Abstract
We report on a Chinese girl with Frasier syndrome (FS). She presented with steroid-resistant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and male pseudohermaphroditism. The WT1 IVS 9 + 5 G>A mutation was detected in one allele in the proband. The ratio of +KTS/−KTS was 0.67 in the proband’s cDNA. The expression of podocyte molecules (WT1, nephrin, podocin, α-actinin 4 and CD2AP) were also investigated in a renal specimen of this FS patient. WT1 expression showed diffuse nuclear staining, with less obvious speckles in the patient’s glomeruli than in those of controls. The distribution and intensity of podocyte molecules were altered both in normal- and abnormal-appearing glomeruli. In conclusion, the study presented a case of FS by clinical manifestation, renal pathology, karyotype analysis and genetic testing. A lower ratio of +KTS/−KTS and an abnormal distribution of WT1, as well as abnormal expressions of other podocyte molecules, were also revealed. The mechanisms of WT1 mutation causing FS still need to be investigated.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00467-007-0579-y/MediaObjects/467_2007_579_Fig1_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00467-007-0579-y/MediaObjects/467_2007_579_Fig2_HTML.jpg)
References
Moorthy AV, Chesney RW, Lubinsky M (1987) Chronic renal failure and XY gonadal dysgenesis: “Frasier” syndrome—a commentary on reported cases. Am J Med Genet 3 [Suppl]:297–302
Klamt B, Koziell AB, Poulat F, Wieacker P, Scambler P, Berta P, Gessler M (1998) Frasier syndrome is caused by defective alternative splicing leading to an altered ratio of WT1 KTS splice isoforms. Hum Mol Genet 74:709–714
Aucella F, Bisceglia L, De Bonis P, Gigante M, Caridi G, Barbano G, Mattioli G, Perfumo F, Gesualdo L, Ghiggeri GM (2006) WT1 mutations in nephrotic syndrome revisited. High prevalence in young girls, associations and renal phenotypes. Pediatr Nephrol 21:1393–1398
Kanemoto K, Ishikura K, Ariyasu D, Hamasaki Y, Hataya H, Hasegawa Y, Ikeda M (2007) WT1 intron 9 splice acceptor site mutation in a 46,XY male with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Pediatr Nephrol 22:454–458
Ruotsalainen V, Ljungberg P, Wartiovaara J, Lenkkeri U, Kestila M, Jalanko H, Holmberg C, Tryggvason K (1999) Nephrin is specifically located at the slit diaphragm of glomerular podocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96:7962–7967
Roselli S, Gribouval O, Boute N, Sich M, Benessy F, Attie T, Gubler MC, Antignac C (2002) Podocin localizes in the kidney to the slit diaphragm area. Am J Pathol 160:131–139
Kaplan JM, Kim SH, North KN, Rennke H, Correia LA, Tong HQ, Mathis BJ, Rodriguez-Perez JC, Allen PG, Beggs AH, Pollak MR (2000) Mutations in ACTN4, encoding alpha-actinin-4, cause familial focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Nat Genet 24:251–256
Kim JM, Wu H, Green G, Winkler CA, Kopp JB, Miner JH, Unanue ER, Shaw AS (2003) CD2-associated protein haploin sufficiency is linked to glomerular disease susceptibility. Science 300:1298–1300
Wagner N, Wagner KD, Xing Y, Scholz H, Schedl A (2004) The major podocyte protein nephrin is transcriptionally activated by the Wilms’ tumor suppressor WT1. J Am Soc Nephrol 15:3044–3051
McTaggart SJ, Algar E, Chow CW, Powell HR, Jones CL (2001) Clinical spectrum of Denys–Drash and Frasier syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol 16:335–339
Niaudet P, Gubler MC (2006) WT1 and glomerular diseases. Pediatr Nephrol 21:1653–1660
Mundlos S, Pelletier J, Darveau A, Bachmann M, Winterpacht A, Zabel B (1993) Nuclear localization of the protein encoded by the Wilms’ tumor gene WT1 in embryonic and adult tissues. Development 119:1329–1341
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (30170992, 30672259) and the National 10th Five-year Project (2003BA712A11-23). We are grateful to Prof. Karl Tryggvason (Sweden) and Prof. Corinne Antignac (France) for their kind gifts of antibodies. We also thank Yan Chen, Yan Xing, Lixia Yu, Guohong Wu, Yong Yao, Jianping Huang and Jingcheng Liu for their support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Jianguo Li and Dan Zhao contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, J., Zhao, D., Ding, J. et al. WT1 mutation and podocyte molecular expression in a Chinese Frasier syndrome patient. Pediatr Nephrol 22, 2133–2136 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-007-0579-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-007-0579-y