As an indispensable trace element in the human body,copper plays an important role in various physiological and biochemical reactions.The dyshomeostasis of copper leads to the disorder of copper metabolism and the occurrence of related diseases.Cuproptosis,a newly proposed regulatory cell death mode,is different from the known apoptosis,pyroptosis,necroptosis,and ferroptosis.Recent studies have found that the dyshomeostasis of copper has been observed in a variety of cancers.Therefore,targeting copper for disease treatment may become a new strategy and a new idea.This article systematically summarizes the fundamental properties of copper,copper dyshomeostasis-related diseases (Menkes syndrome,Wilson's disease,and cancer) and their treatment,and reviews the research progress in cuproptosis.
Humans ; Copper/metabolism* ; Homeostasis ; Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Hepatolenticular Degeneration/metabolism* ; Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome/metabolism*

Börjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome (BFLS) is a rare X-linked intellectual disability. The main features of the patients include intellectual disability/global developmental delay, characteristic face, anomalies of fingers and toes, hypogonadism, linear skin hyperpigmentation, and tooth abnormalities in female patients, and obesity in male patients. A case of BFLS caused by a novel mutation of PHF6 gene who was treated in the Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University was reported. The 11 months old girl presented the following symptons: Global developmental delay, characteristic face, sparse hair, ocular hypertelorism, flat nasal bridge, hairy anterior to the tragus, thin upper lip, dental anomalies, ankyloglossia, simian line, tapering fingers, camptodactylia, and linear skin hyperpigmentation. The gene results of the second-generation sequencing technology showed that there was a novel heterozygous mutation site c.346C>T (p.Arg116*) of the PHF6 (NM032458.3), variation rating as pathogenic variation. During the follow-up, the patient developed astigmatism, strabismus, awake bruxism, and stereotyped behavior, and the linear skin hyperpigmentation became gradually more evident. The disease is lack of effective therapy so far.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Infant ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Mental Retardation, X-Linked/pathology* ; Obesity/complications* ; Hypogonadism/pathology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics and genetic etiology of three children with Menkes disease. METHODS: Three children who had presented at the Children's Medical Center, the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University from January 2020 to July 2022 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the children were reviewed. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the children, their parents and sister of child 1. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was carried out. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing, copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq), and bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: Child 1 was a 1-year-and-4-month male, and children 2 and 3 were monozygotic twin males aged 1-year-and-10-month. The clinical manifestations of the three children have included developmental delay and seizures. WES showed that child 1 has harbored a c.3294+1G>A variant of the ATP7A gene. Sanger sequencing confirmed that his parents and sister did not carry the same variant, suggesting that it was de novo. Children 2 and 3 had carried a c.77266650_77267178del copy number variation. CNV-seq results showed that their mother has carried the same variant. By searching the HGMD, OMIM and ClinVar databases, the c.3294+1G>A was known to be pathogenic. No carrier frequency has been recorded in the 1000 Genomes, ESP, ExAC and gnomAD databases. Based on the Standards and Guidelines for the Interpretation of Sequence Variants: A Joint Consensus Recommendation of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the ATP7A gene c.3294+1G>A variant was predicted to be pathogenic. The c.77266650_77267178del variant has involved exons 8 to 9 of the ATP7A gene. ClinGen online system score for it was 1.8, which was also considered to be pathogenic. CONCLUSION The c.3294+1G>A and c.77266650_ 77267178del variants of the ATP7A gene probably underlay the Menkes disease in the three children. Above finding has enriched the mutational spectrum of Menkes disease and provided a basis for clinical diagnosis and genetic counseling.
Humans ; Male ; Computational Biology ; Copper-Transporting ATPases/genetics* ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Exons ; Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome/genetics* ; Mutation ; Peptide Fragments ; Seizures ; Infant

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic etiology for a Chinese pedigree affected with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. METHODS: Members of the pedigree who had visited the Genetic Counseling Clinic of Linyi People's Hospital on February 10, 2022 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data and family history of the proband were collected, and trio-whole exome sequencing (trio-WES) was carried out for the proband and his parents. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Trio-WES revealed that both the proband and his cousin brother had harbored a hemizygous c.385-1G>C variant in intron 4 of the HPRT1 gene, which was unreported previously. A heterozygous c.385-1G>C variant of the HPRT1 gene was also found in the proband's mother, grandmother, two aunts, and a female cousin, whilst all phenotypically normal males in his pedigree were found to have a wild type for the locus, which has conformed to an X-linked recessive inheritance. CONCLUSION The heterozygous c.385-1G>C variant of the HPRT1 gene probably underlay the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome in this pedigree.
Male ; Humans ; Female ; Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome/genetics* ; Pedigree ; East Asian People ; Heterozygote ; Introns ; Mutation

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics and variants of ATP7A gene in a child with Menkes disease. METHODS: A child with Menkes disease diagnosed at the West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University and its family members in March 2022 was selected as the study subjects. Clinical manifestations and results of laboratory tests and genetic testing were summarized. RESULTS: The main manifestations of the child included seizures, global development delay, facial dysmorphism, sparse and curly hair, increased lactate and pyruvate, and significantly decreased cuprin. EEG showed frequent issuance of multifocal spikes, spines, polyspines (slow) and polymorphic slow waves. Multiple tortuous vascular shadows were observed on cranial MRI. Whole exome sequencing revealed that the child has harbored a hemizygous c.3076delA (p.ile1026*) variant of the ATP7A gene, which was inherited from his mother. The variant may lead to premature termination of protein translation. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the variant was predicted as pathogenic (PVS1+PM2+PP4). CONCLUSION The c.3076delA (p.Ile1026*) variant of the ATP7A gene probably underlay the Menkes disease in this child. Above finding has provided evidence for clinical diagnosis. The significantly increased lactic acid and pyruvate can be used as a reference for the diagnosis and management of Menkes disease. Microscopic abnormalities in the hair of the carriers may also facilitate their diagnosis.
Child ; Humans ; Copper-Transporting ATPases/genetics* ; East Asian People ; Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome/genetics* ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Peptide Fragments ; Pyruvic Acid

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics and genetic basis of two brothers featuring X-linked alpha thalassemia mental retardation (ATR-X) syndrome. METHODS: An infant who had presented at the Qilu Children's Hospital in 2020 for unstable upright head and inability to roll over and his family were selected as the study subjects. The clinical features of the child and one of his brothers were summarized, and their genomic DNA was subjected to targeted capture and next generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: The brothers had presented with mental retardation and facial dysmorphisms. NGS revealed that they had both harbored a hemizygous c.5275C>A variant of the ATRX gene located on the X chromosome, which was inherited from their mother. CONCLUSION The siblings were diagnosed with ATR-X syndrome. The discovery of the c.5275C>A variant has enriched the mutational spectrum of the ATRX gene.
Humans ; Infant ; Male ; alpha-Thalassemia/diagnosis* ; Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins/genetics* ; East Asian People ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Mental Retardation, X-Linked/diagnosis* ; Pedigree ; X-linked Nuclear Protein/genetics*

Many people affected by fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disorders have sensory processing deficits, such as hypersensitivity to auditory, tactile, and visual stimuli. Like FXS in humans, loss of Fmr1 in rodents also cause sensory, behavioral, and cognitive deficits. However, the neural mechanisms underlying sensory impairment, especially vision impairment, remain unclear. It remains elusive whether the visual processing deficits originate from corrupted inputs, impaired perception in the primary sensory cortex, or altered integration in the higher cortex, and there is no effective treatment. In this study, we used a genetic knockout mouse model (Fmr1^KO), in vivo imaging, and behavioral measurements to show that the loss of Fmr1 impaired signal processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). Specifically, Fmr1^KO mice showed enhanced responses to low-intensity stimuli but normal responses to high-intensity stimuli. This abnormality was accompanied by enhancements in local network connectivity in V1 microcircuits and increased dendritic complexity of V1 neurons. These effects were ameliorated by the acute application of GABA_A receptor activators, which enhanced the activity of inhibitory neurons, or by reintroducing Fmr1 gene expression in knockout V1 neurons in both juvenile and young-adult mice. Overall, V1 plays an important role in the visual abnormalities of Fmr1^KO mice and it could be possible to rescue the sensory disturbances in developed FXS and autism patients.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/metabolism* ; Fragile X Syndrome/metabolism* ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Neurons/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic etiology of a patient with mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPSII). METHODS: The IDS gene of the proband and his mother was detected by Sanger sequencing, agarose gel electrophoresis, real-time PCR and multiple ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Prenatal diagnosis was performed on amniotic fluid sample. RESULTS: Agarose gel electrophoresis, real-time PCR, and MLPA all showed that exon 2 of IDS gene of the proband was deleted, for which his mother was normal. Prenatal diagnosis showed that the fetus was a normal male. CONCLUSION The de novo deletion of exon 2 of the IDS gene probably underlay the MPSII in this patient. Above finding has broadened the mutation spectrum of the IDS gene. The combined methods for the detection of IDS gene mutations could make accurate prenatal diagnosis for MPSII.
China ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mucopolysaccharidosis II/genetics* ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical characteristics and genetic variant of a child featuring X-linked mental retardation. METHODS: Whole exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were used for the detection of variant and pedigree validation, respectively. Clinical manifestation of patients with DDX3X gene variants were also reviewed. RESULTS: The child was found to harbor a heterozygous NM_001193416.3: c.1332_1333delCT (p.Leu445Serfs*19) variant of the DDX3X gene. The same variant was not found in either of her parents. CONCLUSION The child was diagnosed with X-linked mental retardation due to variant of the DDX3X gene. Above finding has enriched the spectrum of DDX3X gene variants and provided a basis for clinical diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis for this pedigrees.
Child ; DEAD-box RNA Helicases/genetics* ; Female ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Mental Retardation, X-Linked/genetics* ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Pregnancy ; Exome Sequencing

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common monogenic form of inherited intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More than 99% of individuals with FXS are caused by the unstable expansion of CGG repeats located within the 5'-untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. The clinical features of FXS include various degrees of cognitive deficit, physical, behavioral and psychiatric problems. Early treatment and prevention from having further affected children can be guided by molecular genetic testing of the FMR1 gene. The following guideline has combined the relevant research, guidelines and consensus worldwide, and summarized the genetic knowledge and clinical treatment for FXS in order to achieve a standardized diagnosis, treatment and prevention for patients and families affected by this disease.
Child ; Humans ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/therapy* ; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/genetics* ; Fragile X Syndrome/therapy* ; Intellectual Disability/genetics*