Thr(118)Met amino acid substitution in the peripheral myelin protein 22 does not influence the clinical phenotype of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A due to the 17p11.2-p12 duplication

Braz J Med Biol Res. 2003 Oct;36(10):1403-7. doi: 10.1590/s0100-879x2003001000018. Epub 2003 Sep 16.

Abstract

The Thr(118)Met substitution in the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) gene has been detected in a number of families with demyelinating Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT1) neuropathy or with the hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy, but in none of them has it consistently segregated with the peripheral neuropathy. We describe here a CMT1 family (a 63-year-old man, his brother and his niece) in which two mutations on different chromosomes were found in the PMP22 gene, the 17p duplication, detected by fluorescent semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of microsatellite markers localized within the duplicated region on chromosome 17p11.2-p12, and the Thr(118)Met substitution, detected by direct sequencing the four coding exons of the PMP22 gene. A genotype/phenotype correlation study showed that the neuropathy segregates with the duplication and that the amino acid substitution does not seem to modify the clinical characteristics or the severity of the peripheral neuropathy. We did not find any evidence to characterize this substitution as a polymorphism in the population studied and we propose that the high frequency reported for this point mutation in the literature suggests that the Thr(118)Met substitution may be a hotspot for mutations in the PMP22 gene.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Substitution / genetics*
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease / genetics*
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 / genetics*
  • Female
  • Gene Duplication
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myelin Proteins / genetics*
  • Pedigree
  • Phenotype
  • Point Mutation
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction

Substances

  • Myelin Proteins
  • PMP22 protein, human