The GNE gene encodes the rate-limiting, bifunctional enzyme of sialic acid biosynthesis, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE). Biallelic GNE mutations underlie GNE myopathy, an adult-onset progressive myopathy. GNE myopathy-associated GNE mutations are predominantly missense, resulting in reduced, but not absent, GNE enzyme activities. The exact pathomechanism of GNE myopathy remains unknown, but likely involves aberrant (muscle) sialylation. Here we summarize 154 reported and novel GNE variants associated with GNE myopathy, including 122 missense, 11 nonsense, 14 insertion/deletions and 7 intronic variants. All variants were deposited in the online GNE variation database (http://www.dmd.nl/nmdb2/home.php?select_db=GNE). We report the predicted effects on protein function of all variants as well as the predicted effects on epimerase and/or kinase enzymatic activities of selected variants. By analyzing exome sequence databases, we identified three frequently occurring, unreported GNE missense variants/polymorphisms, important for future sequence interpretations. Based on allele frequencies, we estimate the world-wide prevalence of GNE myopathy to be ~ 4–21/1,000,000. This previously unrecognized high prevalence confirms suspicions that many patients may escape diagnosis. Awareness among physicians for GNE myopathy is essential for the identification of new patients, which is required for better understanding of the disorder’s pathomechanism and for the success of ongoing treatment trials.

GNE myopathy is a rare, autosomal recessive, inborn error of sialic acid metabolism, caused by mutations in GNE, the gene encoding UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine-2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase. The disease manifests as an adult-onset myopathy characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness and atrophy. There is no medical therapy available for this debilitating disease. Hyposialylation of muscle glycoproteins likely contributes to the pathophysiology of this disease. N-acetyl-D-mannosamine (ManNAc), an uncharged monosaccharide and the first committed precursor in the sialic acid biosynthetic pathway, is a therapeutic candidate that prevents muscle weakness in the mouse model of GNE myopathy. We conducted a first-in-human, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single-ascending dose study to evaluate safety and pharmacokinetics of ManNAc in GNE myopathy subjects. Single doses of 3 and 6 g of oral ManNAc were safe and well tolerated; 10 g was associated with diarrhea likely due to unabsorbed ManNAc. Oral ManNAc was absorbed rapidly and exhibited a short half-life (~2.4 h). Following administration of a single dose of ManNAc, there was a significant and sustained increase in plasma free sialic acid (Neu5Ac) (Tmax of 8-11 h). Neu5Ac levels remained above baseline 48 h post-dose in subjects who received a dose of 6 or 10 g. Given that Neu5Ac is known to have a short half-life, the prolonged elevation of Neu5Ac after a single dose of ManNAc suggests that intracellular biosynthesis of sialic acid was restored in subjects with GNE myopathy, including those homozygous for mutations in the kinase domain. Simulated plasma concentration-time profiles support a dosing regimen of 6 g twice daily for future clinical trials.

GNE myopathy is an adult-onset progressive myopathy, resulting from mutations in GNE, the key enzyme of sialic acid synthesis. The pathomechanism of GNE myopathy likely involves aberrant sialylation, since administration of sialic acid itself, or its precursor, N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc), rescued hyposialylation of GNE myopathy mice. Recently, clinical trials for GNE myopathy patients were initiated. A robust, noninvasive biomarker is highly desirable for diagnosis of GNE myopathy and for evaluating response to therapy. Since muscle biopsies of patients with GNE myopathy demonstrated hyposialylation of predominantly O-linked glycans, we analyzed the O-linked glycome of patients’ plasma proteins using mass spectrometry. Most patients showed increased plasma levels of the core 1 O-linked glycan, Thomsen-Friedenreich (T)-antigen and/or decreased amounts of its sialylated form, ST-antigen. In addition, compared to unaffected individuals, all analyzed patients had a consistently increased ratio of T-antigen to ST-antigen. Importantly, the T/ST ratios were in the normal range in a GNE myopathy patient treated with intravenous immunoglobulins as a source of sialic acid, indicating response to therapy. Natural history and clinical trial data will reveal whether T/ST ratios can be correlated to muscle function. These findings not only highlight plasma T/ST ratios as a robust blood-based biomarker for GNE myopathy, but may also help explain the pathology and course of the disease.