A Healthy Family of Familial Hypobetalipoproteinemia Caused by a Protein-truncating Variant in the PCSK9 Gene

Abstract

We present the first case of a Japanese patient with familial hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL) caused by a protein-truncating variant in the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) gene. A 34-year-old woman was referred to our hospital due to her low low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterolemia (34 mg/dL). She did not have any secondary causes of hypobetalipoproteinemia. Her father and her younger sister also exhibited low LDL cholesterol levels. We identified a protein-truncating variant in the PCSK9 gene (c.1090-1091del/p.Pro364ArgfsTer62) among them. None of them exhibited atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases nor any other complications associated with low LDL cholesterol, including fatty liver, neurocognitive disorders, or cerebral hemorrhaging.