title: A novel RSK2 (RPS6KA3) gene mutation associated with abnormal brain MRI findings in a family with Coffin-Lowry syndrome.
abstract: Coffin-Lowry syndrome (CLS) is an X-linked mental retardation syndrome caused by defects in the RSK2 gene. We have identified a CLS family with four patients in two generations. The patients in this family, a mother and her three children (a male and two females), all have severe mental retardation with the typical CLS phenotype. In addition, brain MRI studies on the three siblings revealed abnormalities in deep subcortical white matter, thinning of the corpus callosum, hypoplastic cerebellar vermis, and asymmetry of the lateral ventricles. The degree of severity of the MRI findings correlated with the severity of mental retardation in the patients. Extensive mutation screening was performed on the entire RSK2 gene in this family. Twenty-two exons including the intron/exon junctions were amplified by PCR and subsequently sequenced on both strands. A novel mutation, a two-nucleotide insertion (298 ins TG), was identified. The insertion creates a stop codon at codon 100, resulting in a 99 amino acid truncated RSK2 protein. All patients tested have the same mutation, and no other mutation could be found in the RSK2 gene from the proband. The mutation was confirmed by PCR/RFLP. X-chromosome inactivation assay on the female patients revealed significant skewing toward inactivation of the normal RSK2 allele. Thus, this novel mutation is likely to be responsible for the unusual clinical presentation in this family, which includes full phenotypic expression in females and unique brain MRI abnormalities. The pathological function of the mutation and genotype/phenotype correlation between the mutation and this unusual clinical presentation await further clarification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688, USA.
authors.forename: Yueying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jose E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Glen L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Xi-Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Cathy M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Tuck-Muller
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maertens
authors.forename: Wladimir
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wertelecki
authors.forename: Tian-Jian
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D038921:Coffin-Lowry Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000235:genetics; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009154:Mutation; D009679:Nuclear Family; D011859:Radiography; D038744:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 90-kDa / Q000235:genetics*; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D035781:Siblings; D013577:Syndrome; D049951:X Chromosome Inactivation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D038744:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 90-kDa; C069330:ribosomal protein S6 kinase, 90kDa, polypeptide 3