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Warburg Micro syndrome and Martsolf syndrome are heterogenous autosomal-recessive developmental disorders characterized by brain, eye, and endocrine abnormalities. Previously, identification of mutations in RAB3GAP1 and RAB3GAP2 in both these syndromes implicated dysregulation of the RAB3 cycle (which controls calcium-mediated exocytosis of neurotransmitters and hormones) in disease pathogenesis. RAB3GAP1 and RAB3GAP2 encode the catalytic and noncatalytic subunits of the hetrodimeric enzyme RAB3GAP (RAB3GTPase-activating protein), a key regulator of the RAB3 cycle. We performed autozygosity mapping in five consanguineous families without RAB3GAP1/2 mutations and identified loss-of-function mutations in RAB18. A c.71T > A (p.Leu24Gln) founder mutation was identified in four Pakistani families, and a homozygous exon 2 deletion (predicted to result in a frameshift) was found in the fifth family. A single family whose members were compound heterozygotes for an anti-termination mutation of the stop codon c.619T > C (p.X207QextX20) and an inframe arginine deletion c.277_279 del (p.Arg93 del) were identified after direct gene sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) of a further 58 families. Nucleotide binding assays for RAB18(Leu24Gln) and RAB18(Arg93del) showed that these mutant proteins were functionally null in that they were unable to bind guanine. The clinical features of Warburg Micro syndrome patients with RAB3GAP1 or RAB3GAP2 mutations and RAB18 mutations are indistinguishable, although the role of RAB18 in trafficking is still emerging, and it has not been linked previously to the RAB3 pathway. Knockdown of rab18 in zebrafish suggests that it might have a conserved developmental role. Our findings imply that RAB18 has a critical role in human brain and eye development and neurodegeneration.

Neurodegenerative disorders with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of conditions in which there is neurodegeneration accompanied by elevated levels of brain iron. NBIA is frequently of genetic etiology, but may be secondary to an acquired systemic or neurological disease. Mutations in the ferritin light chain cause an adult-onset autosomal-dominant choreiform movement disorder termed neuroferritinopathy. Homozygous mutations in the ceruloplasmin gene cause aceruloplasminemia, which is characterized by the triad of diabetes, retinopathy, and a neurological disorder in mid adulthood. Mutations in pantothenate kinase 2 (PANK2) and phospholipase A2 (PLA2G6) cause recessive, childhood-onset extrapyramidal disorders termed pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) and infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD), respectively. There is considerable phenotypic overlap between these conditions. The most useful investigation in suspected NBIA is brain magnetic resonance imaging, which can identify pathological iron deposition and distinguish between genotypes. Iron depletion therapy has been demonstrated to be successful in aceruloplasminemia, but not neuroferritinopathy, PKAN, or INAD. The presentation of NBIA overlaps with the more common adult movement disorders and pediatric neurometabolic conditions, and a high index of suspicion is required to make a correct diagnosis.