Saito Kayoko
   Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital), School of Medicine
   Position   Professor (Fixed Term)
Article types Original article
Language English
Peer review Non peer reviewed
Title Trinucleotide insertion in the SMN2 promoter may not be related to the clinical phenotype of SMA.
Journal Formal name:Brain & development
Abbreviation:Brain Dev
ISSN code:18727131/03877604
Domestic / ForeginForegin
Volume, Issue, Page 37(7),pp.669-76
Author and coauthor Harahap Nur Imma Fatimah, Takeuchi Atsuko, Yusoff Surini, Tominaga Koji, Okinaga Takeshi, Kitai Yukihiro, Takarada Toru, Kubo Yuji, Saito Kayoko, Sa'adah Nihayatus, Nurputra Dian Kesumapramudya, Nishimura Noriyuki, Saito Toshio, Nishio Hisahide
Publication date 2015/08
Summary BACKGROUND:More than 90% of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients show homozygous deletion of SMN1 (survival motor neuron 1). They retain SMN2, a highly homologous gene to SMN1, which may partially compensate for deletion of SMN1. Although the promoter sequences of these two genes are almost identical, a GCC insertion polymorphism has been identified at c.-320_-321 in the SMN1 promoter. We have also found this insertion polymorphism in an SMN2 promoter in an SMA patient (Patient A) who has SMA type 2/3.PURPOSE:The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of the GCC insertion polymorphism in SMA patients, and to evaluate its effect on SMN transcription efficiency.PATIENTS AND METHODS:Fifty-one SMA patients, including Patient A, were involved in this study. SMN2 transcript levels in white blood cells were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Screening of the GCC insertion polymorphism was performed using denaturing high-pressure liquid chromatography. The transcription efficiency of the promoter with the insertion mutation was evaluated using a reporter-gene assay.RESULTS:All SMA patients in this study were homozygous for SMN1 deletion. Patient A retained two copies of SMN2, and showed only a small amount of SMN2 transcript in white blood cells. We detected a GCC insertion polymorphism at c.-320_-321 only in Patient A, and not in 50 other SMA patients. The polymorphism had a slight but significant negative effect on transcription efficiency.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:Patient A was judged to be an exceptional case of SMA, because the GCC insertion polymorphism rarely exists in SMN1-deleted SMA patients. The GCC insertion polymorphism did not enhance the transcriptional efficiency of SMN2. Thus, this GCC insertion polymorphism in the SMN2 promoter may not be associated with the milder phenotype of the patient. Patient A suggests that there are other unknown factors modifying the clinical phenotype of SMA.
DOI 10.1016/j.braindev.2014.10.006
PMID 25459970