👤 Stephan Waldmüller

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) can both be due to mutations in the genes encoding β-myosin heavy chain (MYH7) or cardiac myosin-binding protein C (MYBPC3). The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and spectrum of mutations in both genes in German HCM and DCM patients and to establish novel genotype-to-phenotype correlations. Coding exons and intron flanks of the two genes MYH7 and MYBPC3 of 236 patients with HCM and 652 patients with DCM were sequenced by conventional and array-based means. Clinical records were established following standard protocols. Mutations were detected in 41 and 11% of the patients with HCM and DCM, respectively. Differences were observed in the frequency of splice site and frame-shift mutations in the gene MYBPC3, which occurred more frequently (P< 0.02, P< 0.001, respectively) in HCM than in DCM, suggesting that cardiac myosin-binding protein C haploinsufficiency predisposes to hypertrophy rather than to dilation. Additional novel genotype-to-phenotype correlations were found in HCM, among these a link between MYBPC3 mutations and a particularly large thickness of the interventricular septum (P= 0.04 vs. carriers of a mutation in MYH7). Interestingly, this correlation and a link between MYH7 mutations and a higher degree of mitral valve regurgitation held true for both HCM and DCM, indicating that the gene affected by a mutation may determine the magnitude of structural and functional alterations in both HCM and DCM. A large clinical-genetic study has unravelled novel genotype-to-phenotype correlations in HCM and DCM which warrant future investigation of both the underlying mechanisms and the prognostic use. Show less

Dissecting the complex genetic basis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) may be key to both better understanding and optimally managing this most prevalent genetic cardiovascular disease. An array-based resequencing (ABR) assay was developed to facilitate genetic testing in HCM. An Affymetrix resequencing array and a single long-range PCR protocol were developed to cover the 3 most commonly affected genes in HCM, MYH7 (myosin, heavy chain 7, cardiac muscle, beta), MYBPC3 (myosin binding protein C, cardiac), and TNNT2 [troponin T type 2 (cardiac)]. The assay detected the underlying point mutation in 23 of 24 reference samples and provided pointers toward identifying a G insertion and a 3-bp deletion. The comparability of array-based assay results to conventional capillary sequencing was > or =99.9%. Both techniques detected 1 heterozygous variant that was missed by the other method. The data provide evidence that ABR can substantially reduce the high workload previously associated with a genetic test for HCM. Therefore, the HCM array could facilitate large-scale studies aimed at broadening the understanding of the genetic and phenotypic diversity of HCM and related cardiomyopathies. Show less

Mutations causing familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have been described in at least 11 genes encoding cardiac sarcomeric proteins. In this study, three previously unknown deletions have been identified in the human cardiac genes coding for beta-myosin heavy chain (MYH7 on chromosome 14) and myosin-binding protein-C (MYBPC3 on chromosome 11). In family MM, a 3-bp deletion in MYH7 was detected to be associated with loss of glutamic acid in position 927 (DeltaE927) of the myosin rod. In two other families (HH and NP, related by a common founder) a 2-bp loss in codon 453 (exon 16) of MYBPC3 was identified as the presumable cause of a translation reading frame shift. Taken together 15 living mutation carriers were investigated. Six deceased family members (with five cases of premature sudden cardiac death (SCD) in families MM and NP) were either obligate or suspected mutation carriers. In addition to these mutations a 25-bp deletion in intron 32 of MYBPC3 was identified in family MM (five carriers) and in a fourth family (MiR, one HCM patient, three deletion carriers). In agreement with the loss of the regular splicing branch point in the altered intron 32, a splicing deficiency was observed in an exon trapping experiment using MYBPC3 exon 33 as a test substrate. Varying disease profiles assessed using standard clinical, ECG and echocardiographic procedures in conjunction with mutation analysis led to the following conclusions: (1) In family MM the DeltaE927 deletion in MYH7 was assumed to be associated with complete penetrance. Two cases of reported SCD might have been related to this mutation. (2) The two families, HH and NP, distantly related by a common founder, and both suffering from a 2-bp deletion in exon 16 of MYBPC3 differed in their average phenotypes. In family NP, four cases of cardiac death were documented, whereas no cardiac-related death was reported from family HH. These results support the notion that mutations in HCM genes may directly determine disease penetrance and severity; however, a contribution of additional, unidentified factors (genes) to the HCM phenotype can-at least in some cases-not be excluded. (3) The deletion in intron 32 of MYBPC3 was seen in two families, but in both its relation to disease was not unequivocal. In addition, this deletion was observed in 16 of 229 unrelated healthy individuals of the population of the South Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was not seen in 270 Caucasians from Russia and western Europe. Hence, it is considered to represent a regional genetic polymorphism restricted to southern India. The association of the deletion with altered splicing in transfected cells suggests that this deletion may create a "modifying gene", which is per se not or only rarely causing HCM, but which may enhance the phenotype of a mutation responsible for disease. Show less