Clinical and molecular characterization of SLC31A1-related developmental and epileptic encephalopathy: insights from 13 new cases.
Copper is indispensable for various metabolic processes, notably mitochondrial respiration. In humans, copper homeostasis hinges on transporters such as copper transporter 1 (CTR1), encoded by the SLC31A1 gene. Recently, bi-allelic mutations in SLC31A1 have been associated with a new neurodevelopmen...
| Autores: | ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; |
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| Tipo de documento: | Artículo |
| Estado: | Published version |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Fundació Sant Joan de Déu |
| Repositorio: | r-FSJD. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica de la Fundació Sant Joan de Déu |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:fsjd.fundanetsuite.com:p29253 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://fsjd.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=29253 |
| Nivel de acceso: | Acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | CTR1 modelling brain MRI clinical delineation functional validation |
| Sumario: | Copper is indispensable for various metabolic processes, notably mitochondrial respiration. In humans, copper homeostasis hinges on transporters such as copper transporter 1 (CTR1), encoded by the SLC31A1 gene. Recently, bi-allelic mutations in SLC31A1 have been associated with a new neurodevelopmental disorder. This study presents clinical, genetic, and biochemical findings from 13 new cases across 10 families worldwide. RNA sequencing evaluated gene expression, and Western blotting assessed copper transporter 1 protein levels. Additionally, mitochondrial respiratory capacity was measured via high-resolution respirometry. Affected individuals exhibited a distinct clinical phenotype characterized by early-onset epileptic encephalopathy, severe neurodevelopmental delay and hypotonia, with high mortality. Neuroimaging revealed significant brain atrophy and white matter abnormalities. Genetic analysis identified bi-allelic SLC31A1 variants, predominantly p.His120Gln in six cases and p.(Arg102Cys/His) in three cases. Functional studies in patient fibroblasts demonstrated impaired mitochondrial respiration. This study significantly broadens the clinical spectrum of this recently described syndrome, presenting as a severe developmental encephalopathy with high mortality risk, and suggests mitochondrial dysfunction as a potential pathomechanism. These findings contribute to the mounting evidence linking copper transporter 1 dysfunction to neurodegeneration, underscoring the urgency for further therapeutic investigations. |
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