Acta neuropathologica
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Acta neuropathologica · Jan 2011
Review Case Reports Comparative StudyA novel seven-octapeptide repeat insertion in the prion protein gene (PRNP) in a Dutch pedigree with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease phenotype: comparison with similar cases from the literature.
Human prion diseases can be sporadic, inherited or acquired by infection and show considerable phenotypic heterogeneity. We describe the clinical, histopathological and pathological prion protein (PrP(Sc)) characteristics of a Dutch family with a novel 7-octapeptide repeat insertion (7-OPRI) in PRNP, the gene encoding the prion protein (PrP). Clinical features were available in four, neuropathological features in three and biochemical characteristics in two members of this family. ⋯ Both patients carried the mutation on the allele with valine at codon 129. Western blot analysis showed type 1 PrP(Sc) in both patients and detected a smaller ~8 kDa PrP(Sc) fragment in the cerebellum in one patient. The features of this Dutch kindred define an unusual neuropathological phenotype and a novel PRNP haplotype among the previously documented 7-OPRI mutations, further expanding the spectrum of genotype-phenotype correlations in inherited prion diseases.