Background: Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by lower limb spasticity and weakness, with or without additional symptoms. Mutations in ATP13A2, known to cause Kufor-Rakeb syndrome (KRS), have been recently implicated in HSP.
Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was done in a Canada-wide HSP cohort.
Results: Three additional patients with homozygous ATP13A2 mutations were identified, representing 0.7% of all HSP families. Spastic paraplegia was the predominant feature, all patients suffered from psychiatric symptoms, and one patient had developed seizures. Of the identified mutations, c.2126G>C;(p.[Arg709Thr]) is novel, c.2158G>T;(p.[Gly720Trp]) has not been reported in ATP13A2-related diseases, and c.2473_2474insAAdelC;p.[Leu825Asnfs*32]) has been previously reported in KRS but not in HSP. Structural analysis of the mutations suggested a disruptive effect, and enrichment analysis suggested the potential involvement of specific pathways.
Conclusion: Our study suggests that in HSP patients with psychiatric symptoms, ATP13A2 mutations should be suspected, especially if they also have extrapyramidal symptoms.
Keywords: ATP13A2; HSP; Neurodegeneration; Parkinsonism.
© 2019 The Authors. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.