The genetic puzzle of a SOD1-patient with ocular ptosis and a motor neuron disease: a case report

Front Genet. 2023 Dec 13:14:1322067. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1322067. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a complex genetic architecture, showing monogenic, oligogenic, and polygenic inheritance. In this study, we describe the case of a 71 years-old man diagnosed with ALS with atypical clinical features consisting in progressive ocular ptosis and sensorineural deafness. Genetic analyses revealed two heterozygous variants, in the SOD1 (OMIM*147450) and the TBK1 (OMIM*604834) genes respectively, and furthermore mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing identified the homoplasmic m.14484T>C variant usually associated with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). We discuss how all these variants may synergically impinge on mitochondrial function, possibly contributing to the pathogenic mechanisms which might ultimately lead to the neurodegenerative process, shaping the clinical ALS phenotype enriched by adjunctive clinical features.

Keywords: SOD1; TBK1; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; mitochondrial DNA; oligogenic inheritance.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The publication of this article was supported by the “Ricerca Corrente” funding from the Italian Ministry of Health.