PURA-Related Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy: Phenotypic and Genotypic Spectrum
Katrine M Johannesen1, Elena Gardella1, Cathrine E Gjerulfsen1
1Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Treatment (K.M.J., E.G., C.E.G., A.B., R.S.M., G.R.), The Danish Epilepsy Centre Filadelfia, member of ERN EpiCARE, Dianalund; Institute for Regional Health Research (K.M.J., E.G., A.B., R.S.M), University of Southern Denmark, Odense; Department of Neurology (R.P.W.R.), Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+); Academic Centre for Epileptology Kempenhaeghe/MUMC+ (R.P.W.R.), Maastricht; School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (R.P.W.R.), Maastricht University; Department of Clinical Genetics (M.R.), Maastricht University Medical Center, the Netherlands; APHP, Sorbonne Université (S.W.), Hôpital Armand Trousseau, UF de Génétique Clinique, Centre de Référence Anomalies du Développement et Syndromes Malformatifs, Paris, France; Department of Genetics (B.K., J.B., T.C., C.N.), Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, APHP, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France; Department of Clinical Genomics (K.J.W.), Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville; Service de Génétique Médicale (B.I., A.P., A.-S.D.-P.), CHU de Nantes; Centre de Référence Anomalies du Développement et Syndromes Malformatifs (L.F., A.G., S.M.), FHU TRANSLAD, CHU Dijon; INSERM UMR1231 (L.F., A.G., S.M., F.T.M.-T., A.V.), GAD team, Université de Bourgogne-Franche Comté, Dijon; Unité Fonctionnelle dInnovation diagnostique des maladies rares (F.T.-M.-T., A.V.), Pôle de Biologie, FHU-TRANSLAD, CHU Dijon Bourgogne; Department of Medical Genetics (C.C., M.W.), Rare Diseases and Personalized Medicine, CHU Montpellier, France; Childrens Hospital Colorado (A.L.), Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO; Division of Clinical Neuroscience (M.J.E., J.P.A.), Department of Pediatrics, Alberta, Canada; Alberta Childrens Hospital (J.P.A., F.B.), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pediatrics (W.A.-H.), Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Childrens Hospital and Harvard Medical School, MA; Instituto de Neurología Infanto Juvenil (B.G.), Neuroinfan; Instituto de Genetica-Hospital Universitario (A.M.), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza (IHEM) (L.M.), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina; Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana (A.O.); Neuropaediatric Section (A.B.), Pediatric Department, Santa Chiara University Hospital, Pisa; Department of Medical Sciences- Pediatric Section (A.S.), University of Ferrara, Italy; CHU Bordeaux (J.V.-G.), Bordeaux, France; West Midlands Regional Genetics Service (J.V.), Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital, Birmingham, UK; Child Neuropsychiatric Division (S.D., L.G.), Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy; Institut de Pathologie et de Génétique (IPG) (S.M.), Gosselies, Belgium; Divisions of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Epilepsy (E.W.), Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine (S.H., H.S.); Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (U.K.), United Kingdom; Blank Children's Developmental Center (N.N.), Unity Point Health, West Des Moines, IA; Sutter Medical Centre (S.A.), Sacramento, CA; Kennedy Krieger Institute (J.S.C.); Johns Hopkins University (S.R.N.), Baltimore, MD; Provincial Medical Genetics Program (A.C.), St. Johns Medical Center, NL, Canada; University Medical Center Utrecht (E.H.B.), Utrecht, the Netherlands; Rush University Medical Center (M.H.L., C.B.), Chicago, IL; Medical Genetic Unit (S.B., D.O.), Maternal and Child Department, Ferrara University Hospital; Medical Science Department (D.O.), Ferrara University; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (E.B.), Pediatric Section, Department of Medical Sciences, Ferrara University, Italy; Department of Clinical Genetics (C.R.), LUMC, Leiden, the Netherlands; Pediatric Unit, Maternal and Child Department (R.F.), Ferrara University Hospital, Italy; APHP Trousseau (A.A., C.M., D.H.); Service de Neuropédiatrie (D.R., A.I.), Hopital Trousseau, Sorbonne Université, APHP.SU, Paris, France; HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (D.B.), Huntsville, AL; Department of Pediatrics (D.S., S.K.), Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; Queensland Children's Hospital (D.C.), Brisbane, QL, Australia; Department of Neurology (B.G.), Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland, Zwolle, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology (O.D.), NYU School of Medicine; Atrium Healths Levine Childrens Hospital (L.A.D.), Charlotte, NC; Phoenix Childrens Hospital (T.G.), the University of Arizona College of Medicine; Division of Child Neurology and Psychiatry (D.P.), Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria; Neurology and Epileptology Unit (I.C.), Pediatric Department, Brotzu Hospital Trust, Cagliari, Italy; Liverpool Centre for Genomic Medicine (L.G., G.R.), Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom; U.O. Genetica Medica (C.G.), Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy; Department of Children's neurosciences (R.R.S.), Guys and ST. Thomas' NHS foundation trust, London United Kingdom; Department of Child Neuropsychiatry (G.C.), University of Verona, Italy; Christian Medical College (S.Y.), Vellore, India; Neurology Pediatric Unit (F.G.), Pediatric Department, Fernandes Figueira Institute, Fiocruz, Brazil; Royal Childrens Hospital (F.J.L.), Melbourne, Australia; Research & Innovation S.r.l. (D.C.), Padova; Pediatric Neurology Unit (S.O., B.S., F.V.), V. Buzzi Childrens Hospital, Milan, Italy; Department of Paediatrics (A.V.A.), London Health Science Centre/Schulich School of Medicine and Dentisty, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; Ambry Genetics (K.R.), Aliso Viejo, CA; Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (F.T.), Park Ridge, IL; PPG Pediatric Neurology (A.S.K.), Parkview Health, Fort Wayne, IN; Department of Medical Genetics (C.O.), AP-HP, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris, France; Department of Neurology (W.B.), UC Davis, Sacramento, CA; Department of Pediatrics (K.K.), Texas A&M University Medical School, Austin; Leeds General Infirmary (S.H,), United Kingdom; Thompson River Pediatrics (A.F.), Johnstown, CO; Department of Neuropediatrics (S.G.), University Hospital Copenhagen, Denmark; Division of Neurology (F.B., R.W.), Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Hunter Genetics Unit, Waratah, Australia (A.R.); Wessex Clinical Genetics Service, Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom (N.F., D.H.); KBO-Kinderzentrum München, Munich, Germany (M.S.); Division of Neurology, Epilepsy Neurogenetics Initiative, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (J.B., K.L.H., I.H., X.R.O-G, H.D.); Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA (J.B.); PURA Syndrome Foundation, Greensborough, Australia (I.H., M.A., D.S.); PURA Syndrome Foundation, Kansas City, MO (I.H., D.S.).
Insights
PURA syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, presents with intellectual disability and epilepsy in 142 patients. Most cases show drug-resistant epilepsy, with over 90 PURA gene variants identified but no clear genotype-phenotype link.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- The PURA gene encodes Pur-α, crucial for postnatal brain development.
- PURA syndrome is a recently identified condition associated with intellectual disability, hypotonia, epilepsy, and dysmorphic features.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and expand the phenotypic spectrum of PURA syndrome.
- To collect comprehensive data, including EEG, from a large cohort of affected patients.
Main Methods:
- Collected data from published and unpublished cases via the PURA Syndrome Foundation and literature review.
- Gathered information on clinical, genetic, neuroimaging, and neurophysiologic features.
Main Results:
- Included 142 patients with PURA syndrome, characterized by neonatal hypotonia, feeding difficulties, and respiratory distress.
- Epilepsy developed in 60% of patients, presenting as myoclonic, generalized tonic-clonic, focal seizures, or epileptic spasms.
- EEG revealed generalized, multifocal, or focal epileptic abnormalities, with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome being most common. Drug resistance was frequent, with 33.3% achieving seizure freedom.
- Identified 97 pathogenic variants in the PURA gene, with no clear genotype-phenotype associations observed.
Conclusions:
- PURA syndrome manifests as a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy recognizable from the neonatal period, warranting genetic screening.
- Approximately 60% of patients experience drug-resistant epilepsy with focal or generalized seizures.
- Over 90 pathogenic PURA variants were documented, yet no distinct genotype-phenotype correlations were found.
Background And Objectives:
Purine-rich element-binding protein A (PURA) gene encodes Pur-α, a conserved protein essential for normal postnatal brain development. Recently, a PURA syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, hypotonia, epilepsy, and dysmorphic features was suggested. The aim of this study was to define and expand the phenotypic spectrum of PURA syndrome by collecting data, including EEG, from a large cohort of affected patients.
Methods:
Data on unpublished and published cases were collected through the PURA Syndrome Foundation and the literature. Data on clinical, genetic, neuroimaging, and neurophysiologic features were obtained.
Results:
A cohort of 142 patients was included. Characteristics of the PURA syndrome included neonatal hypotonia, feeding difficulties, and respiratory distress. Sixty percent of the patients developed epilepsy with myoclonic, generalized tonic-clonic, focal seizures, and/or epileptic spasms. EEG showed generalized, multifocal, or focal epileptic abnormalities. Lennox-Gastaut was the most common epilepsy syndrome. Drug refractoriness was common: 33.3% achieved seizure freedom. We found 97 pathogenic variants in PURA without any clear genotype-phenotype associations.
Discussion:
The PURA syndrome presents with a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with characteristics recognizable from neonatal age, which should prompt genetic screening. Sixty percent have drug-resistant epilepsy with focal or generalized seizures. We collected more than 90 pathogenic variants without observing overt genotype-phenotype associations.
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