Abstract
Background - We recently reported a mutation in the PRKAG2 gene to be responsible for a familial syndrome of ventricular preexcitation, atrial fibrillation, conduction defects, and cardiac hypertrophy. We now report a novel mutation in PRKAG2 causing Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and conduction system disease with onset in childhood and the absence of cardiac hypertrophy. Methods and Results - DNA was extracted from white blood cells obtained from family members. PRKAG2 exons were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and were screened for mutations by direct sequencing. The genomic organization of the PRKAG2 gene was determined using inter-exon long-range polymerase chain reaction for cDNA sequence not available in the genome database. A missense mutation, Arg531Gly, was identified in all affected individuals but was absent in 150 unrelated individuals. The PRKAG2 gene was determined to consist of 16 exons and is at least 280 kb in size. Conclusions - We identified a novel mutation (Arg531Gly) in the γ-2 regulatory subunit (PRKAG2) of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to be responsible for a syndrome associated with ventricular preexcitation and early onset of atrial fibrillation and conduction disease. These observations confirm an important functional role of AMPK in the regulation of ion channels specific to cardiac tissue. The identification of the cardiac ion channel(s) serving as substrate for AMPK not only would provide insight into the molecular basis of atrial fibrillation and heart block but also may suggest targets for the development of more specific therapy for these common rhythm disturbances.