The First Historically Reported Italian Family with FTD/ALS Teaches a Lesson on C9orf72 RE: Clinical Heterogeneity and Oligogenic Inheritance

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Giannoccaro, Maria Pia^a | Bartoletti-Stella, Anna^{a; b; c} | Piras, Silvia^c | Casalena, Alfonsina^d | Oppi, Federico^c | Ambrosetto, Giovanni^a | Montagna, Pasquale^{a; 1} | Liguori, Rocco^{a; c} | Parchi, Piero^{c; e} | Capellari, Sabina^{a; c; *}

Affiliations: [a] Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie, Università di Bologna, Italy | [b] Dipartimento Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Area del farmaco e Salute del bambino, Università di Firenze, Firenze, Italy | [c] IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy | [d] Dipartimento di Neurologia, Università dell’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy | [e] Dipartimento di Medicina Specialistica, Diagnostica e Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Italy

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Sabina Capellari, MD, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie, Università di Bologna, and IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, UOC Clinica Neurologica, Ospedale Bellaria, via Altura, 3, Bologna, Italia. Tel.: +39 0514966115; Fax: +39 0514966208; E-mail: sabina.capellari@unibo.it.

Note: [1] Deceased.

Abstract: Background:In 1969, Dazzi and Finizio reported the second observation of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) association in a large Italian kindred affected by an autosomal dominant form of ALS with high penetrance, frequent bulbar onset, and frequent cognitive decline. Objective:To expand the original characterization of this family and report the link with the C9orf72 repeat expansion (RE). Methods:We followed or reviewed the medical records of thirteen patients belonging to the original family and performed genetic analyses in four individuals. Results:Eight patients presented with ALS, four with FTD, and one with schizophrenia. The C9orf72 RE was found in three patients but not in the healthy survivor. Additionally, we found a novel possible pathogenic variant in the ITM2B gene in one patient with a complex phenotype, associating movement disorders, psychiatric and cognitive features, deafness, and optic atrophy. The neuropathological examination of this patient did not show the classical features of ITM2B mutation related dementias suggesting that the putative pathogenic mechanism does not involve cellular mislocalization of the protein or the formation of amyloid plaques. Conclusion:We showed that the original Italian pedigree described with FTD/ALS carries the C9orf72 RE. Moreover, the finding of an additional mutation in another dementia causing gene in a patient with a more complex phenotype suggests a possible role of genetic modifiers in the disease. Together with other reports showing the coexistence of mutations in multiple ALS/FTD causative genes in the same family, our study supports an oligogenic etiology of ALS/FTD.

Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, C9orf72 gene, familial ALS/FTD, frontotemporal dementia, FTDALS1, ITM2B

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-170913

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 687-697, 2018