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Published on: April 13, 2015
Adult-Onset CTC1-Related Disorder With Kidney Disease, Subcutaneous Dystrophic Calcifications and Telomere Length
Élisabeth C Soubry1, Julianne K Postma2, Meredith K Gillespie1,2
1Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
None:
Biallelic pathogenic variants in the CTC1 gene are associated with cerebroretinal microangiopathy with calcifications and cysts (CRMCCs), also known as Coats plus syndrome (CPS; OMIM #612199). This rare multisystem condition is characterized by early childhood onset of intracranial calcifications, leukodystrophy and cysts, along with retinal telangiectasia and exudates (Coats disease). We report a woman referred to genetics with complex multisystem clinical manifestations beginning in her 30s and progressing over two decades. In keeping with classical features of the condition, she presented a complex medical history of pathological bone fractures, gastrointestinal ectasias, and premature aging. In addition, she developed progressive thrombotic microangiopathy-associated kidney disease requiring transplantation, suspected liver cirrhosis, and subcutaneous dystrophic calcifications. Exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous likely pathogenic variants in CTC1, consisting of a previously reported missense variant and a novel truncating variant confirmed in trans. Despite clinical features suggestive of premature aging, telomere length analysis demonstrated low-normal values for age, supporting emerging evidence that telomere shortening is not a consistent feature of CTC1-related disorders. This case represents the second confirmed adult-onset CTC1-related disorder and the longest survival to date. The findings suggest that subcutaneous calcifications and progressive renal and multi-organ disease may represent later-onset manifestations of the condition. TMA may be a pathologic feature of the multi-system impacts of this rare disease in adults.
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