Clinical Description
The clinical phenotype of CLPB deficiency ranges from severe to mild as determined by neurologic involvement and neutropenia. Children with neonatal onset or early-infantile onset have severe involvement and may die from complications of their disease, whereas those with late-infantile and early-childhood onset have a milder clinical presentation [Pronicka et al 2017].
To date a total of 32 individuals from 16 families with biallelic CLPB pathogenic variants have been reported in the literature (n=14 [Wortmann et al 2015], n=5 [Pronicka et al 2017], n=5 [Saunders et al 2015], n=4 [Capo-Chichi et al 2015], n=2 [Kanabus et al 2015], and n=1 [Kiykim et al 2016]). Most have been identified as neonates; all were symptomatic by early childhood.
Autosomal dominant CLPB deficiency has been reported in 16 probands (from 16 families) with severe to mild phenotypes [Wortmann et al 2021, Warren et al 2022].
Table 2.
CLPB Deficiency: Frequency of Select Features
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Feature | Proportion of Persons w/Feature | Comment |
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AR CLPB deficiency | AD CLPB deficiency 1 |
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Prenatal manifestations | 17/32 | Unknown | Polyhydramnios, fetal contractures, IUGR |
Altered muscle tone | 28/32 | 5/16 | |
Movement disorder | 20/32 | 0/16 | |
Seizures | 18/32 | 7/16 | |
Brain atrophy | 14/32 | 4/16 | |
DD/ID | 22/26 2 | 7/16 | |
Neutropenia | 26/32 | 15/16 | |
Cataracts | 17/32 | 2/16 | |
Elevated urinary 3-MGA | 32/32 | 6/16 | |
3-MGA = 3-methylglutaconic acid; AD = autosomal dominant; AR = autosomal or recessive; DD = developmental delay; ID = intellectual disability; IUGR = intrauterine growth restriction
- 1.
- 2.
Early demise of individuals with autosomal recessive CLPB deficiency may prevent identification of developmental delay / intellectual disability.
Severe Phenotype
Neurologic. Affected infants come to attention at birth with significant neurologic involvement that can include hyperekplexia or absence of voluntary movements, hypotonia or hypertonia, swallowing problems, respiratory insufficiency, microcephaly, and epileptic seizures (with a burst suppression pattern on EEG). All affected infants require neonatal intensive care.
These infants show no motor or intellectual development, and generally die in the first months of life.
Retrospectively, many mothers of infants with the severe phenotype reported issues during the pregnancy, including decreased or increased fetal movements and intrauterine growth restriction [Pronicka et al 2017].
Neutropenia. All infants with the severe phenotype had chronic, severe congenital neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count [ANC] <500 per mm3) associated with life-threatening infections. Several affected infants progressed to a myelodysplastic syndrome / leukemia-like condition within the first months of life.
Cataracts. While many, but not all, individuals with CLPB deficiency have bilateral congenital or infantile cataracts, their presence is not associated with the severity of the neurologic involvement or neutropenia.
Moderate Phenotype
Neurologic. The neonatal course is often complicated by adaptive problems in the broadest sense as well as neurologic abnormalities that are comparable to but less severe than those observed in the severe phenotype (e.g., hypotonia and feeding problems).
Subsequent neurologic involvement varies. In many with neonatal onset, generalized hypotonia progresses during childhood to spasticity (mainly of the legs). Many have an infantile-onset progressive movement disorder that can include ataxia, dystonia, or dyskinesia of varying severity. Several individuals have epileptic seizures that can be difficult to treat. All but two have intellectual disability that ranges from mild learning disability to very limited development of all cognitive and motor functions.
Neutropenia with variable ANC is common. Some affected individuals are only neutropenic during infections, and some have recurrent (although not life-threatening) infections, including in the neonatal period.
Growth. Linear growth is unremarkable; feeding problems are common and often lead to poor weight gain.
Other. Many individuals had biochemical evidence of endocrine abnormalities (e.g., hypothyroidism, premature ovarian failure / hypergonadotropic hypogonadism).
Mild Phenotype
Mildly affected individuals show only some clinical signs and symptoms without progression and survive without significant disease burden into adulthood.
Neurologic. There is no neurologic involvement; intellect is normal.
Neutropenia is mild and intermittent without increased risk of infection.
Other findings. Nephrocalcinosis and renal cysts without associated medical complications have been described in two individuals with the mild phenotype [Kanabus et al 2015].
Genotype-Phenotype Correlations
Individuals with the most severe phenotypes often have pathogenic variants predicted to lead to the complete absence of functional protein.
Autosomal dominant CLPB deficiency has been reported in six individuals with the following pathogenic variants: c.1211A>C (p.Lys404Thr), c.1280C>T (p.Pro427Leu), c.1678G>A (p.Gly560Arg), and c.1681C>T (p.Arg561Trp); phenotype varied from severe to mild. These variants disturb refoldase and to a lesser extent ATPase activity of CLPB in a dominant-negative manner. Urinary excretion of 3-methylglutaconic acid (3-MGA) was elevated in all six individuals assessed [Wortmann et al 2021].
Six different heterozygous CLPB pathogenic variants, c.1163C>A (p.Thr388Lys), c.1488T>A (p.Asn496Lys), c.1669G>A (p.Glu557Lys), c.1681C>G (p.Arg561Gly), c.1682G>A (p.Arg561Gln), and c.1858C>T (p.Arg620Cys), were identified in ten unrelated individuals with congenital neutropenia with or without neurologic features and/or cataracts. Urinary excretion of 3-MGA was not elevated in the five individuals in whom it was assessed. All six pathogenic variants were near the C-terminal ATP-binding domain and were predicted to interact with the ATP-binding pocket [Warren et al 2022].