Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

De novo variants in POLR3B cause ataxia, spasticity, and demyelinating neuropathy

  • Djurdja Djordjevic
  • , Maxime Pinard
  • , Marie-Soleil Gauthier
  • , Constance Smith-Hicks
  • , Trevor L. Hoffman
  • , Nicole I. Wolf
  • , Renske Oegema
  • , Ellen van Binsbergen
  • , Berivan Baskin
  • , Geneviève Bernard
  • , S. bastien Fribourg
  • , Benoit Coulombe
  • , Grace Yoon*
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Montreal
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • University of Amsterdam
  • University Medical Center Utrecht
  • GeneDX Inc
  • McGill University
  • Université de Bordeaux
  • Utrecht University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

POLR3B encodes the second-largest catalytic subunit of RNA polymerase III, an enzyme involved in transcription. Bi-allelic pathogenic variants in POLR3B are a well-established cause of hypomyelinating leukodystrophy. We describe six unrelated individuals with de novo missense variants in POLR3B and a clinical presentation substantially different from POLR3-related leukodystrophy. These individuals had afferent ataxia, spasticity, variable intellectual disability and epilepsy, and predominantly demyelinating sensory motor peripheral neuropathy. Protein modeling and proteomic analysis revealed a distinct mechanism of pathogenicity; the de novo POLR3B variants caused aberrant association of individual enzyme subunits rather than affecting overall enzyme assembly or stability. We expand the spectrum of disorders associated with pathogenic variants in POLR3B to include a de novo heterozygous POLR3B-related disorder.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)186-193
Number of pages8
JournalAmerican journal of human genetics
Volume108
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jan 2021

Keywords

  • ataxia
  • intellectual disability
  • neuropathy
  • POLR3B
  • RNA polymerase III assembly
  • spasticity

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'De novo variants in POLR3B cause ataxia, spasticity, and demyelinating neuropathy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this