Progressive Early Onset Leukodystrophy Related to Biallelic Variants in the KARS Gene: The First Case Described in Latin America

Abstract

The KARS gene encodes the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) which activates and joins the lysin with its corresponding transfer RNA (tRNA), through the ATP-dependent aminoacylation of the amino acid. The KARS gene mutations have been linked to diverse neurologic phenotypes such as: neurosensorial hearing loss, leukodistrophy, microcephaly, developmental delay or regression, peripheral neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, impairment of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, hyperlactatemia, among others. This article presents the case of a Colombian pediatric patient with two pathological missense variants in a compound heterozygous state in the KARS gene.