Unique mixed phenotype and unexpected functional effect revealed by novel compound heterozygosity mutations involving SCN5A

Background

Functional characterization of mutations involving the SCN5A-encoded cardiac sodium channel has established the pathogenic mechanisms for type 3 long QT syndrome and type 1 Brugada syndrome and has provided key insights into the physiological importance of essential structure–function domains.

Objective

This study sought to present the clinical and biophysical phenotypes discerned from compound heterozygosity mutations in SCN5A on different alleles in a toddler diagnosed with QT prolongation and fever-induced ventricular arrhythmias.

Methods

A 22-month-old boy presented emergently with fever and refractory ventricular tachycardia. Despite restoration of sinus rhythm, the infant sustained profound neurological injury and died. Using polymerase chain reaction, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, and direct DNA sequencing, comprehensive open-reading frame/splice mutational analysis of the 12 known long QT syndrome susceptibility genes was performed.

Results

The infant had 2 SCN5A mutations: a maternally inherited N-terminal frame shift/deletion (R34fs/60) and a paternally inherited missense mutation, R1195H. The mutations were engineered by site-directed mutagenesis and heterologously expressed transiently in HEK293 cells. As expected, the frame-shifted and prematurely truncated peptide, SCN5A-R34fs/60, showed no current. SCN5A-R1195H had normal peak and late current but abnormal voltage-dependent gating parameters. Surprisingly, co-expression of SCN5A-R34fs/60 with SCN5A-R1195H elicited a significant increase in late sodium current, whereas co-expression of SCN5A-WT with SCN5A-R34fs/60 did not.

Conclusions

A severe clinical phenotype characterized by fever-induced monomorphic ventricular tachycardia and QT interval prolongation emerged in a toddler with compound heterozygosity involving SCN5A: R34fs/60, and R1195H. Unexpectedly, the 94-amino-acid fusion peptide derived from the R34fs/60 mutation accentuated the late sodium current of R1195H-containing Na_V1.5 channels in vitro.