Barth syndrome

disease
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Also known as 3-methylglutaconic aciduria type 23-methylglutaconic aciduria type IIBarth syndrome, X-linked recessiveBTHScardioskeletal myopathy with neutropenia and abnormal mitochondriacardioskeletal myopathy-neutropenia syndromeMGA2TAZ defectX-linked cardioskeletal myopathy and neutropenia

Summary

Barth syndrome (MONDO:0010543) is a disease caused by TAFAZZIN (GenCC Definitive), with 5 cohort genes and 9 clinical trials. Top therapeutic interventions include triheptanoin and elamipretide.

At a glance

  • Prevalence: 1-9 / 1 000 000 (Europe) [Orphanet-validated]
  • Causal gene: TAFAZZIN (GenCC Definitive)
  • Cohort genes: 5
  • ClinVar variants: 509
  • Phenotypes (HPO): 4
  • Clinical trials: 9

Clinical features

Epidemiology

Prevalence records

4 prevalence record(s), Orphanet:

TypeClassValueGeographyValidation
Point prevalence1-9 / 1 000 0000.22EuropeValidated
Prevalence at birth1-9 / 1 000 0000.29United StatesValidated
Prevalence at birth1-9 / 1 000 0000.15FranceValidated
Prevalence at birth1-9 / 1 000 0000.71United KingdomValidated

Signs & symptoms

Clinical features (HPO)

4 HPO clinical features (Orphanet curated; top 4 by frequency):

HPO IDTermFrequency
HP:0001644Dilated cardiomyopathyVery frequent (80-99%)
HP:0001706Endocardial fibroelastosisFrequent (30-79%)
HP:0001874Abnormality of neutrophilsFrequent (30-79%)
HP:0008322Abnormal mitochondrial morphologyFrequent (30-79%)

Identifiers

Disease identifiers

FieldValue
Canonical nameBarth syndrome
Mondo IDMONDO:0010543
MeSHD056889
OMIM302060
Orphanet111
DOIDDOID:0050476
ICD-10-CME78.71
ICD-11452199926
NCITC84585
SNOMED CT297231002
UMLSC0574083
MedGen107893
GARD0005890
NORD840
Is cancer (heuristic)no

Also known as: 3-methylglutaconic aciduria type 2 · 3-methylglutaconic aciduria type II · Barth syndrome · Barth syndrome, X-linked recessive · BTHS · cardioskeletal myopathy with neutropenia and abnormal mitochondria · cardioskeletal myopathy-neutropenia syndrome · MGA2 · TAZ defect · X-linked cardioskeletal myopathy and neutropenia

Data availability: 509 ClinVar variants · 3 GenCC gene-disease records · 26 cell lines.

Disease family

Classification path: disease › human disease › disease by body system or component › musculoskeletal system disordermuscle tissue disorderskeletal muscle disordermyopathycongenital myopathycongenital structural myopathyinborn mitochondrial myopathyBarth syndrome

Related subtypes (23): myopathy, lactic acidosis, and sideroblastic anemia, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, progressive external ophthalmoplegia, mitochondrial myopathy with a defect in mitochondrial-protein transport, mitochondrial myopathy with diabetes, mitochondrial myopathy with reversible cytochrome C oxidase deficiency, lethal infantile mitochondrial myopathy, sensory ataxic neuropathy, dysarthria, and ophthalmoparesis, mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency, adenosine monophosphate deaminase deficiency, congenital cataract-progressive muscular hypotonia-hearing loss-developmental delay syndrome, autosomal dominant mitochondrial myopathy with exercise intolerance, fatal infantile encephalocardiomyopathy, mitochondrial myopathy-lactic acidosis-deafness syndrome, mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy, adult-onset chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia with mitochondrial myopathy, maternally-inherited progressive external ophthalmoplegia, mitochondrial myopathy, episodic, with optic atrophy and reversible leukoencephalopathy, mitochondrial complex II deficiency, nuclear type, mitochondrial myopathy-cerebellar ataxia-pigmentary retinopathy syndrome, X-linked recessive mitochondrial myopathy, mitochondrial complex I deficiency, nuclear type 1, COX deficiency, benign infantile mitochondrial myopathy

Genetics & variants

GWAS landscape

No GWAS associations recorded — common-variant (GWAS) studies don’t cover this disease (typical for Mendelian / rare diseases). See the curated gene cohort and Mendelian overlap below.

Variant details and genetic-evidence tiers

ClinVar germline variants

509 retrieved; paginated sample, class counts are floors:

187 uncertain significance, 186 likely benign, 41 likely pathogenic, 39 pathogenic, 31 conflicting classifications of pathogenicity, 12 pathogenic/likely pathogenic, 9 benign/likely benign, 4 benign

ClinVarVariant (HGVS)GeneClassificationReview
2422157NC_000023.10:g.(?152014869)(155171615_?)delABCD1Pathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
3243728NC_000023.10:g.(?152954030)(154005142_?)delABCD1Pathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1073013NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.109+5G>ADNASE1L1Pathogenic/Likely pathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
1070847NC_000023.10:g.(?153640161)(153649363_?)delTAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1070848NC_000023.10:g.(?153639844)(153642537_?)delTAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1070849NC_000023.10:g.(?153647872)(153650075_?)delTAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1072332NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.129del (p.Val44fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1075571NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.293_294insTTAGGACCCC (p.Ala98_Ala99insTer)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
11100NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.239-1G>ATAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
11101NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.153C>G (p.Tyr51Ter)TAFAZZINPathogenic/Likely pathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
11102NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.239-1G>CTAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
11103NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.580dup (p.Trp194fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
11104NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.634del (p.Leu212fs)TAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
11105NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.589G>A (p.Gly197Arg)TAFAZZINPathogenic/Likely pathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
11107NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.284+110G>ATAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
11109NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.110-2A>GTAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
11110NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.280C>A (p.Arg94Ser)TAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
11111NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.605_608del (p.Glu202fs)TAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
11112NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.647-1G>CTAFAZZINPathogenicno assertion criteria provided
1704478NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.517del (p.Asp173fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
177908NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.710_711del (p.Val237fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1922509NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.586del (p.Ile196fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
1966105NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.238+1delTAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
202091NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.154G>T (p.Glu52Ter)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
202092NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.280C>T (p.Arg94Cys)TAFAZZINPathogenic/Likely pathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
202093NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.582G>A (p.Trp194Ter)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
2112174NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.153C>A (p.Tyr51Ter)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts
2127122NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.575del (p.Phe192fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
2138791NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.536del (p.Pro179fs)TAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, single submitter
234475NM_000116.5(TAFAZZIN):c.461-2A>GTAFAZZINPathogeniccriteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts

Genes & proteins

Mendelian disease overlap and somatic drivers

GenCC: 3 · Orphanet: 11 · OMIM-shared: 0 · Dual-evidence (GWAS+Mendelian): 0

GenCC gene–disease validity (cohort genes)

the Disease column is the GenCC-asserted condition — a cohort gene’s strongest validity may be for a related predisposition syndrome.

GeneClassificationInheritanceDiseaseRecords
TAFAZZINDefinitiveX-linkedBarth syndrome3

Orphanet rare-disease linkage (cohort genes)

GeneOrphanet IDRare disease
TAFAZZINOrphanet:111Barth syndrome
TAFAZZINOrphanet:154Familial isolated dilated cardiomyopathy
LAGE3Orphanet:2065Galloway-Mowat syndrome
IKBKGOrphanet:464Incontinentia pigmenti
IKBKGOrphanet:69088Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia-immunodeficiency-osteopetrosis-lymphedema syndrome
IKBKGOrphanet:699605NEMO deleted exon 5 autoinflammatory syndrome
IKBKGOrphanet:98813Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency
ABCD1Orphanet:139396X-linked cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy
ABCD1Orphanet:139399Adrenomyeloneuropathy
ABCD1Orphanet:369942CADDS
ABCD1Orphanet:388Hirschsprung disease

Cohort genes → proteins

5 cohort genes, 5 distinct canonical proteins.

Evidence partition

SubsetGenes
multi_evidence5

Cohort genes (full)

SymbolHGNCEnsemblUniProtNameEvidence
TAFAZZINHGNC:11577ENSG00000102125Q16635Tafazzingencc,clinvar
LAGE3HGNC:26058ENSG00000196976Q14657EKC/KEOPS complex subunit LAGE3clinvar
DNASE1L1HGNC:2957ENSG00000013563P49184Deoxyribonuclease-1-like 1clinvar
IKBKGHGNC:5961ENSG00000269335Q9Y6K9NF-kappa-B essential modulatorclinvar
ABCD1HGNC:61ENSG00000101986P33897ATP-binding cassette sub-family D member 1clinvar

Cohort function summary

Lead sentence per gene, UniProt-curated.

SymbolProtein nameFunction (lead sentence)
TAFAZZINTafazzinAcyltransferase required to remodel newly synthesized phospholipid cardiolipin (1’,3’-bis-[1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho]-glycerol or CL), a key component of the mitochondrial inner membrane, with tissue specific acyl chains necessary fo…
LAGE3EKC/KEOPS complex subunit LAGE3Component of the EKC/KEOPS complex that is required for the formation of a threonylcarbamoyl group on adenosine at position 37 (t(6)A37) in tRNAs that read codons beginning with adenine.
IKBKGNF-kappa-B essential modulatorRegulatory subunit of the IKK core complex which phosphorylates inhibitors of NF-kappa-B thus leading to the dissociation of the inhibitor/NF-kappa-B complex and ultimately the degradation of the inhibitor.
ABCD1ATP-binding cassette sub-family D member 1ATP-dependent transporter of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family involved in the transport of very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA)-CoA from the cytosol to the peroxisome lumen.

Protein-family classification

Druggable: 2 · Difficult: 0 · Unknown: 3 · Druggable fraction: 0.4

Family distribution

Cohort families vs a genome-wide background (hypergeometric, BH-FDR; fold = observed/expected). Counts kept; sorted by enrichment, so the catch-all Other/Unknown bucket no longer leads.

FamilyGenesFoldFDR
Phosphatase116.8×0.094
Transporter115.6×0.094
Other/Unknown31.1×0.608

Per-gene assignment

SymbolFamilyDruggable?ECInterPro (top 3)
TAFAZZINOther/UnknownnoTafazzin, Plipid/glycerol_acylTrfase
LAGE3Other/UnknownnoCTAG/Pcc1
DNASE1L1PhosphataseyesEndo/exonuclease/phosphatase, DNase_I, Deoxyribonuclease-1_AS
IKBKGOther/UnknownnoNEMO_N, CC2-LZ_dom, NEMO_ZF
ABCD1Transporteryes7.6.2.4ABC_transporter-like_ATP-bd, AAA+_ATPase, FA_transporter

Expression context

Cohort genes with no expression data: 0.

5 cohort genes are a single-cell marker in ≥1 SCXA experiment.

Breadth distribution (Bgee present_calls)

BucketGenes
narrow (1-5 tissues)0
moderate (6-20)0
broad (>20)5
unknown0

Top tissues across cohort

TissueCohort genes
granulocyte2
apex of heart1
lower esophagus mucosa1
Brodmann (1909) area 101
oocyte1
secondary oocyte1
gastrocnemius1
gluteal muscle1
hindlimb stylopod muscle1
blood1
spleen1
ileal mucosa1
left adrenal gland1
left adrenal gland cortex1

Per-gene tissue summary (top 30)

SymbolBgee breadthFANTOM5 breadthSCXATop tissues
TAFAZZIN238ubiquitousmarkerapex of heart, granulocyte, lower esophagus mucosa
LAGE3273ubiquitousmarkeroocyte, secondary oocyte, Brodmann (1909) area 10
DNASE1L1283ubiquitousmarkerhindlimb stylopod muscle, gastrocnemius, gluteal muscle
IKBKG134ubiquitousmarkergranulocyte, blood, spleen
ABCD1201ubiquitousmarkerileal mucosa, left adrenal gland cortex, left adrenal gland

Protein interactions among cohort

Intra-cohort edges: 0.

Hub genes (top 10 by interactor count)

SymbolInteractor count
IKBKG4,981
TAFAZZIN1,754
ABCD11,181
DNASE1L11,012
LAGE3870

Structural data

PDB: 3 · AlphaFold-only: 2 · No structure: 0

Cohort genes with PDB structures (top 30)

SymbolUniProtPDB entries
IKBKGQ9Y6K917
ABCD1P3389714
LAGE3Q146572

AlphaFold-only cohort genes (top 30 by pLDDT)

SymbolUniProtpLDDT
TAFAZZINQ1663594.87
DNASE1L1P4918490.83

Function

Pathway analysis

Distinct Reactome pathways touched by cohort: 112. Enrichment computed across 5 evidence-associated genes (5 with Reactome annotation).

Pathways by enrichment

Over-representation of cohort genes vs the genome-wide background (hypergeometric test, Benjamini-Hochberg FDR; fold = observed/expected over 5 annotated cohort genes). Counts and members are kept as ground-truth; sorted by enrichment.

PathwayCohort genesFoldFDRSample cohort genes
Protein localization276.1×0.030TAFAZZIN, ABCD1
Defective ABCD1 causes ALD11142.0×0.035ABCD1
IKBKB deficiency causes SCID1761.3×0.035IKBKG
IKBKG deficiency causes anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (EDA-ID) (via TLR)1761.3×0.035IKBKG
Acyl chain remodeling of CL1380.7×0.035TAFAZZIN
alpha-linolenic (omega3) and linoleic (omega6) acid metabolism1380.7×0.035ABCD1
SLC15A4:TASL-dependent IRF5 activation1380.7×0.035IKBKG
IkBA variant leads to EDA-ID1326.3×0.035IKBKG
Linoleic acid (LA) metabolism1228.4×0.035ABCD1
ZBP1(DAI) mediated induction of type I IFNs1207.6×0.035IKBKG
SUMOylation of immune response proteins1190.3×0.035IKBKG
Beta-oxidation of very long chain fatty acids1175.7×0.035ABCD1
Diseases of Immune System1175.7×0.035IKBKG
Diseases associated with the TLR signaling cascade1175.7×0.035IKBKG
NF-kB activation through FADD/RIP-1 pathway mediated by caspase-8 and -101175.7×0.035IKBKG
Downstream signaling events of B Cell Receptor (BCR)1163.1×0.035IKBKG
IRAK1 recruits IKK complex1163.1×0.035IKBKG
IRAK1 recruits IKK complex upon TLR7/8 or 9 stimulation1163.1×0.035IKBKG
alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) metabolism1142.8×0.035ABCD1
MAP3K8 (TPL2)-dependent MAPK1/3 activation1142.8×0.035IKBKG
RIP-mediated NFkB activation via ZBP11134.3×0.035IKBKG
Peroxisomal lipid metabolism1134.3×0.035ABCD1
Regulation of NF-kappa B signaling1126.9×0.035IKBKG
ABC transporters in lipid homeostasis1120.2×0.035ABCD1
TICAM1, RIP1-mediated IKK complex recruitment1120.2×0.035IKBKG
Modulation of host responses by IFN-stimulated genes1120.2×0.035IKBKG
JNK (c-Jun kinases) phosphorylation and activation mediated by activated human TAK11103.8×0.035IKBKG
Class I peroxisomal membrane protein import1103.8×0.035ABCD1
TCR signaling199.3×0.035IKBKG
activated TAK1 mediates p38 MAPK activation199.3×0.035IKBKG

GO biological processes by enrichment

Over-representation of cohort genes vs the genome-wide background (hypergeometric test, Benjamini-Hochberg FDR; fold = observed/expected over 5 annotated cohort genes). Counts and members are kept as ground-truth; sorted by enrichment.

GO termCohort genesFoldFDRSample cohort genes
peroxisomal membrane transport11685.2×0.008ABCD1
very long-chain fatty-acyl-CoA catabolic process11685.2×0.008ABCD1
positive regulation of cardiolipin metabolic process11685.2×0.008TAFAZZIN
positive regulation of unsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic process11123.5×0.008ABCD1
cardiolipin acyl-chain remodeling1842.6×0.008TAFAZZIN
sterol homeostasis1842.6×0.008ABCD1
long-chain fatty acid import into peroxisome1674.1×0.008ABCD1
regulation of fatty acid beta-oxidation1561.7×0.008ABCD1
long-chain fatty acid catabolic process1561.7×0.008ABCD1
myelin maintenance1561.7×0.008ABCD1
regulation of mitochondrial depolarization1561.7×0.008ABCD1
tRNA threonylcarbamoyladenosine metabolic process1561.7×0.008LAGE3
fatty acid elongation1481.5×0.008ABCD1
very long-chain fatty acid catabolic process1481.5×0.008ABCD1
establishment of vesicle localization1481.5×0.008IKBKG
positive regulation of fatty acid beta-oxidation1306.4×0.011ABCD1
fatty acid derivative biosynthetic process1306.4×0.011ABCD1
anoikis1259.3×0.011IKBKG
regulation of cellular response to oxidative stress1259.3×0.011ABCD1
regulation of oxidative phosphorylation1240.7×0.011ABCD1
positive regulation of ATP biosynthetic process1240.7×0.011TAFAZZIN
neuron projection maintenance1224.7×0.011ABCD1
DNA metabolic process1210.7×0.011DNASE1L1
cristae formation1210.7×0.011TAFAZZIN
negative regulation of reactive oxygen species biosynthetic process1198.3×0.011ABCD1
DNA catabolic process1187.2×0.011DNASE1L1
fatty acid homeostasis1187.2×0.011ABCD1
alpha-linolenic acid metabolic process1177.4×0.011ABCD1
inner mitochondrial membrane organization1168.5×0.011TAFAZZIN
tRNA processing1168.5×0.011LAGE3

Therapeutics

Drugs indicated for this disease

No approved or late-stage (phase ≥3) drug is indicated for this disease; the following are in earlier-phase trials only.

Earlier-phase candidates (phase 2, investigational — efficacy not yet established): Elamipretide.

Drug target analysis

Approved (phase 4): 0 · Phase ≥3: 0 · Phased (≥1): 0 · Undrugged: 5

Druggability breadth: 3 of 5 evidence-associated genes (60%) have a ChEMBL target (buckets above are over the deeply-mined display cohort).

Top cohort targets by molecule count

SymbolMoleculesMax phase
TAFAZZIN00
LAGE300
DNASE1L100
IKBKG00
ABCD100

Bioactivity and enzyme data

Enzyme cohort genes (≥1 EC): 1.

Cohort genes with ChEMBL bioactivity (full, sorted by assay count)

SymbolAssaysType breakdown
IKBKG38Binding:30, Functional:8
TAFAZZIN1Binding:1
LAGE31Binding:1

Cohort enzymes (BRENDA EC)

SymbolEC numbersNames
ABCD17.6.2.4ABC-type fatty-acyl-CoA transporter

Pharmacogenomics

Cohort genes with a PharmGKB record: 5; with CPIC/DPWG dosing guidelines: 0.

No cohort gene has a CPIC/DPWG genotype-guided dosing guideline (PharmGKB).

Chemical tractability of cohort targets

0 approved/phased compounds have measured bioactivity against a cohort gene (and aren’t yet in disease-level trials). This is a research / tractability signal, NOT a therapeutic recommendation — a bioactivity row often reflects off-target or screening binding (e.g. promiscuous kinase inhibitors against a cohort kinase), implying no disease mechanism.

Druggability pyramid

Cohort genes binned by druggability tier (high → low):

TierDefinitionGenesSymbols
AApproved (phase 4 drug)0
BPhased (≥1) drug, not yet approved0
CDruggable family + PDB, no drug1ABCD1
DDruggable family + AlphaFold only, no drug1DNASE1L1
EDifficult family or no structure, no drug3TAFAZZIN, LAGE3, IKBKG

Undrugged target profiles

5 cohort genes are undrugged. Ranked by ‘starting-point quality’ (assay depth + drugged-partner adjacency).

SymbolChEMBL assaysDrugged partners (top 3)
TAFAZZIN1
LAGE31
DNASE1L10
IKBKG38
ABCD10

Clinical trials & evidence

Clinical trials

Clinical trials: 9.

Phase distribution (across all retrieved trials)

PhaseTrials
Not specified7
PHASE41
PHASE2/PHASE31

Top trials by phase / activity

NCTPhaseStatusTitle
NCT07531251PHASE4NOT_YET_RECRUITINGClinical Trial in Patients With Barth Syndrome- 4TAZPower
NCT03098797PHASE2/PHASE3COMPLETEDA Trial to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Elamipretide in Subjects With Barth Syndrome
NCT03655223Not specifiedENROLLING_BY_INVITATIONEarly Check: Expanded Screening in Newborns
NCT04689360Not specifiedAVAILABLEAn Intermediate Size Expanded Access Protocol of Elamipretide
NCT05554835Not specifiedRECRUITINGGlobal Registry and Natural History Study for Mitochondrial Disorders
NCT01194141Not specifiedCOMPLETEDExercise Training in Barth Syndrome
NCT01461304Not specifiedNO_LONGER_AVAILABLECompassionate Use of Triheptanoin (C7) for Inherited Disorders of Energy Metabolism
NCT01625663Not specifiedCOMPLETEDHeart and Muscle Metabolism in Barth Syndrome
NCT01629459Not specifiedCOMPLETEDResistance Exercise in Barth Syndrome

Drugs tested across these trials (top 30)

MoleculeMax phaseTrials referencing
TRIHEPTANOIN41
ELAMIPRETIDE33