Leigh Syndrome with Nephropathy and CoQ₁₀ Deficiency Due to decaprenyl diphosphate synthase subunit 2 (PDSS2) Mutations

Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) is a vital lipophilic molecule that transfers electrons from mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I and II to complex III. Deficiency of CoQ₁₀ has been associated with diverse clinical phenotypes, but, in most patients, the molecular cause is unknown. The first defect in a CoQ₁₀ biosynthetic gene, COQ2, was identified in a child with encephalomyopathy and nephrotic syndrome and in a younger sibling with only nephropathy. Here, we describe an infant with severe Leigh syndrome, nephrotic syndrome, and CoQ₁₀ deficiency in muscle and fibroblasts and compound heterozygous mutations in the PDSS2 gene, which encodes a subunit of decaprenyl diphosphate synthase, the first enzyme of the CoQ₁₀ biosynthetic pathway. Biochemical assays with radiolabeled substrates indicated a severe defect in decaprenyl diphosphate synthase in the patient's fibroblasts. This is the first description of pathogenic mutations in PDSS2 and confirms the molecular and clinical heterogeneity of primary CoQ₁₀ deficiency.