Silent exonic mutation in the acid-alpha-glycosidase gene that causes glycogen storage disease type II by affecting mRNA splicing

J Hum Genet. 2009 Aug;54(8):493-6. doi: 10.1038/jhg.2009.66. Epub 2009 Jul 17.

Abstract

Glycogen-storage disease type II (GSDII) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). The residual GAA activity is largely related to the severity of the clinical course. Most patients with infantile-onset GSDII do not show any enzyme activity, whereas patients with the late-onset forms of GSDII show various degrees of GAA activity. We performed a molecular genetic study on a Japanese boy with childhood-onset GSDII. The patient was a compound heterozygote for a newly discovered splice-site c.546G>T mutation and a recurrent missense p.R600C mutation, which usually causes the fatal infantile form in a homozygous state. The c.546G>T mutation, which did not alter the amino-acid sequence, was positioned at the last base of exon 2. cDNA-sequencing analysis revealed that c.546G>T was a leaky splice mutation, leading to the production of a normally spliced transcript, which was responsible for the low-level (approximately 10%) expression of the active enzyme in the patient's fibroblasts.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Age of Onset
  • Child
  • DNA Primers / chemistry
  • DNA Primers / genetics
  • Exons / genetics*
  • Fibroblasts / enzymology
  • Glycogen Storage Disease Type II / enzymology
  • Glycogen Storage Disease Type II / genetics*
  • Glycogen Storage Disease Type II / pathology
  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Mutation, Missense / genetics*
  • RNA Splicing / genetics*
  • alpha-Glucosidases / genetics*

Substances

  • DNA Primers
  • GAA protein, human
  • alpha-Glucosidases