Heterozygous variants in ZBTB7A cause a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with symptomatic overgrowth of pharyngeal lymphoid tissue, macrocephaly, and elevated fetal hemoglobin

By clinical whole exome sequencing, we identified 12 individuals with ages 3 to 37 years, including three individuals from the same family, with a consistent phenotype of intellectual disability (ID), macrocephaly, and overgrowth of adenoid tissue. All 12 individuals harbored a rare heterozygous variant in ZBTB7A which encodes the transcription factor Zinc finger and BTB-domain containing protein 7A, known to play a role in lympho- and hematopoiesis. ID was generally mild. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) fraction was elevated 2.2%–11.2% (reference value  6 months) in four of the five individuals for whom results were available. Ten of twelve individuals had undergone surgery at least once for lymphoid hypertrophy limited to the pharynx. In the most severely affected individual (individual 1), airway obstruction resulted in 17 surgical procedures before the age of 13 years. Sleep apnea was present in 8 of 10 individuals. In the nine unrelated individuals, ZBTB7A variants were novel and de novo. The six frameshift/nonsense and four missense variants were spread throughout the gene. This is the first report of a cohort of individuals with this novel syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder

A Solve-RD ClinVar-based reanalysis of 1522 index cases from ERN-ITHACA reveals common pitfalls and misinterpretations in exome sequencing

Purpose Within the Solve-RD project (https://solve-rd.eu/), the European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies aimed to investigate whether a reanalysis of exomes from unsolved cases based on ClinVar annotations could establish additional diagnoses. We present the results of the “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” reanalysis, reasons for the failure of previous analyses, and lessons learned. Methods Data from the first 3576 exomes (1522 probands and 2054 relatives) collected from European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies was reanalyzed by the Solve-RD consortium by evaluating for the presence of single-nucleotide variant, and small insertions and deletions already reported as (likely) pathogenic in ClinVar. Variants were filtered according to frequency, genotype, and mode of inheritance and reinterpreted. Results We identified causal variants in 59 cases (3.9%), 50 of them also raised by other approaches and 9 leading to new diagnoses, highlighting interpretation challenges: variants in genes not known to be involved in human disease at the time of the first analysis, misleading genotypes, or variants undetected by local pipelines (variants in off-target regions, low quality filters, low allelic balance, or high frequency). Conclusion The “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” analysis represents an effective, fast, and easy approach to recover causal variants from exome sequencing data, herewith contributing to the reduction of the diagnostic deadlock

Mutations in Citron Kinase Cause Recessive Microlissencephaly with Multinucleated Neurons

Primary microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is caused by a reduction in brain size as a result of defects in the proliferation of neural progenitor cells during development. Mutations in genes encoding proteins that localize to the mitotic spindle and centrosomes have been implicated in the pathogenicity of primary microcephaly. In contrast, the contractile ring and midbody required for cytokinesis, the final stage of mitosis, have not previously been implicated by human genetics in the molecular mechanisms of this phenotype. Citron kinase (CIT) is a multi-domain protein that localizes to the cleavage furrow and midbody of mitotic cells, where it is required for the completion of cytokinesis. Rodent models of Cit deficiency highlighted the role of this gene in neurogenesis and microcephaly over a decade ago. Here, we identify recessively inherited pathogenic variants in CIT as the genetic basis of severe microcephaly and neonatal death. We present postmortem data showing that CIT is critical to building a normally sized human brain. Consistent with cytokinesis defects attributed to CIT, multinucleated neurons were observed throughout the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of an affected proband, expanding our understanding of mechanisms attributed to primary microcephaly

Genomic imbalances detected by array-CGH in patients with syndromal ocular developmental anomalies

In 65 patients, who had unexplained ocular developmental anomalies (ODAs) with at least one other birth defect and/or intellectual disability, we performed oligonucleotide comparative genome hybridisation-based microarray analysis (array-CGH; 105A or 180K, Agilent Technologies). In four patients, array-CGH identified clinically relevant deletions encompassing a gene known to be involved in ocular development (FOXC1 or OTX2). In four other patients, we found three pathogenic deletions not classically associated with abnormal ocular morphogenesis, namely, del(17)(p13.3p13.3), del(10)(p14p15.3), and del(16)(p11.2p11.2). We also detected copy number variations of uncertain pathogenicity in two other patients. Rearranged segments ranged in size from 0.04 to 5.68 Mb. These results show that array-CGH provides a high diagnostic yield (15%) in patients with syndromal ODAs and can identify previously unknown chromosomal regions associated with these conditions. In addition to their importance for diagnosis and genetic counselling, these data may help identify genes involved in ocular development

A framework to identify contributing genes in patients with Phelan-McDermid syndrome

The underlying genetics of Phelan-McDermid syndrome Multiple chromosomal changes may impact the severity of symptoms in people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS). Thomas Bourgeron of the Institut Pasteur and colleagues in France conducted genomic analyses and explored the clinical features of 85 people with PMS, a condition caused by a deletion in the long arm of chromosome 22. It is often associated with severe symptoms such as intellectual disability, autism, and seizures. The chromosomal changes in 65% of those studied were not inherited. MRI brain scans showed visible abnormalities in 23 of 35 patients imaged. The size of the chromosomal deletion varied. Patients with small deletions were more likely to have autistic symptoms while those with large deletions were more likely to be unable to talk. The team also identified genes in chromosome 22 and in other regions of the genome that could modify the severity of PMS symptoms

Baraitser-Winter cerebrofrontofacial syndrome: Delineation of the spectrum in 42 cases

Baraitser-Winter, Fryns-Aftimos and cerebrofrontofacial syndrome types 1 and 3 have recently been associated with heterozygous gain-of-function mutations in one of the two ubiquitous cytoplasmic actin-encoding genes ACTB and ACTG1 that encode β- and γ-actins. We present detailed phenotypic descriptions and neuroimaging on 36 patients analyzed by our group and six cases from the literature with a molecularly proven actinopathy (9 ACTG1 and 33 ACTB). The major clinical anomalies are striking dysmorphic facial features with hypertelorism, broad nose with large tip and prominent root, congenital non-myopathic ptosis, ridged metopic suture and arched eyebrows. Iris or retinal coloboma is present in many cases, as is sensorineural deafness. Cleft lip and palate, hallux duplex, congenital heart defects and renal tract anomalies are seen in some cases. Microcephaly may develop with time. Nearly all patients with ACTG1 mutations, and around 60% of those with ACTB mutations have some degree of pachygyria with anteroposterior severity gradient, rarely lissencephaly or neuronal heterotopia. Reduction of shoulder girdle muscle bulk and progressive joint stiffness is common. Early muscular involvement, occasionally with congenital arthrogryposis, may be present. Progressive, severe dystonia was seen in one family. Intellectual disability and epilepsy are variable in severity and largely correlate with CNS anomalies. One patient developed acute lymphocytic leukemia, and another a cutaneous lymphoma, indicating that actinopathies may be cancer-predisposing disorders. Considering the multifaceted role of actins in cell physiology, we hypothesize that some clinical manifestations may be partially mutation specific. Baraitser-Winter cerebrofrontofacial syndrome is our suggested designation for this clinical entity

Novel promoters and coding first exons in DLG2 linked to developmental disorders and intellectual disability

International audienceTissue-specific integrative omics has the potential to reveal new genic elements important for developmental disorders.METHODS:Two pediatric patients with global developmental delay and intellectual disability phenotype underwent array-CGH genetic testing, both showing a partial deletion of the DLG2 gene. From independent human and murine omics datasets, we combined copy number variations, histone modifications, developmental tissue-specific regulation, and protein data to explore the molecular mechanism at play.RESULTS:Integrating genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics data, we describe two novel DLG2 promoters and coding first exons expressed in human fetal brain. Their murine conservation and protein-level evidence allowed us to produce new DLG2 gene models for human and mouse. These new genic elements are deleted in 90% of 29 patients (public and in-house) showing partial deletion of the DLG2 gene. The patients' clinical characteristics expand the neurodevelopmental phenotypic spectrum linked to DLG2 gene disruption to cognitive and behavioral categories.CONCLUSIONS:While protein-coding genes are regarded as well known, our work shows that integration of multiple omics datasets can unveil novel coding elements. From a clinical perspective, our work demonstrates that two new DLG2 promoters and exons are crucial for the neurodevelopmental phenotypes associated with this gene. In addition, our work brings evidence for the lack of cross-annotation in human versus mouse reference genomes and nucleotide versus protein databases