Objective:To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of asparagine synthase deficiency.Methods:Case series studies. Retrospective analysis and summary of the clinical data of 6 cases with asparagine synthase deficiency who were diagnosed by genetic testing and admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from May 2017 to April 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. The main clinical features, laboratory and imaging examination characteristics of the 6 cases were summarized, and the gene variation sites of them were analyzed.Results:All of the 6 cases were male, with onset ages ranging from 1 month to 1 year and 4 months. All of the 6 cases had cognitive and motor developmental delay, with 3 cases starting with developmental delay, 3 cases starting with convulsions and later experiencing developmental arrest or even regression. All of 6 cases had epilepsy, in whom 2 cases with severe microcephaly developed epileptic encephalopathy in the early stages of infancy with spasms as the main form of convulsions, 4 cases with mild or no microcephaly gradually evolved into convulsions with no fever after multiple febrile convulsions with focal seizures, tonic clonic seizures and tonic seizure as the main forms of convulsions. Three cases of 4 gradually developed into stagnation or even regression of development and ataxia after multiple convulsions with no fever. There were normal cranial imaging in 2 cases, dysplasia of the brains in 1 cases, frontal lobe apex accompanied by abnormal white matter signal in the frontal lobe and thin corpus callosum in 1 case, thin corpus callosum and abnormal lateral ventricular morphology in 1 case, and normal in early stage, but gradually developing into cerebellar atrophy at the age of 5 years and 9 months in 1 case. Two cases underwent visual evoked potential tests, the results of which were both abnormal. Three cases underwent auditory evoked potential examination, with 1 being normal and 2 being abnormal. All of 6 cases had variations in the asparagine synthase gene, with 2 deletion variations and 7 missense variations. The variations of 2 cases had not been reported so far, including c.1341_1343del and c.1283A>G, c.1165_1167del and c.1075G>A. The follow-up time ranged from 3 months to 53 months. Two cases who had severe microcephaly died in infancy, while the other 4 cases with mild or no microcephaly were in survival states until the follow-up days but the control of epilepsy was poor.Conclusions:Asparagine synthase deficiency has a certain degree of heterogeneity in clinical phenotype. Children with obvious microcephaly often present as severe cases, while children with mild or no microcephaly have relatively mild clinical manifestations. The variation of asparagine synthetase gene is mainly missense variation.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical characteristics and genetic basis of two children patients with CHARGE syndrome. METHODS: The clinical features of the two patients were analyzed, and potential variants were detected by Trio whole exome sequencing (trio-WES) of the probands and their parents. RESULTS: Child 1 has manifested cerebellar vermis dysplasia, enlargement of cerebral ventricles, whereas child 2 manifested with infantile spasm and congenital hip dysplasia. Both children were found to harbor de novo heterozygous variants of the CHD7 gene, namely c.4015C>T (exon 17) and c.5050G>A (exon 22). Based on the guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, the two variants were rated as pathogenic variants, and the related disease was CHARGE syndrome. Furthermore, child 2 was also found to harbor a novel heterozygous c.6161A>C (p.Gln2054Pro) missense variant of COL12A1 gene, which was rated as possibly pathogenic, and the associated disease was Bethlem myopathy type 2, which is partially matched with the patient' s clinical phenotype. CONCLUSION The special clinical phenotypes shown by the two children harboring novel CHD7 variants have further expanded the phenotypic spectrum of CHARGE syndrome.
CHARGE Syndrome/genetics* ; DNA Helicases/genetics* ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics* ; Genetic Testing ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Mutation ; Phenotype ; Whole Exome Sequencing

Objective:To investigate the risk factors for cerebral injury in survivors of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) after fetoscopic laser occlusion of chorioangiopagous vessels(FLOC) and to analyze the neurodevelopmental outcomes at 12 months of corrected age.Methods:A total of 136 cases of TTTS receiving FLOC in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from May 2018 to August 2021 were retrospectively selected as the FLOC group, and the survivors were followed up. Neurological development at 12 months of corrected age was assessed using the Griffiths mental development scales-Chinese (GDS-C) from five dimensions with locomotor, personal-social, hearing and language, hand-eye coordination and performance subscales. Eighty-eight fetuses of TTTS pregnancies receiving expectant treatment or amniotic fluid reduction were selected as the non-FLOC group. The perinatal mortality and the incidence of cerebral injury in the two groups were compared, as well as the incidence of cerebral injury between patients undergoing Solomon surgery and selective laser surgery in the FLOC group. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the risk factors for neonatal cerebral injury after FLOC and the factors influencing general developmental quotient score at the corrected age of 12 months. Chi-square test, t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. Results:(1) The perinatal mortality rate in the FLOC group was lower than that in the non-FLOC group [14.7% (20/136) vs 26.1% (23/88), χ 2=4.50, P=0.034]. There was no statistical significance in the incidence of neonatal cerebral injury between the two groups [18.7% (23/123) vs 21.8% (17/78), χ 2=0.29, P=0.592], but the incidence of severe cerebral injury in the FLOC group was lower than that in the non-FLOC group [6.5% (8/123) vs 15.4% (12/78), χ 2=4.20, P=0.040]. (2) In the FLOC group, there was no significant difference in the incidence of cerebral injury between donors and recipients, or between Solomon surgery and selective laser surgery [16.4% (10/61) vs 21.0% (13/62), χ 2=0.42; 20.0% (9/45) vs 17.9% (14/78), χ 2=0.08; both P>0.05]. (3) Multivariate analysis showed that neonatal asphyxia ( OR=7.04, 95% CI: 1.45-34.20, P=0.016) and higher preoperative TTTS stage ( OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.10-3.82, P=0.023) were risk factors for neonatal cerebral injury. (4) Fifty-two cases were successfully followed up at the corrected age of 12 months, and the incidence of developmental delay in at least one dimension was 34.6% (18/52). Developmental delay was mainly manifested in locomotor skills and language, accounting for 26.9% (14/52) and 11.5% (6/52). No significant difference in Z value was found between recipients and donors in each dimension (all P>0.05). Solomon surgery, larger gestational age at operation and low birth weight were related to low general developmental quotient score (95% CI:－11.71 to－0.23，－1.99 to－0.47，0.00-0.01，respectively，all P<0.05). Conclusions:The occurrence of cerebral injury in TTTS survivors after FLOC is related to preoperative TTTS staging and intrapartum neonatal asphyxia. Neurodevelopment of survivors is related to birth weight and gestational age at surgery, and there is a higher incidence of mild developmental delay at corrected age of 12 months.

Congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) is a group of genetic metabolic diseases involving multiple organs. A case of CDG caused by SLC35A2 gene mutation was diagnosed. The clinical characteristics included spasms, developmental retardation and multiple malformations. Video-electroencephalogram showed dysrhythmia. A de novo heterozygous missense mutation of SLC35A2 gene was detected by whole exome sequencing: c.844G>A (p.Gly282Arg). It was predicted to be likely pathogenic according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines which had not been reported in China.

Objective:To summarize the clinical features and PLGL gene variation characteristics of children with CHIME syndrome. Methods:The medical records of one patient who was diagnosed with CHIME syndrome in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in October 2018 were analyzed.Foreign and domestic databases were searched with " CHIME syndrome or PIGL gene" as the keywords, so as to review clinical features of CHIME syndrome and PIGL gene variation characteristics. Results:(1) The boy, 1 year old and 3 months, developed seizures at the age of 7 months, when he received rehabilitation due to developmental delay.Physical examination showed that the boy had facial dysmorphisms, including high forehead, ocular hypertelorism, low and flat nasal root, broad nose tip, full lips, overfolded helices, cleft palate, developmental delay, dry skin, erythematous papular rash on the neck, and indirect inguinal hernia. Conductive deafness was revealed by the hearing test and retinal defect was found in fundus examination.Whole exome sequencing test identified PIGL(NM_004278)gene compound hybrid variation.The frameshift variation c. 26delT was present in one allele, combined with a synonymous variation c. 333C>T in the opposite allele.(2) A total of 9 CHIME syndrome patients were retrieved from the databases.No cases were reported in China.All 9 patients had craniofacial dysmorphism, epilepsy, conductive deafness, development delay and retinal defect.Eight patients had ichthyosiform skin, 6 patients had congenital heart disease and 4 patients had renal malformation.There were 6 different kinds of PIGL gene variations in patients, including 7 missense variants, 4 frameshift variants, 3 deletion variants, 2 nonsense variants, 1 splice variant, and 1 synonymous variant. All of the missense variants were c. 500T>C (p.Leu167Pro), which was the most common site. Conclusions:CHIME syndrome is mainly manifested by nervous system and dermal system abnormalities, and often involves multiple systems. PIGL gene variation is the cause of CHIME syndrome, and c. 500T>C (p.Leu167Pro) is the most common site.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the clinical and genetic features of PCDH19 gene mutation related epilepsy in 11 families. Methods:The clinical manifestations and genetic mutation characteristics of 13 children (from 11 families) diagnosed with PCDH19 gene mutation related epilepsy at the Department of Pediatric Neurology, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from March 2013 to July 2019 were analyzed. Results:(1) The results of PCDH19 gene mutations: among 11 probands, 10 children had point mutations of PCDH19 gene and one child was with Exon 5 deletion.One male patient was detected with mosaic PCDH19 mutation, which was c. 840C > A, and the proportion of variation was 34.27%.Five hereditary and 6 de novo mutations were identified in 11 probands.Three patients inherited mutations from their clinically asymptomatic fathers with hemizygous mutation.Two patients inherited from their mothers, 1 case was diagnosed with epilepsy and the other was asymptomatic carrier.(2) Clinical features: there were 12 females and 1 male in the enrolled 13 children, with the age of onset of less than 2 years old.The clinical phenotypes: epilepsy with mental retardation in 9 patients, which including 3 patients with Dravet syndrome, and the remaining 4 patients were epilepsy without mental retardation.The phenotypic heterogeneity was observed in females with identical mutations from the same family, and a few girls can be asymptomatic.In all patients, seizures in clusters were observed in all 13 cases, fever sensitivity in 12 cases, and status epilepticus was only found in 3 cases.Of all the patients, only 2 cases had no seizures for more than 2 years, 3 cases with Dravet syndrome were given 6 to 8 kinds of antiepileptic drugs successively, but there were still frequent seizures. Conclusions:Most patients with PCDH19 mutations-related epilepsy are females, while rare mosaic males can be affected, phenotypic heterogeneity is obvious.Seizures in clusters and fever sensitivity are the major clinical features, and most patients are companied with different levels of intellectual impairment.Mutations in PCDH19 can be inherited or de novo, most of which are point mutations.

Objective:To explore the effects of miR-301a-3p on proliferation and apoptosis of astrocytes in rats.Methods:miR-301a-3p agomir and miR-301a-3p antagomir were synthetized and transfected into astrocytes. The cells were divided into Blank group, miR-NC group, miR-301a agomir group and antagomir group.Each group has 3 multiple pores, 2×10 5 cells per pore. CCK8 method was used to detect proliferation and growth ability of astrocytes in each group. Anncxin V-FITC/PI cytometry and Caspase-3 were used to test apoptosis of cells in each group. Results:Compared with Blank group (48 h: 0.83±0.09; 72 h: 1.20±0.21; 96 h: 1.65±0.17) and miR-NC group (48 h: 0.79±0.10; 72 h: 1.12±0.25; 96 h: 1.60±0.15), the proliferation ability of miR-301a group (48 h: 1.16±0.07; 72 h: 1.56±0.11; 96 h: 2.13±0.14) was significantly improved ( P<0.05), and the apoptosis rate of miR-301a group decreased significantly (Blank group: 10.44±1.33, miR-NC group: 9.84±1.40, miR-301a group: 4.32±0.51, P<0.05). Compared with Blank group and miR-NC group, the proliferation ability of the cells in antagomir group (48 h: 0.52±0.12; 72 h: 0.72±0.09; 96 h: 1.01±0.15) decreased significantly ( P<0.05), and the apoptotic rate was significantly increased in the antiagor group (Blank group: 10.44±1.33, miR-NC group: 9.84±1.40, antiagor group: 21.41±2.57, P<0.05). Conclusion:miRNA-301a-3p hyperexpression can promote the proliferation of astrocytes and inhibit the apoptosis pathway, thereby regulating the biological function of rat astrocytes.

Objective: To investigate the changes and clinical significance of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin and procalcitonin (PCT) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with viral encephalitis or bacterial meningitis(BM). Methods: A total of 42 cases of children with viral encephalitis(viral encephalitis group), 36 cases of children with BM(BM group), and 20 cases of children with non-nervous system injury(control group) were selected from September 2016 to June 2018 at the Third Hospital of Zhengzhou University.The serum and CSF levels of VE-cadherin and PCT levels of the 3 groups were detected by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The levels of VE-cadherin in the serum of viral encephalitis group, BM group and control group at the acute phase were (5.60±1.17) mg/L, (7.08±1.01) mg/L and (2.52±0.68) mg/L respectively, and the levels of VE-cadherin in CSF of viral encephalitis group, BM group and control group were (6.00±1.09) mg/L, (6.97±1.11) mg/L and(1.93±0.88) mg/L, respectively.The levels of PCT in the serum of viral encephalitis group, BM group and control group at the acute phase were (0.26±0.11) μg/L, (0.82±0.17) μg/L and (0.27±0.13) μg/L, respectively, and the levels of PCT in the CSF of viral encephalitis group, BM group and control group were (0.25±0.11) μg/L, (0.72±0.14) μg/L, (0.28±0.17) μg/L, respectively.As a result, the levels of VE-cadherin and PCT in the serum and CSF of BM group showed significant increase, compared with viral encephalitis group and control group in the acute phase(F=124.94, 163.21, 151.62, 127.37, all P<0.01). The levels of VE-cadherin in the serum and CSF of viral encephalitis group were also significantly higher than that of control group (all P<0.01), but there was no difference between viral encephalitis group and control group about the levels of PCT in the serum and CSF (all P>0.05). The levels of VE-cadherin in the serum of viral encephalitis group and BM group after treatment were (2.34±0.81) mg/L and (2.67±1.29) mg/L, and were(2.55±0.92) mg/L and(2.39±0.74) mg/L in the CSF.The levels of PCT in the serum of viral encephalitis group and BM group after treatment were (0.25±0.11) μg/L, (0.30±0.17) μg/L, and the levels of PCT in the CSF of viral encephalitis group and BM group were(0.22±0.10) μg/L and (0.27±0.12) μg/L.After effective treatment, the levels of VE-cadherin, PCT in serum and CSF of BM group and viral encephalitis group were almost equal, and the difference was not statistically significant(F=1.83, 0.76, 2.72, 3.89, all P>0.05). In the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the area under the ROC curve of VE-cadherin in serum and CSF was 0.896 and 0.912, and was 0.670 and 0.668 of PCT respectively. Conclusions VE-cadherin may be involved in the early stage of intracranial infection, and it may be helpful in differentiation of virus or bacterial infection with PCT.VE-cadherin has a good diagnostic value for intracranial infection.

Objective: To investigate the changes and clinical significance of Caveolin-1, matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)in cerebrospinal fluid of children with bacterial meningitis or viral encephalitis. Methods: Thirty-six cases of children with bacterial meningitis, 42 cases of children with viral encephalitis, and 20 cases of children with non-nervous system infection were selected from September 2016 to June 2018 at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.The levels of Caveolin-1, MMP-9 and IL-1β in cerebrospinal fluid were detected by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Results: Cerebrospinal fluid Caveolin-1, MMP-9 , IL-1β levels in the acute phase of bacterial meningitis were(49.06±8.96) ng/L, (134.79±18.88) μg/L, (100.02±14.67) μg/L, respectively, and (29.13±7.25) ng/L, (18.69±7.23) μg/L, (47.57±8.95) μg/L in recovery phase, which were higher than those of the controls[(11.18±2.24) ng/L, (11.53±3.54) μg/L, (39.75±7.08) μg/L)], and the differences were significant (all P<0.05). Cerebrospinal fluid Caveolin-1, MMP-9, IL-1β levels in the acute phase of viral encephalitis were (42.71±10.48) ng/L, (62.78±17.39) μg/L, (57.97±11.28) μg/L, respectively, and (29.13±7.25) ng/L, (18.69±7.23) μg/L, (47.57±8.95) μg/L in recovery phase, which were higher than those of controls, and the differences were significant (all P<0.05). The levels of Caveolin-1, MMP-9 and IL-1β in cerebrospinal fluid of bacterial meningitis group and viral encephalitis group were significantly higher than those of convalescent group (all P<0.05). The levels of Caveolin-1, MMP-9, IL-1β in cerebrospinal fluid of bacterial meningitis group were significantly higher than those in viral encephalitis group (all P<0.05) in the acute phase, and no significant difference was found in the recovery phase(all P>0.05). Cerebrospinal fluid Caveolin-1, MMP-9, IL-1β showed no significant difference among children with different severity of intracranial infection.Correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between Caveolin-1, MMP-9 and IL-1 β levels in cerebrospinal fluid of acute in bacterial meningitis group and viral encephalitis group(Caveolin-1 and MMP-9: R²=0.239, P<0.05; MMP-9 and IL-1β: R²=0.766, P<0.01; Caveolin-1 and IL-1β: R²=0.245, P<0.05). Conclusions Caveolin-1, MMP-9 and IL-1 β involved in the pathogenesis of intracranial infection in children, and the effects of different pathogens on intracranial infection were different.

Objective To observe the expression of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like recep-tor protein 3(NLRP3)inflammasome in epilepsy model,and to explore the neuroprotective effect of melatonin. Methods SD rats aged 21-30 d were randomly divided into the control group(48 rats),the epilepsy group(48 rats)and the melatonin group(48 rats),and each group was subdivided into 4 subgroups according to the time points of 24 h,48 h, 72 h,and 7 d,with 12 SD rats in each subgroup. Fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohisto-chemical technique were used to analyze the expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and interleukin(IL)-1β in hippocam-pus areas of rats at different points of time after seizures were induced,and their behavior changes were observed. Results The number of NLRP3-positive cells in the epileptic group increased,and reached the peak at 72 h. At 24 h,48 h,72 h,7 d,the number of NLRP3-positive cells in the epilepsy group(14. 20 ± 1. 64,23. 60 ± 1. 14,31. 20 ± 1. 30,25. 40 ± 2. 07)was significantly increased compared with those of the melatonin group(10. 60 ± 0. 89,17. 80 ± 1. 48,24. 00 ± 0. 71,20. 20 ± 1. 92)and the control group(2. 60 ± 0. 89,2. 40 ± 1. 14,2. 40 ± 1. 14,2. 40 ± 0. 55),and the differences were significant(F＝122. 977,375. 125,962. 743,262. 916,all P＜0. 05). The NLRP3 mRNA relative expressions in the epilepsy group (2. 57 ± 0. 12,3. 34 ± 0. 10,4. 84 ± 0. 19,3. 55 ± 0. 13)were significantly increased compared with those of the melatonin group (2. 03 ± 0. 08,2. 71 ± 0. 08,4. 03 ± 0. 14,2. 48 ± 0. 18)and the control group(1. 07 ± 0. 13,1. 08 ± 0. 15,1. 08 ± 0. 23,1. 07 ± 0. 18),and the differences were significant (F ＝422. 386, 1 154. 957,1 132. 112,512. 149,all P ＜0. 05);the Caspase -1 mRNA relative expressions in the epilepsy group (2. 47 ± 0. 07,3. 05 ± 0. 15,4. 39 ± 0. 18,3. 14 ± 0. 11)were significantly increased compared with those of melatonin group(1. 85 ± 0. 07,2. 49 ± 0. 08,3. 60 ± 0. 12,2. 15 ± 0. 12)and the control group (0. 98 ± 0. 25,0. 99 ± 0. 15,0. 98 ± 0. 23,0. 99 ± 0. 18),and the differences were significant(F ＝620. 099,580. 796,1 125. 225,645. 082,all P ＜0. 05);the IL-1β mRNA relative expressions in epilepsy group (2. 32 ± 0. 15,2. 90 ± 0. 18,4. 18 ± 0. 16,2. 74 ± 0. 07)were significantly increased compared with those of the melatonin group (1. 78 ± 0. 09,2. 35 ± 0. 11,3. 24 ± 0. 13,1. 78 ± 0. 16)and the control group(0. 97 ± 0. 13,0. 99 ± 0. 15,0. 97 ± 0. 23,0. 97 ± 0. 18),and the differences were significant(F＝267. 952,398. 767,1 140. 384,438. 962,all P ＜0. 05). Conclusions The NLRP3 inflamma-somes are activated in rat hippocampus with epilepsy induced by lithium-pilocarpine. NLRP3 inflammasome mediated inflammatory response probably involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. The melatonin may play a neuroprotective role by inhibiting expression of NLRP3 inflammasome.