Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center and Chugoku Cancer Center, Hiroshima, Japan.
Am J Hum Genet. 2023 Jul 6;110(7):1086-1097. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.05.014. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons. Although repeat expansion in C9orf72 is its most common cause, the pathogenesis of ALS isn't fully clear. In this study, we show that repeat expansion in LRP12, a causative variant of oculopharyngodistal myopathy type 1 (OPDM1), is a cause of ALS. We identify CGG repeat expansion in LRP12 in five families and two simplex individuals. These ALS individuals (LRP12-ALS) have 61-100 repeats, which contrasts with most OPDM individuals with repeat expansion in LRP12 (LRP12-OPDM), who have 100-200 repeats. Phosphorylated TDP-43 is present in the cytoplasm of iPS cell-derived motor neurons (iPSMNs) in LRP12-ALS, a finding that reproduces the pathological hallmark of ALS. RNA foci are more prominent in muscle and iPSMNs in LRP12-ALS than in LRP12-OPDM. Muscleblind-like 1 aggregates are observed only in OPDM muscle. In conclusion, CGG repeat expansions in LRP12 cause ALS and OPDM, depending on the length of the repeat. Our findings provide insight into the repeat length-dependent switching of phenotypes.
肌萎缩侧索硬化症(ALS)是一种以运动神经元变性为特征的神经退行性疾病。虽然 C9orf72 重复扩展是其最常见的原因,但 ALS 的发病机制尚不完全清楚。在这项研究中,我们表明 LRP12 中的重复扩展是眼咽远端肌病 1 型(OPDM1)的一种致病变体,是 ALS 的一个原因。我们在五个家族和两个单纯个体中发现了 LRP12 中的 CGG 重复扩展。这些 ALS 个体(LRP12-ALS)具有 61-100 个重复,与大多数具有 LRP12 重复扩展的 OPDM 个体(LRP12-OPDM)形成对比,后者具有 100-200 个重复。LRP12-ALS 的 iPS 细胞衍生运动神经元(iPSMNs)的细胞质中存在磷酸化 TDP-43,这重现了 ALS 的病理特征。在 LRP12-ALS 中,肌肉和 iPSMNs 中的 RNA 焦点比在 LRP12-OPDM 中更为突出。仅在 OPDM 肌肉中观察到肌肉盲样蛋白 1 聚集体。总之,LRP12 中的 CGG 重复扩展导致 ALS 和 OPDM,这取决于重复的长度。我们的发现为表型的重复长度依赖性转换提供了深入了解。