MEFV mutations in Moroccan patients suffering from familial Mediterranean Fever

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF, MIM 249100) is an autosomal recessive disease mainly affecting patients of the Mediterranean basin. It is an autoinflammatory periodic disorder characterised by recurrent episodes of fever and abdominal pain, synovitis and pleuritis. FMF is caused by mutations in the Mediterranean Fever (MEFV) gene located on chromosome 16p13.3. Several mutations in the MEFV gene have been characterised in different populations. However, very little is known about mutations in the MEFV gene in patients with Moroccan origin. The aim of this study is to determine the clinical components of FMF and characterise mutations in the MEFV gene in Moroccan patients. The study was carried out on 120 unrelated Moroccan patients referred to the department of medical genetics in Rabat for suspicious FMF over a period of 10 years. Patients were screened for the most common MEFV mutations by direct sequencing of exons 2 and 10. Of the 120 unrelated patients investigated, 56 patients (47%) were carriers of one or two MEFV mutations, and 64 patients (53%) had no detected mutations. Of those with mutations, 24 were homozygous (44%), 13 were compound heterozygotes (24%), and 19 patients had only 1 identifiable mutation (32%). The most frequent mutation in Moroccan patients is M694V (47%), followed by M694I (32%), A744S (6.5%), M680L (4%), M694del (2%) and E148Q (6.5%). The R761H, K695R and I692del mutations were rarely encountered (less than 1%). The V726A mutation was not found in our study. Our data represent the first report of MEFV gene mutations causing FMF in Moroccans patients. The M694V and M694I mutations are the most common mutations found in MEFV gene in Moroccan population; while the most common mutation in Arabs from the Middle-East region, the V726A, was not found in our population.