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.
Only mice expressing mitofusin 2(R94Q) developed locomotor impairments and gait defects thus mimicking the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A neuropathy.
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.
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.