MFSD2A-associated primary microcephaly - expanding the clinical and mutational spectrum of this ultra-rare disease

Item Type:	Article
Title:	MFSD2A-associated primary microcephaly - expanding the clinical and mutational spectrum of this ultra-rare disease
Creators Name:	Khuller, K. and Yigit, G. and Martínez Grijalva, C. and Altmüller, J. and Thiele, H. and Nürnberg, P. and Elcioglu, N.H. and Yeter, B. and Hehr, U. and Stein, A. and Della Marina, A. and Köninger, A. and Depienne, C. and Kaiser, F.J. and Wollnik, B. and Kuechler, A.
Abstract:	MFSD2A, a member of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS), is a transmembrane transporter responsible for the uptake of specific essential fatty acids through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to the brain. The transporter is crucial for early embryonic brain development and a major factor in the formation and maintenance of the BBB. Mfsd2a-knockout mice show a leakage of the BBB in early embryonic stages and develop a phenotype characterized by microcephaly, cognitive impairment, and anxiety. So far, homozygous or compound heterozygous MFSD2A mutations in humans have only been reported in 13 different families with a total of 28 affected individuals. The phenotypical spectrum of patients with MFSD2A variants is rather broad but all patients present with microcephaly and severe intellectual disability, absent or limited speech, and walking difficulties. Severely affected patients develop seizures and show brain malformations and have, above all, a profound developmental delay hardly reaching any developmental motor milestones. Here, we report on two unrelated individuals with novel homozygous variants in the MFSD2A gene, presenting with severe primary microcephaly, brain malformations, profound developmental delay, and epilepsy, including hypsarrhythmia. Our findings extend the mutational spectrum of the bi-allelic MFSD2A variants causing autosomal recessive primary microcephaly type 15 and broaden the phenotypic spectrum associated with these pathogenic variants emphasizing the role of MFSD2A in early brain development.
Keywords:	Microcephaly, Development Delay, MFSD2A, Blood-Brain Barrier
Source:	European Journal of Medical Genetics
ISSN:	1769-7212
Publisher:	Elsevier
Volume:	64
Number:	10
Page Range:	104310
Date:	October 2021
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmg.2021.104310
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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