Molecular Pathogenesis
Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is composed of an amino-terminal coiled-coil domain, four type II (EGF-like) repeats, eight consecutive type III (calmodulin-like calcium-binding) repeats, and a carboxyl-terminal globular domain. The type III motifs typically are composed of both an N- and a C-type motif, although the third and fifth type III repeats lack the N-type motif. COMP is a homopentameric adhesive glycoprotein found predominantly in the cartilage extracellular matrix [Hedbom et al 1992]. COMP is also found in tendon, ligament, and muscle. COMP is a modular, multifunctional structural protein. The type III repeats bind calcium cooperatively and the carboxyl-terminal globular domain interacts with both fibrillar (types I, II, and III) and nonfibrillar (type IX) collagens.
Pathogenic variants in the exons encoding the type III repeats of COMP result in the misfolding of the mutated protein and its retention in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) of chondrocytes. This protein retention results in ER stress that ultimately causes increased cell death in vitro [Chen et al 2000, Maddox et al 2000, Unger & Hecht 2001, Kleerekoper et al 2002, Coustry et al 2012]. The retained protein in cartilage samples from individuals with COMP-related pseudoachondroplasia (COMP-PSACH) can have a diagnostic lamellar appearance by transmission electron microscopy [Maynard et al 1972].
The effect of pathogenic variants in the exons encoding the C-terminal globular domain of COMP is not fully resolved, but these pathogenic variants are not thought to prevent the secretion of mutated COMP in vitro [Spitznagel et al 2004, Schmitz et al 2006]. Furthermore, they are believed to affect collagen fibrillogenesis in cell culture models [Hansen et al 2011].
All individuals with pseudoachondroplasia appear to have COMP pathogenic variants [Jackson et al 2012]. Furthermore, all of the pathogenic variants predict an alteration in the primary structure of the protein, with the majority found in the exons encoding the eight type III calcium-binding repeats of the protein (~85%; exons 8-14). Pathogenic variants in the exons encoding the carboxyl-terminal globular domain have mostly been found in the remaining affected individuals (~15%; exons 14-19). Two variants in exons 7 and 8 encoding a type II repeat have been identified, but their pathogenesis has not been fully resolved [Jackson et al 2012, Briggs et al 2014].
Approximately 30% of individuals have the same pathogenic variant: deletion of a single aspartic acid codon p.Asp473 within a run of five consecutive GAC (Asp-encoding) codons in exon 13 [Hecht et al 1995, Briggs & Chapman 2002], corresponding to the seventh type III calcium-binding repeat of the protein. Most of the remaining individuals have a diverse range of single amino-acid substitution variants, small in-frame deletions, duplications, or indels. Interestingly, unlike the pathogenic variants in nucleotides of the type III repeats, pathogenic variants within the carboxyl-terminal domain (exons 14-19) appear to cluster in three distinct regions and affect only a limited number of residues. These variant clusters include p.Thr529Ile, p.Glu583Lys, p.Thr585Met, p.Thr585Arg, p.Thr585Lys, p.His587Arg, p.Gly719Ser, and p.Gly719Asp and point to an important role for these residues in the structure and/or function of COMP [Briggs et al 1998, Deere et al 1998, Hecht et al 1998, Deere et al 1999, Mabuchi et al 2001, Kennedy et al 2005a, Kennedy et al 2005b, Jackson et al 2012].
Evidence suggests that pathogenic variants in exons 7 and 8 encoding the type II repeats may be an uncommon cause of COMP-PSACH [Jackson et al 2012, Briggs et al 2014].
A single in-frame exon deletion and a single pathogenic variant predicting synthesis of a truncated protein have also been characterized but not analyzed in depth [Mabuchi et al 2003].
Mechanism of disease causation. Dominant-negative
Table 6.
COMP Pathogenic Variants Referenced in This GeneReview
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Reference Sequences | DNA Nucleotide Change | Predicted Protein Change (Alias 1) | Comment |
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NM_000095.2
NP_000086.2
| c.1417_1419delGAC | p.Asp473del 2 (Asp469del) | See Genotype-Phenotype Correlations. |
c.1417_1419dupGAC | p.Asp473dup 2 (Asp469dup) |
c.1586C>T | p.Thr529Ile | See Molecular Pathogenesis. |
c.1747G>A | p.Glu583Lys |
c.1754C>T | p.Thr585Met |
c.1754C>G | p.Thr585Arg |
c.1754C>A | p.Thr585Lys |
c.1760A>G | p.His587Arg |
c.2155G>A | p.Gly719Ser |
c.2156G>A | p.Gly719Asp |
Variants listed in the table have been provided by the authors. GeneReviews staff have not independently verified the classification of variants.
GeneReviews follows the standard naming conventions of the Human Genome Variation Society (varnomen.hgvs.org). See Quick Reference for an explanation of nomenclature.
- 1.
Variant designation that does not conform to current naming conventions
- 2.
The reference sequence NP_000086.2 has five tandem Asp residues, the first at residue 469 and the last at residue 473 (i.e., 469-AspAspAspAspAsp-473). Standard nomenclature has a rule that assigns a change (deletion or duplication of an Asp residue) in a single amino acid stretch of tandem repeats to the most C-terminal position. Thus, the standard nomenclature is p.Asp473del or p.Asp473dup.