Novel Myoclonin1/EFHC1 mutations in Mexican patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of mutations in the Myoclonin1/EFHC1 gene in Mexican patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME).


METHODS
We studied forty-one patients at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Mexico City and 100 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from the peripheral venous blood of all participants. The exons of EFHC1 were then amplified and sequenced.


RESULTS
We found three new putative mutations, all of which were heterozygous missense mutations located in exon 3. The first identified mutation, 352C>T, produces a R118C change in the protein and cosegregated in the patient's affected father and brother. The second identified mutation, 544C>T, produces a R182L change in the protein and was found in the patient's asymptomatic father. The third identified mutation, 458>A, produces a R153Q change in the protein and was also found in the patient's father. These mutations were not found in controls.


CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of Myoclonin1/EFHC1 mutations in our sample is 7.3%. Thus, we conclude that mutations in the Myoclonin1/EFHC1 gene are an important cause of JME in Mexican patients.
Neurogenetics and Molecular Biology Department, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Mexico, Insurgentes Sur 3877, Col. La Fama, Tlalpan, México D.F. 14269, Mexico. aureliojara@yahoo.com.mx
Aurelio
A
Jara-Prado
Iris E
IE
Martínez-Juárez
Adriana
A
Ochoa
Víctor M
VM
González
María Del Carmen
Mdel C
Fernández-González-Aragón
Minerva
M
López-Ruiz
Marco T
MT
Medina
Julia N
JN
Bailey
Antonio V
AV
Delgado-Escueta
María Elisa
ME
Alonso
D000293:Adolescent; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D020190:Myoclonic Epilepsy, Juvenile / Q000235:genetics*; D010375:Pedigree; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D055815:Young Adult
D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C489648:EFHC1 protein, human