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Abstract
We report on an asymptomatic 10-year-old boy who had a short QT interval (corrected
QT interval, 260 ms). Short QT syndrome (SQTS) was detected in a school screening
program for heart disease and the patient was subsequently diagnosed as having N588K
mutation in the
KCNH2 gene. Quinidine prolonged the QT interval, but not the QU interval. During treadmill
exercise stress test, QT and QU intervals responded differently to heart rate changes,
suggesting a mechanoelectrical hypothesis for the origin of the U wave. Although rare,
attention should be paid to SQTS, which is associated with potential fatal arrhythmias.
Sudden cardiac death takes the lives of more than 300 000 Americans annually. Malignant ventricular arrhythmias occurring in individuals with structurally normal hearts account for a subgroup of these sudden deaths. The present study describes the genetic basis for a new clinical entity characterized by sudden death and short-QT intervals in the ECG. Three families with hereditary short-QT syndrome and a high incidence of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death were studied. In 2 of them, we identified 2 different missense mutations resulting in the same amino acid change (N588K) in the S5-P loop region of the cardiac IKr channel HERG (KCNH2). The mutations dramatically increase IKr, leading to heterogeneous abbreviation of action potential duration and refractoriness, and reduce the affinity of the channels to IKr blockers. We demonstrate a novel genetic and biophysical mechanism responsible for sudden death in infants, children, and young adults caused by mutations in KCNH2. The occurrence of sudden cardiac death in the first 12 months of life in 2 patients suggests the possibility of a link between KCNH2 gain of function mutations and sudden infant death syndrome. KCNH2 is the binding target for a wide spectrum of cardiac and noncardiac pharmacological compounds. Our findings may provide better understanding of drug interaction with KCNH2 and have implications for diagnosis and therapy of this and other arrhythmogenic diseases.
Short QT syndrome (SQTS) is a genetically determined ion-channel disorder, which may cause malignant tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Thus far, mutations in five different genes encoding potassium and calcium channel subunits have been reported. We present, for the first time, a novel loss-of-function mutation coding for an L-type calcium channel subunit. The electrocardiogram of the affected member of a single family revealed a QT interval of 317 ms (QTc 329 ms) with tall, narrow, and symmetrical T-waves. Invasive electrophysiological testing showed short ventricular refractory periods and increased vulnerability to induce ventricular fibrillation. DNA screening of the patient identified no mutation in previously known SQTS genes; however, a new variant at a heterozygous state was identified in the CACNA2D1 gene (nucleotide c.2264G > C; amino acid p.Ser755Thr), coding for the Ca(v)α(2)δ-1 subunit of the L-type calcium channel. The pathogenic role of the p.Ser755Thr variant of the CACNA2D1 gene was analysed by using co-expression of the two other L-type calcium channel subunits, Ca(v)1.2α1 and Ca(v)β(2b), in HEK-293 cells. Barium currents (I(Ba)) were recorded in these cells under voltage-clamp conditions using the whole-cell configuration. Co-expression of the p.Ser755Thr Ca(v)α(2)δ-1 subunit strongly reduced the I(Ba) by more than 70% when compared with the co-expression of the wild-type (WT) variant. Protein expression of the three subunits was verified by performing western blots of total lysates and cell membrane fractions of HEK-293 cells. The p.Ser755Thr variant of the Ca(v)α(2)δ-1 subunit was expressed at a similar level compared with the WT subunit in both fractions. Since the mutant Ca(v)α(2)δ-1 subunit did not modify the expression of the pore-forming subunit of the L-type calcium channel, Ca(v)1.2α1, it suggests that single channel biophysical properties of the L-type channel are altered by this variant. In the present study, we report the first pathogenic mutation in the CACNA2D1 gene in humans, which causes a new variant of SQTS. It remains to be determined whether mutations in this gene lead to other manifestations of the J-wave syndrome.
[1
]Department of Pediatrics, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental
Sciences Niigata, Japan
[2
]Department of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School
of Medical and Dental Sciences Niigata, Japan
[3
]Department of Tachikawa Medical Center Niigata, Japan
Author notes
Correspondence: Hiroshi Suzuki, MD PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Niigata University
Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Chuo-ku, Niigata
951-8510, Japan. Email:
hsuzukc5@
123456med.niigata-u.ac.jp
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