Haploinsufficiency of ATP1A2 encoding the Na+/K+ pump α2 subunit associated with familial hemiplegic migraine type 2

✍ Scribed by Fusco, Maurizio De; Marconi, Roberto; Silvestri, Laura; Atorino, Luigia; Rampoldi, Luca; Morgante, Letterio; Ballabio, Andrea; Aridon, Paolo; Casari, Giorgio

• Book ID: 109918180
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 430 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1061-4036
• DOI: 10.1038/ng1081

✦ Synopsis

Headache attacks and autonomic dysfunctions characterize migraine, a very common, disabling disorder with a prevalence of 12% in the general population of Western countries. About 20% of individuals affected with migraine experience aura, a visual or sensory-motor neurological dysfunction that usually precedes or accompanies the headache. Although the mode of transmission is controversial, population-based and twin studies have implicated genetic factors, especially in migraine with aura. Familial hemiplegic migraine is a hereditary form of migraine characterized by aura and some hemiparesis. Here we show that mutations in the gene ATP1A2 that encodes the alpha2 subunit of the Na+/K+ pump are associated with familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 (FHM2) linked to chromosome 1q23 (OMIM 602481). Functional data indicate that the putative pathogenetic mechanism is triggered by a loss of function of a single allele of ATP1A2. This is the first report associating mutations of Na+K+ pump subunits to genetic diseases.