title: Mutations in the mitochondrial complex I assembly factor NDUFAF1 cause fatal infantile hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is frequently fatal in infancy. Mitochondrial disease causing infantile HCM is characterised by extreme biochemical and genetic heterogeneity, but deficiency of respiratory chain complex I is observed relatively frequently. Identification of the precise genetic basis has prognostic implications for the likelihood of neurological involvement.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors' objective is to report two heterozygous missense mutations in the NDUFAF1 gene as a cause of fatal infantile HCM in a patient with isolated complex I deficiency.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors investigated a cohort of 30 paediatric patients with complex I deficiency using biochemical and genetic approaches. The patients were clinically heterogeneous; phenotypes included HCM, Leigh syndrome, other encephalomyopathies and multisystem disease. Complex I assembly was evaluated using Blue Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sequence analysis of NDUFAF1 revealed compound heterozygous missense mutations (c.631C>T;p.Arg211Cys and c.733G>A;p.Gly245Arg) in one patient with fatal infantile HCM. These changes were absent in 240 ethnically matched control alleles. No NDUFAF1 mutations were observed in the remaining patients. Functional studies demonstrated a severe reduction in NDUFAF1 protein in Western blots of patient fibroblasts and accumulation of abnormal complex I assembly intermediates on Blue Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors report a case of fatal infantile HCM caused by missense mutations in NDUFAF1 associated with complex I misassembly. Establishing a genetic diagnosis in mitochondrial cardiomyopathy is challenging and achieved in only a minority of cases because of complex genetics. A precise genetic diagnosis is important to provide accurate prognostic and genetic counselling advice regarding recurrence risks and to guide future reproductive options.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Molecular Genetics Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fassone
authors.forename: Jan-Willem
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Taanman
authors.forename: Iain P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Hargreaves
authors.forename: Neil J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Sebire
authors.forename: Maureen A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cleary
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burch
authors.forename: Shamima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahman
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007888:Leigh Disease / Q000235:genetics; D028361:Mitochondrial Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I; C506342:NDUFAF1 protein, human