Juvenile segmental progeroid syndromes are rare, heterogeneous disorders characterized by signs of premature aging affecting more than one tissue or organ starting in childhood. Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), caused by a recurrent de novo synonymous LMNA mutation resulting in aberrant splicing and generation of a mutant product called progerin, is a prototypical example of such disorders. Here, we performed a joint collaborative study using massively parallel sequencing and targeted Sanger sequencing, aimed at delineating the underlying genetic cause of 14 previously undiagnosed, clinically heterogeneous, non-LMNA-associated juvenile progeroid patients. The molecular diagnosis was achieved in 11 of 14 cases (~ 79%). Furthermore, we firmly establish biallelic mutations in POLR3A as the genetic cause of a recognizable, neonatal, Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch-like progeroid syndrome. Thus, we suggest that POLR3A mutations are causal for a portion of under-diagnosed early-onset segmental progeroid syndromes. We additionally expand the clinical spectrum associated with PYCR1 mutations by showing that they can somewhat resemble HGPS in the first year of life. Moreover, our results lead to clinical reclassification in one single case. Our data emphasize the complex genetic and clinical heterogeneity underlying progeroid disorders.

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Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive genetic disease, mainly in Caucasian children and young adults. It is caused by pathogenic variants in the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene, which results in increased viscosity and difficult mucus clearance. The main organ affected is the lung, the pancreas, sweat glands, intestine, liver, nasal mucosa, salivary glands, and reproductive tract. The clinical manifestations vary, ranging from the most frequent pulmonary symptoms of obstructive disease to gastrointestinal manifestations related to malabsorption secondary to pancreatic insufficiency. Although there are multiple diagnostic tests for cystic fibrosis, neonatal screening to identify increased immunoreactive trypsinogen, chloride sweat test, and the detection of pathogenic variants in the CFTR gene allow the diagnosis to be integrated. Cystic fibrosis management consists of three main strategies: firstly, to keep the airway free of secretion; secondly, to keep the airway free of infection; and finally, to maintain an optimal nutritional status. Therapies that seek to correct alterations in the CFTR gene are focused on avoiding a pathogenic nonsense variant, correcting folding, increasing trafficking to the plasma membrane, or increasing the function of the CFTR channel. Other therapies still under development include gene therapy, genome editing, and antisense oligonucleotides to modify the expression of this gene.

Whole sequence of the mitochondrial DNA genome of Kearns Sayre Syndrome patients: identification of deletions and variants Mitochondria both produce the energy of the cell as ATP via respiration and regulate cellular metabolism. Accordingly, any deletion or mutation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may result in a disease. One of these diseases is Kearns Sayre syndrome (KSS), described for the first time in 1958, where different large-scale deletions of different sizes and at different positions have been reported in the mitochondrial genome of patients with similar clinical symptoms. In this study, sequences of the mitochondrial genome of three patients with clinic features of KSS were analyzed. Our results revealed the position, heteroplasmy percentage, size of deletions, and their haplogroups. Two patients contained deletions reported previously and one patient showed a new deletion not reported previously. These results display for the first time a systematic analysis of mtDNA variants in the whole mtDNA genome of patients with KSS to help to understand their association with the disease.

Patients with ARCL-IIA harbor mutations in ATP6V0A2 that codes for an organelle proton pump. The ARCL-IIA syndrome characteristically presents a combined glycosylation defect affecting N-linked and O-linked glycosylations, differentiating it from other cutis laxa syndromes and classifying it as a Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation (ATP6V0A2-CDG). We studied two Mexican Mestizo patients with a clinical phenotype corresponding to an ARCL-IIA syndrome. Both patients presented abnormal transferrin (N-linked) glycosylation but Patient 1 had a normal ApoCIII (O-linked) glycosylation profile. Mutational screening of ATP6V0A2 using cDNA and genomic DNA revealed in Patient 1 a previously reported homozygous nonsense mutation c.187C>T (p.R63X) associated with a novel clinical finding of a VSD. In Patient 2 we found a homozygous c.2293C>T (p.Q765X) mutation that had been previously reported but found that it also altered RNA processing generating a novel transcript not previously identified (r.2176_2293del; p.F726Sfs*10). This is the first report to describe Mestizo patients with molecular diagnosis of ARCL-IIA/ATP6V0A2-CDG and to establish that their mutations are the first to be found in patients from different regions of the world and with different genetic backgrounds.