Most patients (198) with CMT1A carried the 17p11.2 duplication including the PMP22 gene, 45 patients with HNPP were all affected by deletion of the 17p11.2 locus, and 10 patients presented with axonal phenotypes: CMT2A (MFN2), CMT2N (AARS), and CMT1X (GJB1).
These results show that the ratio of MFN1 to MFN2 can explain the tissue specificity of CMT2A and indicate that augmentation of MFN1 in the nervous system has potential as a possible therapeutic strategy for CMT2A.
Mitofusin-2 (MFN2) is a mitochondrial outer-membrane protein that plays a pivotal role in mitochondrial dynamics in most tissues, yet mutations in MFN2, which cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A), primarily affect the nervous system.
Mutations in the mitochondrial GTPase mitofusin 2 (MFN2) cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2A), a form of peripheral neuropathy that compromises axonal function.
Generation of induced pluripotent stem cell line, ZJUCHi002-A, from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A) patient with a mutation of c.752C>T in MFN2.
Mutations in MFN2 are associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A), a neurological disorder characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical features, primarily a motor sensory neuropathy.
To date, no studies have been performed to address whether mutations in MFN2 in CMT2A patient cells affect MAM function, which might provide insight into pathogenesis.
Protein mitofusin 2 encoded by <i>MFN2</i> serves an essential role in mitochondrial fusion and regulation of apoptosis, which has previously been reported to be highly associated with an axonal form of neuropathy (CMT2A).
In this issue of <i>EMBO Reports</i>, El Fissi <i>et al</i> established a fly model to analyze the consequence of frequently occurring MFN2 mutations on locomotor behavior, mitochondrial morphology, and function and find that some pathogenic mutants enhance fusion activity, indicating that increased mitochondrial fusion can drive CMT2A-like pathology [1].
A mitofusin agonist normalized axonal mitochondrial trafficking within sciatic nerves of MFN2 Thr<sup>105</sup>→Met<sup>105</sup> mice, promising a therapeutic approach for CMT2A and other untreatable diseases of impaired neuronal mitochondrial dynamism and/or trafficking.
The work described here has therefore sought to verify the effects of MFN2 mutation within its GTPase domain on mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum morphology, as well as the mtDNA content in a cultured primary fibroblast obtained from a CMT2A patient harboring a de novo Arg274Trp mutation.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A), the most common axonal form of hereditary sensory motor neuropathy, is caused by mutations of mitofusin-2 (MFN2).
These results support the hypothesis that AR-CMT2A-related MFN2 mutations acts through a semi-dominant negative mechanism and suggest that other biological parameters might show mild alterations in asymptomatic heterozygote AR-CMT2A patients.
Mutations in the gene encoding MFN2 are associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A), a neurological disorder characterized by a wide clinical phenotype that involves the central and peripheral nervous system.
Here, we investigate the functional effects of MFN2 mutations in skeletal muscle and cultured fibroblasts of four CMT2A patients applying high-resolution respirometry.
To examine whether mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of CMT2A, we used a transgenic mouse model expressing in neurons a mutated R94Q form of human MFN2 shown to induce a CMT2A phenotype.
The patient is a Caucasian male with HMSN VI (type 2A Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and associated optic atrophy) and a c.1090C→T (p.R364W) mutation in the mitofusin 2 (MFN2) gene.
Only mice expressing mitofusin 2(R94Q) developed locomotor impairments and gait defects thus mimicking the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A neuropathy.