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From the Department of Drug Research and Medical Biotechnology,*Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, Hannover; the Institute of Biometrics,
Medical School of Hannover, Hannover; and the Institute of Anatomy,
University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
NKX25 is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor important in cardiac development. Familial mutations in the NKX25 gene are associated with cardiac abnormalities, but mutations are rare in sporadic cases. We studied the pathology and molecular genetics of NKX25 in diseased heart tissues of 68 patients with complex congenital heart disease (CHD), particularly atrial (ASD), ventricular (VSD), and atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD). We also studied DNA extracted from 16 normal hearts, as well as lymphocytic DNA from 50 healthy volunteers, 7 families, and 4 unrelated individuals with CHD. Direct sequencing revealed 53 NKX25 mutations in the diseased heart tissues, including nonsynonymous substitutions in the homeodomain of NKX25. We found common mutations among unrelated patients, but certain mutations were specific to VSDs and AVSDs. Many patients had multiple NKX25 mutations, up to 14 nonsynonymous mutations per patient in VSDs. Importantly, these nonsynonymous mutations were mainly absent in normal heart tissues of the same CHD patients, thus indicating somatic origin and mosaicism of mutations. Further, observed mutations were completely absent in normal hearts and lymphocytic DNA of healthy individuals. Our findings provide new insights for somatic NKX25 mutations to be of importance in congenital heart disease.
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