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Detection of the CTG repeat expansion in congenital myotonic dystrophy

Japanese Journal of Human Genetics volume 42, pages 169–180 (1997)Cite this article

Summary

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is caused by an abnormal expansion of an unstable CTG trinucleotide repeat in the 3′ untranslated region of mRNA encoding a putative serine/threonine protein kinase. We analyzed 59 patients with DM (28 congenital DM families: 27 families with maternal transmission and 1 paternal transmission) and 27 normal control subjects to evaluate their CTG repeat size between DM patients and the normal controls, and to search for a correlation between the clinical characteristics of congenital DM (CDM) and CTG repeat expansions. Analysis was on the basis of the Southern blot and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, and by direct sequencing of PCR amplified CTG repeats. Analysis of intergenerational differences in the CTG repeat size for mother-child pairs showed a positive correlation (y=1.0384x+1265.2,r 2=0.311). In addition to the strong parental bias, this group showed genetic anticipation. There was a significant correlation of the CTG repeat expansion with disease severity. The largest CTG repeat expansion (2,293 CTG repeats) on average belonged to the severe CDM group, and the smallest (129 CTG repeats) to the subclinical DM group. The mutant allele of an asymptomatic father in the paternally transmitted pedigree revealed 75 CTG repeats, demonstrating that he was a DM protomutation carrier.

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Author notes

  1. Kazuhiro Ohya

    Present address: Department of Pediatrics, Asahikawa Red Cross Hospital, 1-1 Akebono, 070, Asahikawa, Japan

Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, South 1 West 16, Chuo-ku, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Kazuhiro Ohya, Toshiya Sato & Shunzo Chiba

  2. Sapporo Medical University School of Health Science, South 1 West 16, Chuo-ku, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Nobutada Tachi

  3. First Department of Pathology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, South 1 West 16, Chuo-ku, 060, Sapporo, Japan

    Shinichiro Kon & Kokichi Kikuchi

Authors
  1. Kazuhiro Ohya
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  2. Nobutada Tachi
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  3. Toshiya Sato
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  4. Shinichiro Kon
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  5. Kokichi Kikuchi
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  6. Shunzo Chiba
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Ohya, K., Tachi, N., Sato, T. et al. Detection of the CTG repeat expansion in congenital myotonic dystrophy. Jap J Human Genet 42, 169–180 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766919

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766919

Key Words

  • myotonic dystrophy (DM)
  • congenital form
  • trinucleotide (CTG) repeat mutation
  • parental bias
  • genetic anticipation

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