000,000 births. Because of the absence of specific allele frequencies for the two ethnic groups represented in the study, we assumed 10 marker alleles of equal frequency.
SALL4 Mutation Analysis
The four coding exons and flanking introns of SALL4 were amplified, and the PCR products were directly sequenced as previously reported.15
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Fourteen members of family JH were studied, including all six affected by DRS. One affected member had bilateral DRS-III (IV:3), whereas three had right-side DRS-III and left-side DRS-I (II:1, III:3, and III:6), and one had right DRS-I and left DRS-III (V:1). Individual III:1 had unilateral left DRS-I. In addition, III:6 had Klippel-Feil syndrome.
Four affected (V:3, V:6, V:12, and V:14) and three unaffected (V:5, VI:4, and VI:6) participants from pedigree FY, and four affected (III:3, III:6, IV:3, and V:1) participants from pedigree JH also participated in our CCDD MRI study. These individuals underwent complete ophthalmic examination by one of the authors (JLD), and most also underwent high-resolution MRI of the orbits and cranial nerves at the brain stem, as detailed in the companion paper.33
Linkage and Haplotype Analysis
Analysis of the six genetic markers across the 8.8 cM DURS2 critical region, including the flanking markers D2S326 and D2S364 and one internal marker D2S2314, revealed cosegregation of the DRS phenotype in both pedigrees to the DURS2 locus. Maximum lod scores of 2.1 and 2.3 were obtained at D2S2314 by pedigrees FY and JH, respectively (Table 1) . These are the maximum lod scores obtainable, given the pedigree structure and family participants, and lod scores of >2 are considered significant for confirmation of a previously established disease locus.35 Pedigree JH demonstrated complete cosegregation of the affected haplotype with the DRS phenotype, consistent with full penetrance of the DURS2 mutation. Consistent with the apparent incomplete penetrance of the DURS2 mutation in FY II:3, however, FY VI:4 carries the entire disease-associated haplotype and FY V:5 carries a portion. Both FY VI:4 and V:5 had normal ophthalmic examinations (refer to companion paper33 ).
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Similar to the previously reported DURS2-linked DRS pedigrees, affected members of these two families have DRS-I or DRS-III, and most but not all family members are bilaterally affected. No affected members of DURS2-linked DRS pedigrees,31 32 SALL4-linked DRS pedigrees,15 or HOXA1-linked pedigrees17 have had a diagnosis of DRS-II, suggesting that DRS-II is a genetically distinct disorder.
The current 8.8 cM DURS2 region corresponds to 9.9 Mb and contains approximately 45 candidate genes. The only recombination event within this critical region in pedigrees FY and JH occurred in participant FY V:5, whose clinical examination results were normal. Because DRS appeared to be partially penetrant in this pedigree and it was not known whether V:5 harbored the mutation, this recombination event cannot be used to reduce the DURS2 critical region.
Pedigrees FY and JH were of different ethnicities and did not share disease-associated alleles at the markers examined, suggesting their DURS2 mutations arose independently. However, the initial DURS2 pedigree reported by Appukuttan et al.30 is from Oaxaca, Mexico, approximately 600 miles south of Aguascalientes. It is possible that FY shares a common founder mutation with this original pedigree and, if so, defining the genetic distance over which they share a disease-associated haplotype could reduce the DURS2 region. Thus, pedigrees FY and JH should assist in the identification of the DURS2 gene, given that the pedigrees are likely to provide two new DURS2 founder mutations or, alternatively, to provide one new founder mutation and the potential to reduce the critical region through a second shared founder mutation.
Establishing that the DRS phenotype in pedigrees FY and JH map to the DURS2 locus has provided an opportunity to define further the DURS2-linked DRS phenotype. By defining these pedigrees genetically, we can now compare clinical and MRI findings within and among DURS2-linked DRS families, leading to a more precise description of the DURS2 clinical and endophenotype. Results of such a study should aide in clinical diagnosis, permit the comparison of the DURS2 phenotype to that found in syndromic and sporadic DRS, and provide guidance for future examinations of the role of the DURS2 gene in ocular motor development. Toward these goals, the clinical and MRI studies of members of pedigrees FY and JH are presented in a companion paper,33 and provide evidence that DURS2-linked DRS is a diffuse congenital cranial dysinnervation disorder not limited to the abducens nucleus and cranial nerve 6.
| Acknowledgements |
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Submitted for publication June 9, 2006; revised July 21, 2006; accepted November 13, 2006.
Disclosure: E.C. Engle, None; C. Andrews, None; K. Law, None; J.L. Demer, None
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Elizabeth C. Engle, Program in Genomics, Enders 560.2, Childrens Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115; elizabeth.engle{at}childrens.harvard.edu.
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