Proteoglycans are a major component of extracellular matrix and contribute to normal embryonic and postnatal development by ensuring tissue stability and signaling functions. We studied five patients with recessive joint dislocations and congenital heart defects, including bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and aortic root dilatation. We identified linkage to chromosome 11 and detected a mutation (c.830G>A, p.Arg277Gln) in B3GAT3, the gene coding for glucuronosyltransferase-I (GlcAT-I). The enzyme catalyzes an initial step in the synthesis of glycosaminoglycan side chains of proteoglycans. Patients' cells as well as recombinant mutant protein showed reduced glucuronyltransferase activity. Patient fibroblasts demonstrated decreased levels of dermatan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and heparan sulfate proteoglycans, indicating that the defect in linker synthesis affected all three lines of O-glycanated proteoglycans. Further studies demonstrated that GlcAT-I resides in the cis and cis-medial Golgi apparatus and is expressed in the affected tissues, i.e., heart, aorta, and bone. The study shows that reduced GlcAT-I activity impairs skeletal as well as heart development and results in variable combinations of heart malformations, including mitral valve prolapse, ventricular septal defect, and bicuspid aortic valve. The described family constitutes a syndrome characterized by heart defects and joint dislocations resulting from altered initiation of proteoglycan synthesis (Larsen-like syndrome, B3GAT3 type).

The lamin B receptor (LBR) is an inner nuclear membrane protein with a structural function interacting with chromatin and lamins, and an enzymatic function as a sterol reductase. Heterozygous LBR mutations cause nuclear hyposegmentation in neutrophils (Pelger anomaly), while homozygous mutations cause prenatal death with skeletal defects and abnormal sterol metabolism (Greenberg dysplasia). It has remained unclear whether the lethality in Greenberg dysplasia is due to cholesterol defects or altered nuclear morphology.To answer this question we characterized two LBR missense mutations and showed that they cause Greenberg dysplasia. Both mutations affect residues that are evolutionary conserved among sterol reductases. In contrast to wildtype LBR, both mutations failed to rescue C14 sterol reductase deficient yeast, indicating an enzymatic defect. We found no Pelger anomaly in the carrier parent excluding marked effects on nuclear structure. We studied Lbr in mouse embryos and demonstrate expression in skin and the developing skeletal system consistent with sites of histological changes in Greenberg dysplasia. Unexpectedly we found in disease-relevant cell types not only nuclear but also cytoplasmatic LBR localization. The cytoplasmatic LBR staining co-localized with ER-markers and is thus consistent with the sites of endogeneous sterol synthesis.We conclude that LBR missense mutations can abolish sterol reductase activity, causing lethal Greenberg dysplasia but not Pelger anomaly. The findings separate the metabolic from the structural function and indicate that the sterol reductase activity is essential for human intrauterine development. ResultsWe studied three fetuses that all fulfilled the clinical criteria of Greenberg dysplasia, namely intrauterine growth retardation, massive generalized edema (hydrops), extreme shortening of long bones (tetrabrachymelia) with a moth-eaten appearance of tubular bones, ectopic calcification centers and a narrow thorax (Fig. 1A, Suppl. Table 1). Detailed clinical examination was obtained from fetus A; fetus B has been described previously. 25Sterol analyses were performed in muscle tissue of fetus B and revealed the abnormal sterol metabolite 5α-cholest-8,14-dien-3β-ol, 25 that was previously shown to be associated with Greenberg dysplasia.18 Sterol analysis was not available for the other two fetuses.Sequence analysis revealed frameshift and missense mutations in the LBR gene. We sequenced LBR and identified mutations in all three families (Fig. 1B, sequence traces and segregation in Suppl. Fig. 1A). Fetus A showed a homozygous frameshift mutation c.1492delT that is predicted to change residues 468 to 474 and to create a premature stop in codon 475 (p.Y468TfsX475). Fetus B revealed two different mutations, c.32delTGGT and c.1748G>A. The first is a deletion of 4 base pairs causing a frame shift with subsequent premature stop in codon 24 (p.V11EfsX24). The second is a missense mutation replacing arginine by glutamine at residue 583 (R583Q). Both parents of fetus C were carrie...

We report on a 25-year-old woman with pronounced generalized lipodystrophy and a progeroid aspect since birth, who also had Marfan syndrome (MFS; fulfilling the Ghent criteria) with mild skeletal features, dilated aortic bulb, dural ectasia, bilateral subluxation of the lens, and severe myopia in addition to the severe generalized lipodystrophy. She lacked insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, hepatic steatosis, and diabetes. Mutation analysis in the gene encoding fibrillin 1 (FBN1) revealed a novel de novo heterozygous deletion, c.8155_8156del2 in exon 64. The severe generalized lipodystrophy in this patient with progeroid features has not previously been described in other patients with MFS and FBN1 mutations. We did not find a mutation in genes known to be associated with congenital lipodystrophy (APGAT2, BSCL2, CAV1, PTRF-CAVIN, PPARG, LMNB2) or with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria (ZMPSTE24, LMNA/C). Other progeria syndromes were considered unlikely because premature greying, hypogonadism, and scleroderma-like skin disease were not present. Our patient shows striking similarity to two patients who have been published in this journal by O'Neill et al. [O'Neill et al. (2007); Am J Med Genet Part A 143A:1421-1430] with the diagnosis of neonatal progeroid syndrome (NPS). This condition also known as Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by accelerated aging and lipodystrophy from birth, poor postnatal weight gain, and characteristic facial features. The course is usually progressive with early lethality. However this entity seems heterogeneous. We suggest that our patient and the two similar cases described before represent a new entity, a subgroup of MFS with overlapping features to NPS syndrome.

BackgroundOsteopoikilosis is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder, characterised by the occurrence of the hyperostotic spots preferentially localized in the epiphyses and metaphyses of the long bones, and in the carpal and tarsal bones [1]. Heterozygous LEMD3 gene mutations were shown to be the primary cause of the disease [2]. Association of the primarily asymptomatic osteopokilosis with connective tissue nevi of the skin is categorized as Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome (BOS) [3]. Additionally, osteopoikilosis can coincide with melorheostosis (MRO), a more severe bone disease characterised by the ectopic bone formation on the periosteal and endosteal surface of the long bones [4-6]. However, not all MRO affected individuals carry germ-line LEMD3 mutations [7]. Thus, the genetic cause of MRO remains unknown. Here we describe a familial case of osteopoikilosis in which a novel heterozygous LEMD3 mutation coincides with a novel mutation in EXT1, a gene involved in aetiology of multiple exostosis syndrome. The patients affected with both LEMD3 and EXT1 gene mutations displayed typical features of the osteopoikilosis. There were no additional skeletal manifestations detected however, various non-skeletal pathologies coincided in this group.MethodsWe investigated LEMD3 and EXT1 in the three-generation family from Poland, with 5 patients affected with osteopoikilosis and one child affected with multiple exostoses.ResultsWe found a novel c.2203C > T (p.R735X) mutation in exon 9 of LEMD3, resulting in a premature stop codon at amino acid position 735. The mutation co-segregates with the osteopoikilosis phenotype and was not found in 200 ethnically matched controls. Another new substitution G > A was found in EXT1 gene at position 1732 (cDNA) in Exon 9 (p.A578T) in three out of five osteopoikilosis affected family members. Evolutionary conservation of the affected amino acid suggested possible functional relevance, however no additional skeletal manifestations were observed other then those specific for osteopoikilosis. Finally in one member of the family we found a splice site mutation in the EXT1 gene intron 5 (IVS5-2 A > G) resulting in the deletion of 9 bp of cDNA encoding three evolutionarily conserved amino acid residues. This child patient suffered from a severe form of exostoses, thus a causal relationship can be postulated.ConclusionsWe identified a new mutation in LEMD3 gene, accounting for the familial case of osteopoikilosis. In the same family we identified two novel EXT1 gene mutations. One of them A598T co-incided with the LEMD3 mutation. Co-incidence of LEMD3 and EXT1 gene mutations was not associated with a more severe skeletal phenotype in those patients.