Week 5 - Ehlers Danlos Flashcards
Where is the point mutation in COL5A1 in this case of Classic Ehlers Danlos?
Mutation in exon 3 of the COL5A1 gene
Cytosine to Thymine
Going from Glutamine to a stop codon
Nonsense mutation
Premature stop codon means the gene isn’t functional
Define child abuse.
(2 marks)
An abused child is a boy or girl under the age of 18 years who has suffered physical injury, neglect, emotional or sexual abuse which the person or persons who had custody, charge or care of the child either caused or knowingly failed to prevent.
What is the normal role of collagen V in the connective tissue?
(1 mark)
It regulates the diameter of collagen type I fibrils
What type of joint is the shoulder joint?
1 mark
Synovial ball and socket
What is the role of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in cases like this?
2 marks
Any 2 relevant points:
When a local authority applies to take a child into care, Cafcass’ job is to ensure that decisions are made in the child’s best interest. (1 mark)
The court will usually request for Cafcass to become involved in the case so that the Cafcass worker is known as a ‘children’s guardian’ (1 mark).
The guardian is the independent voice of the child in court (1 mark).
What does SDS-PAGE stand for?
Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrimide gel electrophoresis
How do Type V and Type I come together?
Type V and Type I collagen come together to form heterotypic fibrils
Type V collagen shown to regulate the diameter of the fibrils
Important as collagen needs to be densely packed
How many different types of conditions come under Ehlers Danlos?
13
Which type of collagen is most abundant in tissues?
Type I
Which type of collagen has been associated with Ehlers Danlos?
Type V
What kind of haploinsufficiency do you see in Classic Ehlers Danlos and what does this result in?
What does a COL5A1 mutation result in?
One gene of collagen V is functional and working well, the other is not
So you don’t have enough collagen V
Because you have a loss of function in COL5A1 mRNA and hence less of the alpha 1 (V) procollagen chains
Therefore get some normal and some abnormal collagen V
Irregular fibrils in the dermis
Less strength in connective tissues, skin etc and abnormal wound healing
What is Ehlers Danlos?
A collection of heritable connective tissues disorders classified according to its symptoms and signs
13 different types
What is a non-conservative missense mutation?
A point mutation that codes for a different amino acid with different properties
What is haploinsufficiency?
Only have one functional copy of a gene
Half the dose causing a pathological phenotype - cannot provide sufficient gene product
Often caused by a LOF mutation
What is the structure of Type V collagen?
It is made of 3 chains
2 alpha1 chains
1 alpha2 chain
Heterotrimer
What is the inheritance pattern of Ehlers Danlos?
Autosomal Dominant
How common is Ehlers Danlos?
1 in 5000 births
Rare
What is the major criteria for Ehlers Danlos?
Skin hyperextensibility
Widened atrophic scarring (due to tissue fragility)
Joint hypermobility
Positive family history
Name 5 minor criteria for Ehlers Danlos
Smooth velvety skin
Molluscoid pseudotumours (fleshy, heaped up lesions associated with scars over pressure points e.g. elbows and knees)
Subcutaneous spheroids (small, hard cyst-like nodules, freely moveable in the subcutis over the bony prominences of the legs and arms, which have an outer calcified layer with a translucent core on X-ray)
Complications of joint hyper-mobility (sprains, dislocations/subluxations and pes planus)
Muscle hypotonia, delayed gross motor development
Easy bruising
Manifestions of tissue extensibility and fragility (anal prolapse in childhood, hiatal hernia, cervical insufficiency)
Surgical complications (postoperative hernias)
Why is the skin so fragile and flexible?
Mutation in the collagen fibres so skin is very flexible
Why are the joints hypermobile?
Collagen is in the ECM of the tendons
Why do patients bruise easily?
Less collagen in the blood vessels so the blood becomes more leaky and the blood vessels get damaged easily
What does diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos require?
3 major criteria
1 minor criteria
What does culturing fibroblasts mean?
Take fibroblasts from Andreas’ cells and grow them on a petri dish
Process the fibroblasts for gel electrophoresis
Explain electrophoresis
Charged molecules move up a gel
Current passed through the gel and then the proteins move up depending on their size and shape (weight)
Collagen was processed from dermal fibroblasts
What does haematoma mean?
The abnormal collection of blood that has usually clotted outside of a blood vessel
What is a subcutaneous nodule?
A firm lump under the skin that is often the result of infection/inflammation
What does hyper-extensible mean?
Being able to be stretched to a greater than normal degree
What does episiotomy mean?
A surgical cut made in the perineum to enlarge the vaginal opening for childbirth
What is a skin biopsy?
A small sample of skin is removed and examined under an electron microscope