Three novel mutations in the Von Hippel-Lindau tumour suppressor gene in Italian patients

An abnormal mRNA produced by a novel PMP22 splice site mutation associated with HNPP

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) is an autosomal dominant, demyelinating neuropathy. Point mutations in the PMP22 gene are a rare cause of HNPP. A novel PMP22 splice site mutation (c.179+1 G-->C) is reported in an HNPP family. By reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction experiments, this mutation was shown to cause the synthesis of an abnormal mRNA in which a premature stop codon probably produces a truncated non-functional protein.

Congenital hypomyelination due to myelin protein zero Q215X mutation

Congenital hypomyelination (CH) is a hereditary demyelinating peripheral neuropathy characterized by early infancy onset, distal muscle weakness, hypotonia, areflexia, and severe slowing of nerve conduction velocities. In the present report, the clinical, morphological, and immunohistochemical features of a CH case and the identification of a mutation in the gene (MPZ) for protein zero (P0) associated with this phenotype are described. This "de novo" mutation in a patient presenting with clinical features quite distinct from those of the more frequent Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1B disease (CMT1B) or Dejerine-Sottas syndrome (DSS) confirms that CH is allelic with other disorders characterized by a less severe phenotype and a different clinical and neuropathological profile.