BACKGROUNDArrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death. Recent studies have shown that ARVC, which is an inheritable genetic change, results from mutations in genes encoding desmosomal proteins. Plakophilin-2 is an important component of the desmosome. Because the full range of genetic variations related to ARVC is unknown and no related studies of the Chinese population have been reported, we aimed to investigate the genetic variation of plakophilin-2 in ARVC patients from the Southern Region of China.

METHODSGenomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood samples of all 34 ARVC patients, who were screened through a clinical evaluation. They were used to detect variations in the sequences of the plakophilin-2 genes by polymerase chain reaction amplification in combination with direct sequencing.

RESULTSIn exon-1 of the plakophilin-2 gene, a deletion mutation (c.145_148 del GACA) was found in one family pedigree. The mutation was also found in exon-2, 4, and 11 of the plakophilin-2 gene. The QT interval dispersion of the ECG was considerably longer in the mutation group than in the non-mutation group of ARVC patients, and this result was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONWe discovered a plakophilin-2 mutation that prolongs the QT interval dispersion in the southern Chinese ARVC population.