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Case Reports
. 2020 Nov 2;21(21):8201.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21218201.

Implications of Splicing Alterations in the Onset and Phenotypic Variability of a Family with Subclinical Manifestation of Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome: Bioinformatic and Molecular Evidence

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Case Reports

Implications of Splicing Alterations in the Onset and Phenotypic Variability of a Family with Subclinical Manifestation of Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome: Bioinformatic and Molecular Evidence

Andrea Cerasuolo et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant pre-cancerous disorder caused in 80-90% of cases by germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene STK11. We performed a genetic test of the STK11 gene in two Italian young sisters suspected of PJS, since they showed pathognomonic café au lait spots in absence of other symptoms and familiarity. Sequencing of all exons of STK11 gene and other 8 genes, suggested to be involved in hamartomatous syndromes, (PTEN, BMPR1A, SDHB, SDHD, SMAD4, AKT1, ENG, PIK3CA) led to the identification in both the probands of a novel germline silent mutation named c.597 G>A, hitting the last nucleotide of exon 4. Interestingly, genetic testing of the two probands' parents showed that their unaffected father was carrier of this mutation. Moreover, he carried a second intronic substitution named c.465-51 T>C (rs2075606) which was not inherited by his daughters. We also observed that all the family members carrying the c.597 G>A mutation presented an aberrant splice variant of STK11 mRNA lacking exon 4. Furthermore, in silico analysis of c.465-51 T>C substitution showed that it may activate an Enhancer Splicing Element. Finally, qRT-PCR analysis of STK11 expression levels showed a slight downregulation of the wild type allele in the father and a 2-fold downregulation in the probands compared to the unaffected mother. Our results have led the hypothesis that the c.465-51 T>C intronic variant, which segregates with the wild type allele, could increase the splicing effectiveness of STK11 wild-type allele and compensate the side effect of the c.597 G>A splicing mutation, being responsible for the phenotypic variability observed within this family. This finding highlight the importance of RNA analysis in genetic testing, remarking that silent DNA variant can often be splicing variant involved in disease onset and progression. The identification of these variants has a crucial role to ensure an appropriate follow-up and cancer prevention in at-risk individuals.

Keywords: Enhancer Splicing Element; Peutz–Jeghers Syndrome (PJS); café au lait spots; cancer prevention; presymptomatic diagnosis; risk management; splicing variants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Café au lait spots of probands. (A) mucosal scattered black spots and typical café au lait spots on the lips of proband II-1; (B) café au lait cutaneous macules on the proband II-1 leg; (C) mucosal scattered black spots and typical café au lait spots on the lips of proband II-2; (D) café au lait cutaneous macules on the proband II-2 arm; (E) café au lait macules of the nipple areola of the probands’ father (subject I-1).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Molecular analysis of STK11/LKB1 gene. (A) Pedigree of the Peutz–Jeghers Syndrome (PJS) suspected family. (B) Electropherograms of STK11 sequence analysis showing the c.597G→A substitution in the exon 4. (C) Electropherograms of STK11 sequence analysis showing the c.465-51 T→C single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the intron 4. Red arrows indicate nucleotide changes; black arrows indicate the two PJS probands.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Identification of the altered splicing isoform. (A) RT-PCR analysis of the cDNA region encompassing exons from 2 to 6. The arrow indicates the abnormal mRNA fragment showing lower molecular weight. (B) Electropherogram showing a STK11 isoform lacking exon 4 and the formation of a new junction between exons 3 and 5. (C) STK11 cDNA sequence in FASTA format showing junctions between exons 3–4 and 4–5; skipping of exon 4 generate a reading frame-shift and formation of a premature stop codon highlighted in the red box and indicated with red arrow. Bp: base pair, SM: size marker, I-1, I-2, II-1 and II-2: subjects of PJS family as reported in pedigree of Figure 2A, NC: RT-PCR negative control without template.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Potential role of the c.465-51 T→C SNP. (A) Real-Time PCR of STK11 mRNA; Bar graphs represent mean ± SEM (three independent determinations) of normalized STK11 expression to glucuronidase mRNA (Dct); *: significance level of p < 0.05 vs. healthy subject I-2; repeated measures multiple comparisons Kruskal–Wallis test one-way ANOVA has been used for the analysis. I-1, I-2, II-1 and II-2: subjects of PJS family as reported in pedigree of Figure 2A. (B) ESEfinder in silico analysis of STK11 c.465-51T→C variant in intron 4 showing activation of a binding site for the serine/arginine-rich splicing factor (SRSF1) splicing factor. The light blue boxes indicate SRSF1 protein binding score calculated for wild type and mutant sequences.

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