UBQLN2 mutation causing heterogeneous X-linked dominant neurodegeneration

We report a five-generation family with phenotypically diverse neurodegenerative disease including relentlessly progressive choreoathetoid movements, dysarthria, dysphagia, spastic paralysis, and behavioral dementia in descendants of a 67-year-old woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Disease onset varied with gender, occurring in male children and adult women. Exome sequence analyses revealed a novel mutation (c.1490C>T, p.P497L) in the ubiquilin-2 gene (UBQLN2) with X-linked inheritance in all studied affected individuals. As ubiquilin-2 positive inclusions were identified in brain we suggest that mutant peptide predisposes to protein misfolding and accumulation. Our findings expand the spectrum of neurodegenerative phenotypes caused by UBQLN2 mutations.