Intragenic deletions of ALDH7A1 in pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy caused by Alu-Alu recombination.

Objective: To investigate the role of intragenic deletions of ALDH7A1 in patients with clinical and biochemical evidence of pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy but only a single identifiable mutation in ALDH7A1.

Methods: We designed a custom oligonucleotide array with high-density probe coverage across the ALDH7A1 gene. We performed array comparative genomic hybridization in 6 patients with clinical and biochemical evidence of pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy but only a single detectable mutation in ALDH7A1 by sequence analysis.

Results: We found partial deletions of ALDH7A1 in 5 of 6 patients. Breakpoint analysis reveals that the deletions are likely a result of Alu-Alu recombination in all cases. The density of Alu elements within introns of ALDH7A1 suggests susceptibility to recurrent rearrangement.

Conclusion: Patients with clinical pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy and a single identifiable mutation in ALDH7A1 warrant further investigation for copy number changes involving the ALHD7A1 gene.