Heart failure caused by a novel amyloidogenic mutation of the transthyretin gene:: ATTR Ala45Ser

Cardiac failure in transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis patients has been shown to be caused by different mutations in the TTR gene. In the present case, a 73-year-old man from Northern Sweden was evaluated for heart failure. Amyloid deposits were found in subcutaneous fat and in intestinal biopsies. The presence of a variant form of TTR was detected in the plasma by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The mutation was located by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the TTR gene where a band shift was seen in exon 2. Direct sequencing of exon 2 revealed a single base-pair substitution (G1724T). This transversion results in an amino acid substitution at codon 45, alanine to serine (ATTRAla45Ser). Mass spectrometry analysis excluded that the variant is a polymorphism, since no similar shift in molecular weight has been present in more than 200 control samples. Congo red and immunostaining of duodenum biopsy specimens confirmed the presence of systemic ATTR amyloidosis, and clinical examination, including echocardiography, found evidence of a restrictive cardiomyopathy. He had 10 years previously been operated for a bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, but otherwise no symptoms were present that could be attributed to his systemic amyloidosis. No axonal polyneuropathy was noted at nerve conduction studies. This novel mutation is the second amyloidogenic TTR mutation found in the Swedish population.