Abstract
Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia (SIOD) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited disorder that is caused by the
Keywords
Introduction
Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia (SIOD, OMIM: 242900) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited disorder that was first reported by Schimke in 1971, and its main clinical findings are spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), T-cell immunodeficiency, and facial dysmorphism.1–3 Clinically, the severity of SIOD is determined primarily by the patient’s age at onset, ultimate lifespan, and accompanying symptoms.
4
SIOD is divided into the following two forms: 1) severe or infantile; and 2) mild or juvenile on the basis of the age at onset. The severe or infantile form usually manifests early or even
Boerkoel et al.
5
first determined that
Case presentation
A 14-year-old Chinese boy, who was the second child of nonconsanguineous parents, was admitted to our hospital because of foamy urine and lower extremity edema for 1 year. His parents and older brother were healthy, and no family history of short stature or renal disease was reported. He was born at 38+3 weeks gestation (birth weight, 2.6 kg) by cesarean section because of oligohydramnios and decreased fetal movement. Protracted diarrhea occurred frequently before 3 years of age, and his weight was 8.3 kg, which is in the <3rd percentile for that age.
On physical examination, he had developmental delay (37.0 kg, weight at 3rd percentile), short stature (137 cm, height <3rd percentile), and he had some characteristic facial features including a triangular shape and a broad nasal bridge with a rounded tip of the nose. He had swollen eyelids, short neck, barrel-shaped chest, protruding abdomen, and two areas of jock itch, one on each of his inner thighs. His teeth appeared small and widely spaced (Figure 1). When walking, his legs made an X shape. Lymphopenia (1.04 × 109/L, 16.7%, Ref: 1.1–3.2 × 109/L, 20%–50%) was observed at different times, and it was further confirmed by flow cytometry analysis, which revealed significantly decreased levels of CD4+ T-cells (208/μL, 14.57%, Ref: 550–1440/μL, 27%–51%) and CD4+/CD8+ T-cells (0.55/μL, Ref: 0.71–2.78/μL). Massive proteinuria (9.31 g) was detected using 24-hour proteinuria quantification, and proteinuria did not improve after treatment. Blood biochemistry evaluation revealed hypoproteinemia due to low total protein (47.3 g/L, Ref: 60–85 g/L) and albumin (24.9 g/L, Ref: 35–55 g/L), as well as dyslipidemia with high total cholesterol (TC; 7.87 mmol/L, Ref: <5.2 mmol/L) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL; 4.27 mmol/L, Ref: <3.61 mmol/L). However, urea nitrogen, creatinine, and glucose levels were all within their respective reference ranges. Endocrine hormone results revealed subclinical hypothyroidism (thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH] 8.75 μIU/mL, Ref: 0.27–4.2 μIU/mL), hypocalcemia (serum calcium 1.91 mmol/L, Ref: 2.0–2.7 mmol/L), and secondary hyperparathyroidism (parathyroid hormone [PTH] 178.1 μIU/mL, Ref: 15–68.3 μIU/mL) because 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] was insufficient (11 ng/μL, Ref: 30–100 ng/μL), whereas cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and sex hormones (including follicle stimulating hormone [FSH], luteinizing hormone [LH], estradiol, prolactin, and progesterone) were all normal. Growth hormone provocation test results indicated that the peak secretion of growth hormone was up to 40,308 pg/mL at 30 minutes after medication (Table 1), with a normal insulin-like growth factor [IGF-1] level (298 ng/mL; Ref: 220–972 ng/mL). High levels were detected for C-reactive protein (CRP; 15.2 mg/L, Ref: 0–10 mg/L), procalcitonin (PCT; 0.061 ng/mL, Ref: 0–0.046 ng/mL), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; 39 mm/hour, Ref: 0–15 mm/hour). No hepatitis infection was detected, and the markers of autoimmunity (antinuclear antibodies [ANA], antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody [ANCA], anti-double-stranded DNA antibody [dsDNA]) were negative. Radiological examination of his hand demonstrated that the patient’s bone age was 14.3 years, which was consistent with his calendar age. Osteoporosis was observed in both feet and ankles using an X-ray bone densitometer, but the features of his vertebrae, pelvis, and femoral heads were not available.

Clinical details of the patient at 14 years of age. (a–b) Photographs showing short stature, round face, and broad nasal bridge with a rounded tip of the nose. (c) Physical appearance of the patient’s teeth noting microdontia and delayed eruption of permanent teeth. (d) Photographs showing a protruding abdomen. (e) Photographs showing two areas of jock itch, one on each of his inner thighs.
The patient’s growth hormone provocative test results.
With his parents’ consent, a renal biopsy was performed, and the results showed FSGS and mild mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. Whole exome sequencing (WES) revealed two compound heterozygous missense mutations in the

Schematic representation of the structure of the SMARCAL1 protein and Sanger sequencing results of the identified
The
a: For Mutation Taster, the probability value is the probability of the prediction (i.e., a value close to 1 indicates a high likelihood of prediction).
b: For Polyphen-2, the prediction scores ranged from 0 to 1, with high scores indicating probably or possibly damaging.
c: For REVEL, prediction scores ranged from 0 to 1, with high scores indicating probably or possibly damaging.
d: For SIFT, scores varied between 0 and 1. Variants with scores close or equal to 0 are predicted to be damaging.
e: For PROVEAN, variants with scores lower than −2.5 (cutoff) are predicted to be deleterious.
f: Allele frequency of variation in the total ExAC database.
g: Allele frequency of variation in the 1000 Genomes database.
h: Allele frequency of variation in the total gnomAD (a large database containing 123,136 exome sequences).
I: Allele frequency of variation in the total gnomAD (a large database containing 15,496 whole-genome sequences).
Polyphen-2, polymorphism phenotyping v2; REVEL, Rare Exome Variant Ensemble Learner; SIFT, Sorting Intolerant from Tolerant; PROVEAN, Protein Variation Effect Analyzer; ExAC, Exome Aggregation Consortium; gnomAD, Genome Aggregation database.

The conservative analysis of the amino acid at the mutant site in SMARCAL1 protein (NM_014140.4). The 827th amino acid valine in SMARCAL1 (indicating by the red box), which was changed to a methionine in the patient, is highly conserved in all the following species that were available on the National Centre for Biotechnology Information:
Discussion
In the present study, we report the case of a male teenager who exhibited some clinical characteristics and was diagnosed with mild SIOD; these clinical characteristics included short stature, FSGS, and characteristic dysmorphic features. Moreover, there were two areas of jock itch, one on each of his inner thighs, which might have been caused by a fungal infection, and it was confirmed by the laboratory test results. This infection might have been associated with low immunity. The effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on secondary hyperparathyroidism with chronic renal failure was reported previously, and it showed that 1,25(OH)2D3 could markedly suppress PTH levels while increasing serum calcium.17,18 For our patient, hyperparathyroidism was considered to be the result of a 1,25(OH)2D3 deficiency. Mild clinical features were compatible with the juvenile form of SIOD at 14 years of age.
As an ATP-dependent annealing helicase, the SMARCAL1 protein, contains two DNA/RNA HARP2 helicases at the C-terminal and has a SNF2 N terminal domain, and the SMARCAL1 protein can catalyze the rewinding of stably unwound DNA (Figure 2).19,20 The professional HGMD database contains 100 mutations of the
For a better understanding the phenotype and genotype, we summarized the reported cases of mild SIOD that were reported in the literature (Table 3).4–6,20,22–26 Sixteen cases (including four pairs of siblings) with mild SIOD have been summarized. The male-to-female ratio was 7:9, and 81.25% (13/16) of the patients were over 10 years of age. Most mild SIOD cases occurred in people of German descent (4/16), Italian descent (3/16), and Turkish descent (3/16), and only one case was reported in a Chinese population. Skeletal abnormality (16/16) was the most frequent feature, and short stature was the most common reason for admission to the hospital. Nephrotic syndrome (13/16) and facial features (9/16) were also common features. Nine patients underwent renal biopsies, and FSGS was observed in seven patients. Thirteen patients underwent genetic analysis, and all (including four pairs of siblings) had five homozygous mutations (including two pairs of siblings) or eight compound heterozygous mutations in the
Phenotype and genotype in mild SIOD patients.
*1 and 2 are siblings.
#Age at publication or reported in the paper.
Fam, family; Ind, individual; y, years; Sk, skeleton; Fac, facial features; Pig, pigmentation; NS, nephrotic syndrome; Rec, recurrent infection; Lym, lymphopenia; Dys, dyslipidemia; Ren, renal biopsy; F, female; M, male; TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone; CNS, central nervous system; ND, no data or not done; GS, global glomerulosclerosis; FSGS, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis; MGA, minor glomerular abnormalities.
Conclusion
We identified a novel missense mutation, c.2479G>A (p.V827M), in the
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the patient and his family members for participation in this study and all of the patient advisers for their assistance with clinical examination and blood specimen collection.
Authors’ contributions
WL designed the study, performed genetic testing, and drafted the initial manuscript. LJJ collected the patient data and current literature. WG made the diagnosis and completed the diagnostic work-up. KXD designed the study and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Declaration of conflicting interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethics statement
Informed consent was obtained from the patient and his family before participating in our study. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Zhengzhou University (approval number KS-2018-KY-36), and it complies with the CARE case report guidelines. 8 All identifying details of the patient’s information have been deleted from the case report, and the identity of the patient cannot be ascertained in any way. The patient and his parents provided written consent for the treatment and publication of this paper.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Project of China [grant number 2018YFC1002203].
