Extrapolation of variant phase in mitochondrial short-chain enoyl-CoA hydratase (ECHS1) deficiency

Loss-of-function and hypomorphic ECHS1 variants are associated with mitochondrial short-chain enoyl-CoA hydratase deficiency, an inborn error of valine metabolism. We report an 8-year-old boy with developmental delay, ataxia, hemiplegia, and hearing loss with abnormalities in the basal ganglia. Biochemical studies were essentially normal except for a persistent mildly elevated CSF alanine. This patient demonstrates an intermediate phenotype between a Leigh-like, early-onset presentation and paroxysmal exercise-induced dyskinesia. Two novel ECHS1variants (c.79T>G; p.Phe27Val and c.789_790del; p.Phe263fs) were identified via exome sequencing in the proband, and pathogenicity was confirmed by enzyme assay performed on patient fibroblasts. Neither of the ECHS1 variants detected in the child were present in the mother. However, due to nearby polymorphisms, it was possible to determine that p.Phe263fs occurred de novo on the maternal chromosome and that p.Phe27Val likely derived from the paternal chromosome. Nearby polymorphisms can help set phase of variants when only a single parent is available for testing or when an identified variant occurs de novo.