Congenital muscular dystrophy
Encyclopedia
Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) is the term used to describe muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who...

 that is present at birth. CMD describes a number of autosomal recessive diseases of muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...

 weakness and possible joint
Joint
A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. They are constructed to allow movement and provide mechanical support, and are classified structurally and functionally.-Classification:...

 deformities, present at birth and slowly progressing. Life expectancies for affected individuals vary, although some forms of CMD do not affect life span at all.

Management

Treatment is supportive.

Physical and occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...

, surgery, wheelchairs and other assistive technology may be helpful.

Currently there is no cure.

Classification

All such known dystrophies are genetically recessive and result from mutations in a variety of different genes, including those encoding the laminin
Laminin
Laminins are major proteins in the basal lamina , a protein network foundation for most cells and organs...

-α2 chain, fukutin-related protein
Fukutin-related protein
Fukutin-related protein is a protein associated with congenital muscular dystrophy.-External Links:* * LOVD mutation database:...

, LARGE
LARGE
Glycosyltransferase-like protein LARGE1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the LARGE gene.- Function :This gene, which is one of the largest in the human genome, encodes a member of the N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase gene family. The function of this gene has not yet been established;...

 and fukutin
Fukutin
Fukutin is a eukaryotic protein necessary for the maintenance of muscle integrity, cortical histogenesis, and normal ocular development. Mutations in the fukutin gene have been shown to result in Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy characterised by brain malformation - one of the most common...

, amongst others.

A classification for CMDs had been proposed in 2004 by Muntoni and Voit, based on genetic mutation.
  • Genes encoding for structural proteins of the basal membrane or extracellular matrix
    Extracellular matrix
    In biology, the extracellular matrix is the extracellular part of animal tissue that usually provides structural support to the animal cells in addition to performing various other important functions. The extracellular matrix is the defining feature of connective tissue in animals.Extracellular...

     of the skeletal muscle
    Skeletal muscle
    Skeletal muscle is a form of striated muscle tissue existing under control of the somatic nervous system- i.e. it is voluntarily controlled. It is one of three major muscle types, the others being cardiac and smooth muscle...

     fibres.
  • Genes encoding for putative or demonstrated glycosyltransferase
    Glycosyltransferase
    Glycosyltransferases are enzymes that act as a catalyst for the transfer of a monosaccharide unit from an activated nucleotide sugar to a glycosyl acceptor molecule, usually an alcohol....

    s, that in turn affect the glycosylation
    Glycosylation
    Glycosylation is the reaction in which a carbohydrate, i.e. a glycosyl donor, is attached to a hydroxyl or other functional group of another molecule . In biology glycosylation refers to the enzymatic process that attaches glycans to proteins, lipids, or other organic molecules...

     of dystroglycan
    Dystroglycan
    Dystroglycan is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DAG1 gene.Dystroglycan is one of the dystrophin-associated glycoproteins, which is encoded by a 5.5 kb transcript in Homo sapiens by chromosome 3. There are two exons that are separated by a large intron...

    , an external membrane protein of the basal membrane.
  • Other

Name Abbreviation Group OMIM Gene and locus
Laminin-α2–deficient CMD MDC1A basal membrane/extracellular matrix LAMA2 at 6q22-q23
Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy
Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy
Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy is a form of congenital muscular dystrophy.It is associated with variants of type VI collagen.It is commonly associated with muscle weakness....

UCMDs 1, 2 and 3 basal membrane/extracellular matrix COL6A1
COL6A1
Collagen alpha-1 chain is a protein that in humans is encoded by the COL6A1 gene.- Function :The collagens are a superfamily of proteins that play a role in maintaining the integrity of various tissues. Collagens are extracellular matrix proteins and have a triple-helical domain as their common...

 at 2q37, COL6A2
COL6A2
Collagen alpha-2 chain is a protein that in humans is encoded by the COL6A2 gene.- Function :This gene encodes one of the three alpha chains of type VI collagen, a beaded filament collagen found in most connective tissues. The product of this gene contains several domains similar to von Willebrand...

 at 21q22.3, COL6A3
COL6A3
Collagen alpha-3 chain is a protein that in humans is encoded by the COL6A3 gene.- Function :This gene encodes the alpha 3 chain, one of the three alpha chains of type VI collagen, a beaded filament collagen found in most connective tissues. The alpha 3 chain of type VI collagen is much larger than...

 at 21q22.3
Walker-Warburg syndrome
Walker-Warburg syndrome
Walker–Warburg syndrome , also called Warburg syndrome, Chemke syndrome, HARD syndrome , Pagon syndrome, cerebroocular dysgenesis or cerebroocular dysplasia-muscular dystrophy syndrome , is a rare form of autosomal recessive congenital muscular dystrophy...

WWS glycosylation of dystroglycan POMT1
POMT1
Protein O-mannosyl-transferase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the POMT1 gene. It is a member of the dolichyl-phosphate-mannose-protein mannosyltransferases.- Function :...

 at 9q34.1 and POMT2
POMT2
Protein O-mannosyl-transferase 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the POMT2 gene.- Function :POMT2 encodes an integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum that shares significant sequence similarity with a family of protein O-mannosyltransferases of S. cerevisiae...

 at 14q24.3
Muscle-eye-brain disease MEB glycosylation of dystroglycan POMGNT1
POMGNT1
Protein O-linked-mannose beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the POMGNT1 gene.- Function :...

 at 1p34-p33
Fukuyama CMD FCMD glycosylation of dystroglycan FKTN at 9q31
CMD plus secondary laminin deficiency 1 MDC1B glycosylation of dystroglycan ? at 1q42
CMD plus secondary laminin deficiency 2 MDC1C glycosylation of dystroglycan FKRP at 19q13.3
CMD with mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...

 and pachygyria
Pachygyria
Pachygyria is a congenital malformation of the cerebral hemisphere. It results in unusually thick convolutions of the cerebral cortex. Typically, children have developmental delay and seizures, the onset and severity depending on the severity of the cortical malformation...

MDC1D glycosylation of dystroglycan LARGE
LARGE
Glycosyltransferase-like protein LARGE1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the LARGE gene.- Function :This gene, which is one of the largest in the human genome, encodes a member of the N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase gene family. The function of this gene has not yet been established;...

 at 22q12.3-q13.1
Rigid spine with muscular dystrophy Type 1 RSMD1 other SEPN1
SEPN1
Selenoprotein N is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SEPN1 gene.- Function :This gene encodes a selenoprotein, which contains a selenocysteine residue at its active site. The selenocysteine is encoded by the UGA codon that normally signals translation termination...

 at 1p36-p35
ITGA7
ITGA7
Integrin alpha-7 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ITGA7 gene.-Interactions:ITGA7 has been shown to interact with FHL2 and FHL3.-External links:* Info with links in the...

at 12q13

Related organizations

Cure CMD, a Congenital Muscular Dystrophy specific non-profit organization, incorporated in May 2008, and received tax exempt 501 (c)(3) status from the IRS in August 2008. Cure CMD’s mission is to bring research, treatments and in the future, a cure for Congenital Muscular Dystrophies. By focusing on this mission, Cure CMD will find and fund high potential research and clinical trials. You can find more information at www.curecmd.org.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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