Mixed Bartter-Gitelman syndrome: an inbred family with a heterogeneous phenotype expression of a novel variant in the CLCNKB gene

Patients with renal diseases associated with salt-losing tubulopathies categorized as Gitelman and classic form of Bartter syndrome have undergone genetic screening for possible mutation capture in two different genes: SLC12A3 and CLCNKB. Clinical symptoms of these two diseases may overlap. Bartter syndrome and Gitelman syndrome are autosomal recessive salt-losing tubulopathies with hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, hyperreninemia, hyperplasia of the juxtaglomerular apparatus, hyperaldosteronism, and, in some patients, hypomagnesemia. Here we describe four patients from an inbred family with a novel missense variant in the CLCNKB gene. All of patients are asymptomatic; yet they have the typical metabolic abnormality of salt losing tubulopathies. One of those patients had hypomagnesaemia while others not. Clinical and laboratory data of all patients was described. All 4 patients have a homozygous c.490G > T missense variant in exon 5 of the CLCNKB gene. This variant alters a glycine into a cysteine on amino acid position 164 of the resulting protein (p.Gly164Cys). The c.490G > T variant is a novel variant not previously described in other patients nor controls. Polyphen analysis predicts the variation to be possibly damaging. Analysis of SLC12A3 was normal. Here in we are describing a novel homozygous c.490G > T missense variation was identified in exon 5 of the CLCNKB gene was identified in an Emirati patients with a mild manifestation of Bartter - Gitelman syndrome.