Limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a heterogeneous group of genetically determined muscle disorders with a primary or predominant involvement of the pelvic or shoulder girdle musculature. More than 20 genes with autosomal recessive (LGMD2A to LGMD2Q) and autosomal dominant inheritance (LGMD1A to LGMD1H) have been mapped/identified to date. Mutations are known for six among the eight mapped autosomal dominant forms: LGMD1A (myotilin), LGMD1B (lamin A/C), LGMD1C (caveolin-3), LGMD1D (desmin), LGMD1E (DNAJB6), and more recently for LGMD1F (transportin-3). Our group previously mapped the LGMD1G gene at 4q21 in a Caucasian-Brazilian family. We now mapped a Uruguayan family with patients displaying a similar LGMD1G phenotype at the same locus. Whole genome sequencing identified, in both families, mutations in the HNRPDL gene. HNRPDL is a heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein family member, which participates in mRNA biogenesis and metabolism. Functional studies performed in S. cerevisiae showed that the loss of HRP1 (yeast orthologue) had pronounced effects on both protein levels and cell localizations, and yeast proteome revealed dramatic reorganization of proteins involved in RNA-processing pathways. In vivo analysis showed that hnrpdl is important for muscle development in zebrafish, causing a myopathic phenotype when knocked down. The present study presents a novel association between a muscular disorder and a RNA-related gene and reinforces the importance of RNA binding/processing proteins in muscle development and muscle disease. Understanding the role of these proteins in muscle might open new therapeutic approaches for muscular dystrophies.

Previous studies in dementia epidemiology have reported higher Alzheimer's disease rates in African-Americans when compared with White Americans. To determine whether genetically determined African ancestry is associated with neuropathological changes commonly associated with dementia, we analyzed a population-based brain bank in the highly admixed city of São Paulo, Brazil. African ancestry was estimated through the use of previously described ancestry-informative markers. Risk of presence of neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, small vessel disease, brain infarcts and Lewy bodies in subjects with significant African ancestry versus those without was determined. Results were adjusted for multiple environmental risk factors, demographic variables and apolipoprotein E genotype. African ancestry was inversely correlated with neuritic plaques (P=0.03). Subjects with significant African ancestry (n=112, 55.4%) showed lower prevalence of neuritic plaques in the univariate analysis (odds ratio (OR) 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55–0.95, P=0.01) and when adjusted for age, sex, APOE genotype and environmental risk factors (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.21–0.89, P=0.02). There were no significant differences for the presence of other neuropathological alterations. We show for the first time, using genetically determined ancestry, that African ancestry may be highly protective of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology, functioning through either genetic variants or unknown environmental factors. Epidemiological studies correlating African-American race/ethnicity with increased Alzheimer's disease rates should not be interpreted as surrogates of genetic ancestry or considered to represent African-derived populations from the developing nations such as Brazil.

SummarySPOAN is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder which was recently characterized by our group in a large inbred Brazilian family with 25 affected individuals. This condition is clinically defined by: 1. congenital optic atrophy; 2. progressive spastic paraplegia with onset in infancy; and 3. progressive motor and sensory axonal neuropathy. Overall, we are now aware of 68 SPOAN patients (45 females and 23 males, with age ranging from 5 to 72 years), 44 of which are presented here for the first time. They were all born in the same geographic micro region. Those 68 patients belong to 43 sibships, 40 of which exhibit parental consanguinity. Sixty-one patients were fully clinically evaluated and 64 were included in the genetic investigation. All molecularly studied patients are homozygotes for D11S1889 at 11q13. This enabled us to reduce the critical region for the SPOAN gene from 4.8 to 2.3 Mb, with a maximum two point lod score of 33.2 (with marker D11S987) and of 27.0 (with marker D11S1889). Three genes located in this newly defined critical region were sequenced, but no pathogenic mutation was detected. The gene responsible for SPOAN remains elusive.

BackgroundThe etiology of idiopathic scoliosis remains unknown and different factors have been suggested as causal. Hereditary factors can also determine the etiology of the disease; however, the pattern of inheritance remains unknown. Autosomal dominant, X-linked and multifactorial patterns of inheritances have been reported. Other studies have suggested possible chromosome regions related to the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis. We report the genetic aspects of and investigate chromosome regions for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in a Brazilian family.MethodsEvaluation of 57 family members, distributed over 4 generations of a Brazilian family, with 9 carriers of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The proband presented a scoliotic curve of 75 degrees, as determined by the Cobb method. Genomic DNA from family members was genotyped.ResultsLocating a chromosome region linked to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis was not possible in the family studied.ConclusionWhile it was not possible to determine a chromosome region responsible for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis by investigation of genetic linkage using microsatellites markers during analysis of four generations of a Brazilian family with multiple affected members, analysis including other types of genomic variations, like single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could contribute to the continuity of this study.

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