A cardiac arrhythmia syndrome caused by loss of ankyrin-B function

PJ Mohler, I Splawski, C Napolitano… - Proceedings of the …, 2004 - National Acad Sciences
PJ Mohler, I Splawski, C Napolitano, G Bottelli, L Sharpe, K Timothy, SG Priori, MT Keating…
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004National Acad Sciences
220-kDa ankyrin-B is required for coordinated assembly of Na/Ca exchanger, Na/K ATPase,
and inositol trisphosphate (Ins P 3) receptor at transverse-tubule/sarcoplasmic reticulum
sites in cardiomyocytes. A loss-of-function mutation of ankyrin-B identified in an extended
kindred causes a dominantly inherited cardiac arrhythmia, initially described as type 4 long
QT syndrome. Here we report the identification of eight unrelated probands harboring
ankyrin-B loss-of-function mutations, including four previously undescribed mutations …
220-kDa ankyrin-B is required for coordinated assembly of Na/Ca exchanger, Na/K ATPase, and inositol trisphosphate (InsP3) receptor at transverse-tubule/sarcoplasmic reticulum sites in cardiomyocytes. A loss-of-function mutation of ankyrin-B identified in an extended kindred causes a dominantly inherited cardiac arrhythmia, initially described as type 4 long QT syndrome. Here we report the identification of eight unrelated probands harboring ankyrin-B loss-of-function mutations, including four previously undescribed mutations, whose clinical features distinguish the cardiac phenotype associated with loss of ankyrin-B activity from classic long QT syndromes. Humans with ankyrin-B mutations display varying degrees of cardiac dysfunction including bradycardia, sinus arrhythmia, idiopathic ventricular fibrillation, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, and risk of sudden death. However, a prolonged rate-corrected QT interval was not a consistent feature, indicating that ankyrin-B dysfunction represents a clinical entity distinct from classic long QT syndromes. The mutations are localized in the ankyrin-B regulatory domain, which distinguishes function of ankyrin-B from ankyrin-G in cardiomyocytes. All mutations abolish ability of ankyrin-B to restore abnormal Ca2+ dynamics and abnormal localization and expression of Na/Ca exchanger, Na/K ATPase, and InsP3R in ankyrin-B+/- cardiomyocytes. This study, considered together with the first description of ankyrin-B mutation associated with cardiac dysfunction, supports a previously undescribed paradigm for human disease due to abnormal coordination of multiple functionally related ion channels and transporters, in this case the Na/K ATPase, Na/Ca exchanger, and InsP3 receptor.
National Acad Sciences