Growth-Promoting Therapies May Be Useful In Short Stature Patients With Nonspecific Skeletal Abnormalities Caused By Acan Heterozygous Mutations: Six Chinese Cases And Literature Review

Objective: There are numerous reasons for short stature, including mutations in osteochondral development genes. ACAN, one such osteochondral development gene in which heterozygous mutations can cause short stature, has attracted attention from researchers in recent years. Therefore, we analyzed six cases of short stature with heterozygous ACAN mutations and performed a literature review.Methods: Clinical information and blood samples from 6 probands and their family members were collected after consent forms were signed. Gene mutations in the probands were detected by whole-exome sequencing. Then, we searched the literature, performed statistical analyses, and summarized the characteristics of all reported cases.Results: We identified six novel mutations in ACAN: c.1411C>T, c.1817C>A, c.1762C>T, c.2266G>C, c.7469G>A, and c.1733-1G>A. In the literature, more than 200 affected individuals have been diagnosed genetically with a similar condition (height standard deviation score [SDS] -3.14 +/- 1.15). Among affected individuals receiving growth-promoting treatment, their height before and after treatment was SDS -2.92 +/- 1.07 versus SDS -2.14 +/- 1.23 (P<.001). As of July 1, 2019, a total of 57 heterozygous ACAN mutations causing nonsyndromic short stature had been reported, including the six novel mutations found in our study. Approximately half of these mutations can lead to protein truncation.Conclusion: This study used clinical and genetic means to examine the relationship between the ACAN gene and short stature. To some extent, clear diagnosis is difficult, since most of these affected individuals' characteristics are not prominent. Growth-promoting therapies may be beneficial for increasing the height of affected patients.