Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease represents a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of inherited neuropathies caused by aberration of the intimate relationship between the myelin sheath and the axon; disorders causing demyelination are classified as CMT1 and those causing axonal loss as CMT2.
Mutationsassociated with MPZ gene leads to severe de-hypomyelination Dejerine-Sottas syndrome type B (DSSB) also termed as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) type 3.
Mutations in the myelin protein zero (MPZ) gene have been associated with different Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) phenotypes, including classical demyelinating CMT1B and the axonal form of the disease (CMT2).
To investigate the myelin protein zero (MPZ) gene mutation and related clinical features in Chinese Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) patients, we screened the coding sequence of MPZ in 70 unrelated CMT index patients after excluding the PMP22 duplication, Cx32 and MFN2 mutations.
In order to determine the optimal approach for mutation testing in the form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy, consecutive patients with a CMT phenotype, available family history information on at least first-degree relatives, and median motor conduction velocities of less than 50 m/sec were tested for the CMT1A duplication and for connexin32, peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) and myelin protein zero (P0) point mutations.
Mutations in the major peripheral myelin protein zero (P0) gene on chromosome 1q21-q23 have been found with the hereditary demyelinating polyneuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1B.
A molecular diagnosis was achieved in 62.6% of patients with CMT attending the inherited neuropathy clinic; in 80.4% of patients with CMT1 (demyelinating CMT) and in 25.2% of those with CMT2 (axonal CMT).
Three genetic loci for the Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) syndromes with slow motor nerve conduction velocities (hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy: HMSN type I) have been mapped to chromosomes 1 (CMT1B), 17 (CMT1A), and the X chromosome (CMTX).
Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 1 (CMT1), the most common hereditary neurological disorder in humans, is characterized by clinical and genetic heterogeneity.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a heterogeneous disorder and is traditionally classified into two major types, CMT type 1 (CMT1) and CMT type 2 (CMT2).
Point mutations in the coding region of the myelin genes, peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), myelin protein zero (MPZ) or connexin 32 (Cx32) have been reported in CMT patients, including CMT type 1 (CMT1), CMT type 2 (CMT2) and Déjérine-Sottas neuropathy (DS) patients, and only in the coding region of PMP22 in HNPP families lacking a deletion.
Furthermore sequence variations of PMP22, myelin protein zero (MPZ) and the gap junction protein b 1 gene (GJB1 or Connexin 32) may cause a variety of distinct CMT phenotypes.