An AP4B1 frameshift mutation in siblings with intellectual disability and spastic tetraplegia further delineates the AP-4 deficiency syndrome

Eur J Hum Genet. 2015 Feb;23(2):256-9. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2014.73. Epub 2014 Apr 30.

Abstract

The recently proposed adaptor protein 4 (AP-4) deficiency syndrome comprises a group of congenital neurological disorders characterized by severe intellectual disability (ID), delayed or absent speech, hereditary spastic paraplegia, and growth retardation. AP-4 is a heterotetrameric protein complex with important functions in vesicle trafficking. Mutations in genes affecting different subunits of AP-4, including AP4B1, AP4E1, AP4S1, and AP4M1, have been reported in patients with the AP-4 deficiency phenotype. We describe two siblings from a non-consanguineous couple who presented with severe ID, absent speech, microcephaly, growth retardation, and progressive spastic tetraplegia. Whole-exome sequencing in the two patients identified the novel homozygous 2-bp deletion c.1160_1161delCA (p.(Thr387Argfs*30)) in AP4B1. Sanger sequencing confirmed the mutation in the siblings and revealed it in the heterozygous state in both parents. The AP4B1-associated phenotype has previously been assigned to spastic paraplegia-47. Identification of a novel AP4B1 alteration in two patients with clinical manifestations highly similar to other individuals with mutations affecting one of the four AP-4 subunits further supports the observation that loss of AP-4 assembly or functionality underlies the common clinical features in these patients and underscores the existence of the clinically recognizable AP-4 deficiency syndrome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Protein Complex 4 / genetics*
  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Female
  • Frameshift Mutation*
  • Humans
  • Intellectual Disability / diagnosis
  • Intellectual Disability / genetics*
  • Male
  • Quadriplegia / diagnosis
  • Quadriplegia / genetics*
  • Siblings
  • Syndrome

Substances

  • Adaptor Protein Complex 4