Allele-specific differences in ryanodine receptor 1 mRNA expression levels may contribute to phenotypic variability in malignant hyperthermia

BACKGROUND Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a dominantly inherited skeletal muscle disorder that can cause a fatal hypermetabolic reaction to general anaesthetics. The primary locus of MH (MHS1 locus) in humans is linked to chromosome 19q13.1, the position of the gene encoding the ryanodine receptor skeletal muscle calcium release channel (RyR1). METHODS In this study, an inexpensive allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) assay was designed that allowed the relative quantification of the two RyR1 transcripts in heterozygous samples found to be susceptible to MH (MHS). Allele-specific differences in RyR1 expression levels can provide insight into the observed variable penetrance and variations in MH phenotypes between individuals. The presence/absence of the H4833Y mutation in RYR1 transcripts was employed as a marker that allowed discrimination between the two alleles. RESULTS In four skeletal muscle samples and two lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from different MHS patients, the wild type allele was found to be expressed at higher levels than the mutant RyR1 allele. For both LCLs, the ratios between the wild type and mutant RYR1 alleles did not change after different incubation times with actinomycin D. This suggests that there are no allele-specific differences in RyR1 mRNA stability, at least in these cells. CONCLUSION The data presented here revealed for the first time allele-specific differences in RYR1 mRNA expression levels in heterozygous MHS samples, and can at least in part contribute to the observed variable penetrance and variations in MH clinical phenotypes.