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1From the Department of Ophthalmology and Jules Stein Eye Institute, and 2Departments of Neurology, 3Bioengineering, and 4Neuroscience Interdepartmental Programs, University of California, Los Angeles, California; the 5Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea; 6Programs in Genomics and Department of Neurology, Childrens Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and the 7Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. The authors examined four male and two female affected members of a pedigree previously reported to cosegregate DRRS and a heterozygous SALL4 mutation. Coronal T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of the orbits and heavily T2-weighted images in the plane of the cranial nerves were obtained in four subjects. MRI findings were correlated with motility examinations and published norms obtained using identical technique.
RESULTS. Five of the six subjects with DRRS had radial ray abnormalities including thumb, radial artery, radial bone, and pectoral muscle hypoplasia. Three had bilateral and three had unilateral ocular involvement. Seven eyes had limitation of both abduction and adduction, whereas two had limitations only of abduction. Most affected eyes had lid fissure narrowing and retraction in adduction. Intraorbital and intracranial abducens nerves (CN6) were small to absent, particularly ipsilateral to abduction deficiency. All subjects undergoing MRI had normal intracranial oculomotor nerves (CN3). Optic nerve (ON) cross-section findings were similar to normal. EOMs and pulleys were structurally normal in most subjects. In some affected orbits, a branch of CN3 closely approximated and presumably innervated the LR.
CONCLUSIONS. DRRS encompasses a Duane syndrome phenotype, with a variable and asymmetric endophenotype including marked CN6 hypoplasia and probable innervation or coinnervation of the LR by CN3. This endophenotype is more limited than reported in DURS2-linked Duane syndrome (On-line Mendelian Inheritance in Man, OMIM 604356) and CFEOM1 (OMIM 135700), which are clinically similar congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders that also feature CN3 hypoplasia and more widespread EOM abnormalities.
Although many DRS occurrences appear sporadic, the less common inherited forms can provide molecular genetic and phenotypic insights. Isolated DRS can segregate as a dominant trait in large pedigrees and has been linked to chromosome 2 (DURS2 locus, On-line Mendelian Inheritance in Man [OMIM] 604356).12 13 14 High-resolution MRI in affected members of DURS2-linked DRS pedigrees (DURS2) revealed small to undetectable CN6 and provided direct evidence of LR innervation by CN3, as well as optic nerve abnormalities.11 These MRI studies indicate that the endophenotype—the internal phenotype of the structure and function of EOMs—may be complex and variable, not reflective of seemingly similar external findings in subjects with DRS. The DURS2 gene has not yet been identified.
The present study was performed to characterize the endophenotype in a family with Duane-radial ray syndrome (DRRS; also known as Okihiro syndrome; OMIM 607323). DRRS is the dominant association of unilateral or bilateral DRS with unilateral or bilateral dysplasia of the radial bone, artery, and thumb and can result from heterozygous mutations in SALL4, a zinc finger transcription factor.15 16 The developmental expression profile and functional role of SALL4 in normal and abnormal ocular motor development have not yet been elucidated, and SALL4 mutations have not been identified in persons with isolated sporadic DRS.17
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MRI was performed with a 1.5 T scanner (General Electric Signa; Milwaukee, WI) in four subjects. Subject 1 is a child who was unable to undergo MRI because of metallic dental braces, and subject 4 had a claustrophobic reaction before MRI could be conducted. Orbital imaging was performed as described elsewhere in detail.18 19 20 21 22 Imaging posterior to the orbital apex in some subjects was performed using the standard head coil. When surface coils were used, images of 2-mm thickness in a matrix of 256 x 256 were obtained over a field of view of 6 to 8 cm for a resolution in plane of 234 to 312 µm. Imaging of subarachnoid cranial nerves was performed in 1-mm thick image planes using the heavily T2-weighted FIESTA sequence.23 24 In-plane resolution was 195 µm over a 10-cm field of view (matrix, 512 x 512) with 10 excitations.
Digital MRI images were quantified using the programs NIH Image 1.59 and ImageJ 1.33µ software (ver. 1.30; available by ftp at http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image; developed by Wayne Rasband, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). In coronal planes, each rectus EOM was described by the "area centroid" using methods previously described.25 Cross-sectional areas were determined using ImageJ, which, because of a difference in perimeter treatment, produces different area values than NIH Image. Centroid determinations did not differ between NIH Image and ImageJ. The globe center was determined.20 Coronal plane pulley locations were determined from the EOM centroids at published anteroposterior positions.20 Inferior oblique (IO) muscles were analyzed using outlined cross-sections in quasi-sagittal images.26 Optic nerve cross-sections were analyzed in the first image plane immediately posterior to the globe.27
We computed rectus EOM volumes by summing the cross-sections for each EOM in the image plane containing the junction of the globe and optic nerve and the next five contiguous image planes posterior to this plane and then multiplying by the image plane thickness of 2 mm. Although this approach fails to account for EOM volume deep to the image planes collected, the technique was identical with that used for published data in control subjects and subjects with CFEOM124 and DURS2,11 and it avoided the confounding problem of defining the borders of highly dysplastic deep portions of EOMs.
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The common clinical classification by Huber of DRS consists of three groups: type 1, with limitation of abduction only; type 2, with limitation of adduction only; and type 3, with limitation of both abduction and adduction.3 28 This classification is interpreted here with respect to duction along the horizontal meridian given that the limitation in several subjects varied markedly with vertical eye position. As noted in Table 1 , five right and two left eyes were classified as DRS type 3, whereas two left eyes exhibited DRS type 1. Subject 1 exhibited DRS type 3 in the right eye and type 1 in the left eye, with the left eye also exhibiting limited supraduction (Fig. 2) . Subjects 4 and 5 had bilateral type 3 DRS.
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because the eyes were in a more divergent position in down gaze than in upgaze. Subject 5 had exotropia that increased in upward gaze.
Orbital Imaging Findings in DRRS
Structural abnormalities of EOMS were not severe or common among subjects with DRRS. Only subject 5 had splitting of the deep portion of the right LR and hypoplasia of the deep portion of the left LR (Fig. 3) . EOMs were structurally normal in the remaining subjects who underwent MRI.
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For comparability to the published literature, SO size was assessed by maximal cross-section in quasi-coronal image planes. Considering both eyes of the 10 normal subjects previously reported,11 mean maximal SO cross-section was 22.0 ± 0.9 (SEM) mm2. After averaging both eyes of the four subjects with DRRS who underwent imaging, the mean maximal SO cross-section was not significantly different from normal at 24.5 ± 0.9 mm2.
Rectus Muscle Paths
EOMs pass through their connective tissue pulleys such that the anterior locations of these paths indicate the respective pulley locations in the coronal plane.22 Because subjects with DRRS were typically unable to achieve eccentric gaze positions, no inflections in rectus EOM paths were present to identify the anteroposterior coordinates of the rectus pulleys. Therefore, it was assumed the rectus pulley anteroposterior coordinates were the same as those known for unaffected subjects.22 This was considered reasonable because variations in anteroposterior coordinates would minimally influence horizontal and vertical pulley coordinates. The coordinates of rectus pulleys in DRRS did not differ significantly from normal (P > 0.005), except for 3- to 4-mm lateral displacement of the superior rectus (SR) attributed entirely to subjects 2 and 5, who were the only subjects to exhibit the displacement.
Imaging of Intraorbital Motor Nerves
It was possible to examine in the deep orbit the motor nerves to the EOMs in image planes of 1.5- to 2-mm thickness and a field of view of 6–8 cm. Normal intraorbital motor nerves to individual EOMs are represented by one or at most a few pixels in the coronal image planes used here; images of intraorbital motor nerves are insufficiently precise for quantitative analysis of motor nerve size. However, qualitative impressions were consistently obtained and are illustrated here. Assessments were confirmed by evaluation of multiple contiguous MRI planes to trace the paths of presumed nerves to their target EOMs.
The intraorbital CN6 was absent or below detection in the right orbit of subjects 2 and 6, each of whom exhibited right DRS type 3. The intraorbital CN6 was absent or below detection in the left orbit of subject 3, who exhibited left DRS type 1. Subject 5 had an identifiable CN6 in each orbit and exhibited DRS type 3. In the right orbit of subjects 5 and 6 and in the left orbit of subject 3, a branch of CN3 was in close contact with the inferior belly of the LR (Fig. 3) . The intimate contact of the inferior division of CN3 with the LR suggested that the CN3 branch entered the EOM, though the limited resolution of MRI precludes confirmation of actual innervation at the level of EOM fibers. The medial rectus and inferior rectus muscles were innervated by CN3 branches in all orbits imaged, though in subjects 2 and 3 these motor nerves appeared of subnormal size.
Imaging of Intracranial Motor Nerves
Heavily T2-weighted imaging of the skull base region was conducted in 1-mm thick slices at 195 µm resolution in the plane of the optic chiasm and major cranial nerves to the orbit. This technique has just sufficient resolution to consistently demonstrate normal subarachnoid CN6s, whereas it consistently demonstrates the larger CN3s of normal subjects.11 24
The right subarachnoid CN6 was not demonstrable in subjects 2 and 6 (Fig. 4) . In subject 3, the left subarachnoid CN6 appeared smaller than the right, whereas in subject 5 the right CN6 appeared smaller than the left and the left appeared dysplastic (Fig. 4) . The CN3 was present in all subjects with DRRS who underwent imaging. Averaged bilaterally, CN3 width was 1.91 ± 0.13 mm (mean ± SEM) in affected subjects, not significantly different from the width of 2.10 ± 0.07 mm for normal subjects.29
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| Discussion |
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MRI in the four DRRS family members revealed a spectrum of CN6 endophenotypes: undetectable both intracranially and intraorbitally on the affected side in subjects 2 and 6; detectable intracranially but not intraorbitally on the affected side in subject 3; and detected in intracranially and intraorbitally on both affected sides in subject 5. Although the subarachnoid CN6 was visualized unilaterally in subject 3 and bilaterally in subject 5, it appeared small or dysplastic in each. In addition, in two of three affected orbits without CN6 and in one of two affected orbits with CN6, CN3 appeared to innervate or coinnervate the LR.
These MRI findings in DRRS confirm limited autopsy5 6 and electromyographic3 4 30 reports of CN6 aplasia with LR misinnervation by CN3 in DRS. In addition, MRI evidence of absence or marked hypoplasia of the subarachnoid CN6 appears to occur in DRRS at approximately the same frequency as in DURS2.11 These findings are in accordance with previous MRI reports of occasional absence of the subarachnoid CN6 in sporadic DRS. Kim and Hwang have emphasized the frequent absence of CN6 ipsilateral to DRS type 110 31 and type 310 but the presence of CN3 ipsilateral to type 2.10
The ophthalmic phenotype and the CN6 endophenotype of DRRS resemble those previously reported for DURS2, except for more frequent A or
strabismus patterns in the latter. The endophenotype of DRRS, however, is otherwise distinct from both DURS2 and from CFEOM1, the latter a congenital cranial dysinnervation disorder resulting from heterozygous missense mutations in KIF21A.
Low Frequency of A Pattern Strabismus
We have noted frequent A pattern strabismus in DURS211 and CFEOM124 and have attributed this to LR misinnervation by a CN3 branch normally destined for the IR. In the present family with six DRRS subjects, only one had A pattern and one V pattern strabismus, and only the latter underwent MRI. Although it was impossible to demonstrate directly the innervation to every EOM in DRRS, the relative infrequency of pattern strabismus suggested less frequent motor nerve misrouting to EOMs than in CFEOM1 and DURS2.
Absence of CN3 Hypoplasia
Although the MRI endophenotypes of DURS2 and CFEOM1 feature CN3 hypoplasia, this was not the case for DRRS. Normal CN3 size in DRRS suggested that SALL4 was not involved in CN3 development or maintenance. It also suggested that anomalous targeting of CN3 axons to the LR did not necessarily result in CN3 hypoplasia.
Absence of Widespread Structural Abnormalities or Hypoplasia of Extraocular Muscles
The only EOM structural abnormalities detected in DRRS were subtle splitting and hypoplasia limited to the deepest portion of the LR muscles in one subject. Only the inferior oblique muscle differed from controls in size; it was slightly smaller in two subjects and slightly larger in one subject. This is in marked contrast to the endophenotypes of DURS211 and CFEOM1,24 in which we reported severe structural abnormalities and hypoplasia of EOMs. In DURS2, the LR often exhibits a striking longitudinal fissure and deep hypoplasia and disorganization,11 and the SR and SO can be hypoplastic. It has been hypothesized that structural abnormalities of the LR in DURS2 reflect intramuscular innervation abnormalities11 presumably absent in DRRS. In CFEOM1, the rectus and oblique EOMs exhibit variable to profound hypoplasia, with occasionally severe dysplasia and occasional accessory EOM slips.24 Thus, although CN6 hypoplasia and aberrant LR innervation by a CN3 branch appear to be features common to all three of these congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs), the endophenotypic abnormalities of DURS2 and CFEOM1 are more widespread than in DRRS.
Absence of Optic Nerve Involvement
Quantitative MRI is useful for ON analysis27 and has been applied to the CCDDs. In DURS2, ON cross-sections are reduced approximately 25% from normal.11 In CFEOM1, because of the KIF21A mutation, ON cross-sections are reduced 30% to 40% from normal.24 In contrast, ON size is normal in DRRS, suggesting that SALL4 is not involved in ON development or maintenance.
Absence of Widespread Pulley Abnormalities
Pulley disorders are associated with some forms of strabismus.18 32 Rectus EOM path abnormalities are associated with misplaced pulleys in craniosynostosis syndromes caused by mutations in FGFR33 in which orbital nerves and EOM volumes are normal. This contrasted with generally normal pulley positions in our subjects with DRRS and in subjects with in DURS211 and CFEOM1.24 Normal pulley positions, despite abnormal innervation, support the idea that pulley abnormalities may be primary in some persons with strabismus.21 34 35 SALL4 is apparently not involved in pulley development.
Vertical Saccade Initiation Failure
Subject 4 exhibited a deficit of visually evoked vertical saccades despite preservation of the vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex. This represented vertical saccade initiation failure, historically termed oculomotor apraxia, and is a central finding associated with metabolic disease and structural lesions of the cortex, brain stem, and cerebellum.36 Vertical saccade initiation failure was absent in the other subjects with DRRS studied here and, to our knowledge, has not been reported in association with DRS.
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication June 21, 2007; revised August 15, 2007; accepted October 8, 2007.
Disclosure: J.L. Demer, None; R.A. Clark, None; K.H. Lim, None; E.C. Engle, 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: Joseph L. Demer, Department of Ophthalmology, Jules Stein Eye Institute, 100 Stein Plaza, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7002; jld{at}ucla.edu.
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