Potential Composite Digenic Contribution of <i>NPC1</i> and <i>NOD2</i> Leading to Atypical Lethal Niemann-Pick Type C with Initial Crohn’s Disease-like Presentation: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation Study

Niemann–Pick disease type C (NPC) is an autosomal recessive neurovisceral disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration with variable involvement of multisystemic abnormalities. Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with a multifactorial etiology influenced by variants...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bilal Azab, Omar Rabab’h, Dunia Aburizeg, Hashim Mohammad, Zain Dardas, Lina Mustafa, Ruba A. Khasawneh, Heyam Awad, Ma’mon M. Hatmal, Eyad Altamimi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Genes
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/6/973
Description
Summary:Niemann–Pick disease type C (NPC) is an autosomal recessive neurovisceral disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration with variable involvement of multisystemic abnormalities. Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with a multifactorial etiology influenced by variants in <i>NOD2</i>. Here, we investigated a patient with plausible multisystemic overlapping manifestations of both NPC and CD. Her initial hospitalization was due to a prolonged fever and non-bloody diarrhea. A few months later, she presented with recurrent skin tags and anal fissures. Later, her neurological and pulmonary systems progressively deteriorated, leading to her death at the age of three and a half years. Differential diagnosis of her disease encompassed a battery of clinical testing and genetic investigations. The patient’s clinical diagnosis was inconclusive. Specifically, the histopathological findings were directed towards an IBD disease. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of IBD was not consistent with the patient’s subsequent neurological and pulmonary deterioration. Consequently, we utilized a genetic analysis approach to guide the diagnosis of this vague condition. Our phenotype–genotype association attempts led to the identification of candidate disease-causing variants in both <i>NOD2</i> and <i>NPC1</i>. In this study, we propose a potential composite digenic impact of these two genes as the underlying molecular etiology. This work lays the foundation for future functional and mechanistic studies to unravel the digenic role of <i>NOD2</i> and <i>NPC1</i>.
ISSN:2073-4425