Cell
Volume 87, Issue 3, 1 November 1996, Pages 543-552
Journal home page for Cell

Article
Familial Hemiplegic Migraine and Episodic Ataxia Type-2 Are Caused by Mutations in the Ca2+ Channel Gene CACNL1A4

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81373-2Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Abstract

Genes for familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) and episodic ataxia type-2 (EA-2) have been mapped to chromosome 19p13. We characterized a brain-specific P/Q-type Ca2+ channel α1-subunit gene, CACNL1A4, covering 300 kb with 47 exons. Sequencing of all exons and their surroundings revealed polymorphic variations, including a (CA)n-repeat (D19S1150), a (CAG)n-repeat in the 3′-UTR, and different types of deleterious mutations in FHM and EA-2. In FHM, we found four different missense mutations in conserved functional domains. One mutation has occurred on two different haplotypes in unrelated FHM families. In EA-2, we found two mutations disrupting the reading frame. Thus, FHM and EA-2 can be considered as allelic channelopathies. A similar etiology may be involved in common types of migraine.

Cited by (0)