A Genotype-Phenotype Correlation of Haemophilia a in Victorian Patients with a Description of Novel Mutations

Aim:

Hemophilia A (HA) is caused by abnormalities in the Factor VIII gene. Certain abnormalities correlate with disease severity. Here, we report the genotype-phenotype correlation for all Victorian HA patients.

Methods:

Using the Australian Bleeding Disorders Registry, Victorian HA patients were identified. All genetic testing was conducted at Southern Health. The testing algorithm is summarized in Figure 1.

Mutations were compared with the list of known Factor 8 mutations on the Champ and EAHAD F8 Variant Databases. A PubMed search was undertaken for any mutations not on either database. If this too was unrevealing, the mutation was designated novel. In-silico analysis was conducted on all novel mutations using three open-access, online prediction tools: a) Mutation Taster; b) Poly-Phen 2; c) Human Splice Site Predictor.

Results:

318 patients with matched clinical and genetic records were identified. 275 had known FVIII mutations and 36 novel FVIII mutations were discovered. Eight patients (3%) had no mutations identified. (Table 1)

In severe HA the intron-22 inversion was the most common mutation (47/122, 38%). Missense mutations predominated in mild and moderate HA. Inhibitors were present in 44/318 patients, the majority of whom had 26/44 (59%) severe HA.

20/36 novel mutations (55%) were associated with severe HA, 12/36 (33%) with mild HA and 4/36 (11%) with a moderate HA. Novel mutations associated with non-severe phenotypes were mostly missense mutations (15/16); More diversity was seen in the novel mutations causing a severe HA with a fairly even distribution of mutations: missense (7/20), nonsense (4/20) and small deletions and insertions (8/20). One large deletion involving a 6.5kb region of exon 26, as well as one duplication of exons 7 to 9 - was seen in the severe group. In-silico analysis predicted that all novel severe HA mutations were likely to be pathogenic.Inhibitors were seen in 7 patients with novel mutations.

Of the 36 novel mutations we described, 9/36 (25%) were seen in other family members - often female carriers. All 9 mutations caused a severe phenotype which is not unexpected given that the screening and testing of family members would be unlikely to take place in patients who have a mild phenotype and rarely require supportive medical care

Conclusion:

This study adds 36 novel mutations to the currently known FVIII haemophilic mutations. It also confirms that the frequency and correlative clinical severity of known genetic mutations in the Victorian HA cohort is similar to that described internationally.

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