An Endemic Region of Thiamine-Responsive Megaloblastic Anemia Caused by an SLC19A2 c.1223+1G>A Founder Mutation.
Thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia (TRMA) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by biallelic loss of function variants in the SLC19A2 gene. It typically presents with a triad of megaloblastic anemia, diabetes mellitus, and sensorineural deafness. In this work, we analyzed ten children with suspected TRMA: nine exhibited the full triad and one, a younger sibling of a patient with full triad, did not develop hearing loss by the age of 18 months. All patients became transfusion-independent on high-dose thiamine therapy. Whole-genome sequencing identified homozygosity for the canonical splice variant SLC19A2 c.1223+1G>A in eight patients. One patient was homozygous for a known SLC19A2 c.196G>T variant, and the other was compound heterozygous for two novel variants, c.120C>G and c.584T>C. All patients with the SLC19A2 c.1223+1G>A variant were ethnic Ingush. In the reference Ingush cohort, 9/328 unrelated adults were c.1223+1G>A carriers (heterozygous carrier frequency 2.7%; carrier frequency ≈ 1/36), and shared a 2.3 Mb ATP1B1-FMO2 haplotype on chromosome 1, demonstrating a strong founder effect. These findings identify Ingushetia as a new TRMA-endemic region and support targeted SLC19A2 screening and early thiamine therapy in patients with macrocytic anemia and diabetes of unclear origin in this population.
Authors
Gurzhikhanova Gurzhikhanova, Fomenko Fomenko, Chekanov Chekanov, Musharova Musharova, Salimova Salimova, Goronkova Goronkova, Abasov Abasov, Raykina Raykina, Zinchenko Zinchenko, Sharova Sharova, Khisamieva Khisamieva, Imyanitov Imyanitov, Sokolenko Sokolenko, Klimuk Klimuk, Maschan Maschan, Severinov Severinov, Maschan Maschan
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