Case report: ETS1 gene deletion associated with a low number of recent thymic emigrants in three patients with Jacobsen syndrome

Jacobsen syndrome is a rare genetic disorder associated with a terminal deletion in chromosome 11. The clinical presentation is variable. Although immunodeficiency has been described in patients with Jacobsen syndrome, a clear genotype-phenotype correlation has not yet been established. Here, we report on the immunologic phenotypes of four patients with Jacobsen syndrome. All four patients showed one or more atypical immunologic features. One patient suffered from recurrent viral infections, two patients had experienced a severe bacterial infection and one had received antibiotic prophylaxis since early childhood. One patient had experienced severe, transient immune dysregulation. Hypogammaglobulinemia and low B cell counts were found in two patients, while the number of recent thymic emigrants (CD31+CD45RA+ CD4 cells) was abnormally low in three. When considering the six immune-related genes located within the affected part of chromosome 11 (ETS1, TIRAP, FLI1, NFRKB, THYN1, and SNX19), only the ETS1 gene was found be deleted in the three patients with low numbers of recent thymic emigrants and non-switched memory B cells. Our findings support the hypothesis whereby Jacobsen syndrome is associated with a combined immunodeficiency with variable presentation. Further investigations of potential genotype-phenotype correlations are warranted and might help to personalize patient management in individuals lacking immune-related genes. In addition, we recommend immunologic follow-up for all patients with Jacobsen syndrome, as immune abnormalities may develop over time. Keywords: ETS1; Jacobsen syndrome; genetic disorder; immunodeficiency; recent thymic emigrants

Biallelic PRMT7 pathogenic variants are associated with a recognizable syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder with short stature, obesity, and craniofacial and digital abnormalities

PURPOSE Protein arginine methyltransferase 7 (PRMT7) is a member of a family of enzymes that catalyzes the methylation of arginine residues on several protein substrates. Biallelic pathogenic PRMT7 variants have previously been associated with a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by short stature, brachydactyly, intellectual developmental disability, and seizures. To our knowledge, no comprehensive study describes the detailed clinical characteristics of this syndrome. Thus, we aim to delineate the phenotypic spectrum of PRMT7-related disorder. METHODS We assembled a cohort of 51 affected individuals from 39 different families, gathering clinical information from 36 newly described affected individuals and reviewing data of 15 individuals from the literature. RESULTS The main clinical characteristics of the PRMT7-related syndrome are short stature, mild to severe developmental delay/intellectual disability, hypotonia, brachydactyly, and distinct facial morphology, including bifrontal narrowing, prominent supraorbital ridges, sparse eyebrows, short nose with full/broad nasal tip, thin upper lip, full and everted lower lip, and a prominent or squared-off jaw. Additional variable findings include seizures, obesity, nonspecific magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities, eye abnormalities (i.e., strabismus or nystagmus), and hearing loss. CONCLUSION This study further delineates and expands the molecular, phenotypic spectrum and natural history of PRMT7-related syndrome characterized by a neurodevelopmental disorder with skeletal, growth, and endocrine abnormalities

A very mild phenotype in six individuals of a three-generation family with the novel HRAS variant c.176C > G p.(Ala59Gly): Emergence of a new HRAS-related RASopathy distinct from Costello syndrome

Costello syndrome is a clinically recognizable, severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by heterozygous activating variants in HRAS. The vast majority of affected patients share recurring variants affecting HRAS codons 12 and 13 and a relatively uniform phenotype. Here, we report the unique and attenuated phenotype of six individuals of an extended family affected by the HRAS variant c.176C>T p.(Ala59Gly), which, to our knowledge, has never been reported as a germline variant in patients so far. HRAS Alanine 59 has been previously functionally investigated as an oncogenic hotspot and the p.Ala59Gly substitution was shown to impair intrinsic GTP hydrolysis. All six individuals we report share a phenotype of ectodermal anomalies and mild features suggestive of a RASopathy, reminiscent of patients with Noonan syndrome-like disorder with loose anagen hair. All six are of normal intelligence, none have a history of failure to thrive or malignancy, and they have no known cardiac or neurologic pathologies. Our report adds to the previous reports of patients with rare variants affecting amino acids located in the SWITCH II/G3 region of HRAS and suggests a consistent, attenuated phenotype distinct from classical Costello syndrome. We propose the definition of a new distinct HRAS-related RASopathy for patients carrying HRAS variants affecting codons 58, 59, 60

New insights into the clinical and molecular spectrum of the novel CYFIP2-related neurodevelopmental disorder and impairment of the WRC-mediated actin dynamics

PURPOSE A few de novo missense variants in the cytoplasmic FMRP-interacting protein 2 (CYFIP2) gene have recently been described as a novel cause of severe intellectual disability, seizures, and hypotonia in 18 individuals, with p.Arg87 substitutions in the majority. METHODS We assembled data from 19 newly identified and all 18 previously published individuals with CYFIP2 variants. By structural modeling and investigation of WAVE-regulatory complex (WRC)-mediated actin polymerization in six patient fibroblast lines we assessed the impact of CYFIP2 variants on the WRC. RESULTS Sixteen of 19 individuals harbor two previously described and 11 novel (likely) disease-associated missense variants. We report p.Asp724 as second mutational hotspot (4/19 cases). Genotype-phenotype correlation confirms a consistently severe phenotype in p.Arg87 patients but a more variable phenotype in p.Asp724 and other substitutions. Three individuals with milder phenotypes carry putative loss-of-function variants, which remain of unclear pathogenicity. Structural modeling predicted missense variants to disturb interactions within the WRC or impair CYFIP2 stability. Consistent with its role in WRC-mediated actin polymerization we substantiate aberrant regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in patient fibroblasts. CONCLUSION Our study expands the clinical and molecular spectrum of CYFIP2-related neurodevelopmental disorder and provides evidence for aberrant WRC-mediated actin dynamics as contributing cellular pathomechanism

Bi-allelic loss of function variants in SLC30A5 as cause of perinatal lethal cardiomyopathy

Perinatal mortality is a heavy burden for both affected parents and physicians. However, the underlying genetic causes have not been sufficiently investigated and most cases remain without diagnosis. This impedes appropriate counseling or therapy. We describe four affected children of two unrelated families with cardiomyopathy, hydrops fetalis, or cystic hygroma that all deceased perinatally. In the four patients, we found the following homozygous loss of function (LoF) variants in SLC30A5 NM_022902.4:c.832_836del p.(Ile278Phefs*33) and NM_022902.4:c.1981_1982del p.(His661Tyrfs*10). Knockout of SLC30A5 has previously been shown a cardiac phenotype in mouse models and no homozygous LoF variants in SLC30A5 are currently described in gnomAD. Taken together, we present SLC30A5 as a new gene for a severe and perinatally lethal form of cardiomyopathy

The current benefit of genome sequencing compared to exome sequencing in patients with developmental or epileptic encephalopathies

Background: As the technology of next generation sequencing rapidly develops and costs are constantly reduced, the clinical availability of whole genome sequencing (WGS) increases. Thereby, it remains unclear what exact advantage WGS offers in comparison to whole exome sequencing (WES) for the diagnosis of genetic diseases using current technologies. Methods: Trio-WGS was conducted for 20 patients with developmental or epileptic encephalopathies who remained undiagnosed after WES and chromosomal microarray analysis. Results: A diagnosis was reached for four patients (20%). However, retrospectively all pathogenic variants could have been detected in a WES analysis conducted with today's methods and knowledge. Conclusion: The additional diagnostic yield of WGS versus WES is currently largely explained by new scientific insights and the general technological progress. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that whole genome sequencing has greater potential for the analysis of small copy number and copy number neutral variants not seen with WES as well as variants in noncoding regions, especially as potentially more knowledge of the function of noncoding regions arises. We, therefore, conclude that even though today the added value of WGS versus WES seems to be limited, it may increase substantially in the future

Rare variants in KDR, encoding VEGF Receptor 2, are associated with tetralogy of Fallot

Purpose: Rare genetic variants in KDR, encoding the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), have been reported in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). However, their role in disease causality and pathogenesis remains unclear. Methods: We conducted exome sequencing in a familial case of TOF and large-scale genetic studies, including burden testing, in >1,500 patients with TOF. We studied gene-targeted mice and conducted cell-based assays to explore the role of KDR genetic variation in the etiology of TOF. Results: Exome sequencing in a family with two siblings affected by TOF revealed biallelic missense variants in KDR. Studies in knock-in mice and in HEK 293T cells identified embryonic lethality for one variant when occurring in the homozygous state, and a significantly reduced VEGFR2 phosphorylation for both variants. Rare variant burden analysis conducted in a set of 1,569 patients of European descent with TOF identified a 46-fold enrichment of protein-truncating variants (PTVs) in TOF cases compared to controls (P = 7 × 10-11). Conclusion: Rare KDR variants, in particular PTVs, strongly associate with TOF, likely in the setting of different inheritance patterns. Supported by genetic and in vivo and in vitro functional analysis, we propose loss-of-function of VEGFR2 as one of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of TOF

Genotype-phenotype evaluation of MED13L defects in the light of a novel truncating and a recurrent missense mutation

A decade after the designation of MED13L as a gene and its link to intellectual disability (ID) and dextro-looped transposition of great arteries in 2003, we previously described a recognizable syndrome due to MED13L haploinsufficiency. Subsequent reports of 22 further patients diagnosed by genome-wide testing further delineated the syndrome with expansion of the phenotypic spectrum and showed reduced penetrance for congenital heart defects. We now report two novel patients identified by whole exome sequencing, one with a de novo MED13L truncating mutation and the other with a de novo missense mutation. The first patient indicates some facial resemblance to Kleefstra syndrome as a novel differential diagnosis, and the second patient shows, for the first time, recurrence of a MED13L missense mutation (p.(Asp860Gly)). Notably, our in silico modelling predicted this missense mutation to decrease the stability of an alpha-helix and thereby affecting the MED13L secondary structure, while the majority of published missense mutations remain variants of uncertain significance. Review of the reported patients with MED13L haploinsufficiency indicates moderate to severe ID and facial anomalies in all patients, as well as severe speech delay and muscular hypotonia in the majority. Further common signs include abnormal MRI findings of myelination defects and abnormal corpus callosum, ataxia and coordination problems, autistic features, seizures/abnormal EEG, or congenital heart defects, present in about 20–50% of the patients. With reference to facial anomalies, the majority of patients were reported to show broad/prominent forehead, low set ears, bitemporal narrowing, upslanting palpebral fissures, depressed/flat nasal bridge, bulbous nose, and abnormal chin, but macroglossia and horizontal eyebrows were also observed in ∼30%. The latter are especially important in the differential diagnosis of 1p36 deletion and Kleefstra syndromes, while the more common facial gestalt shows some resemblance to 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Despite the fact that MED13L was found to be one of the most common ID genes in the Deciphering Developmental Disorders Study, further detailed patient descriptions are needed to explore the full clinical spectrum, potential genotype-phenotype correlations, as well as the role of missense mutations and potential mutational hotspots along the gene

Mutations in XRCC4 cause primary microcephaly, short stature and increased genomic instability

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are highly toxic lesions, which, if not properly repaired, can give rise to genomic instability. Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), a well-orchestrated, multistep process involving numerous proteins essential for cell viability, represents one major pathway to repair DSBs in mammalian cells, and mutations in different NHEJ components have been described in microcephalic syndromes associated, e.g. with short stature, facial dysmorphism and immune dysfunction. By using whole-exome sequencing, we now identified in three affected brothers of a consanguineous Turkish family a homozygous mutation, c.482G>A, in the XRCC4 gene encoding a crucial component of the NHEJ pathway. Moreover, we found one additional patient of Swiss origin carrying the compound heterozygous mutations c.25delG (p.His9Thrfs*8) and c.823C>T (p.Arg275*) in XRCC4. The clinical phenotype presented in these patients was characterized by severe microcephaly, facial dysmorphism and short stature, but they did not show a recognizable immunological phenotype. We showed that the XRCC4 c.482G>A mutation, which affects the last nucleotide of exon 4, induces defective splicing of XRCC4 pre-mRNA mainly resulting in premature protein truncation and most likely loss of XRCC4 function. Moreover, we observed on cellular level that XRCC4 deficiency leads to hypersensitivity to DSB-inducing agents and defective DSB repair, which results in increased cell death after exposure to genotoxic agents. Taken together, our data provide evidence that autosomal recessive mutations in XRCC4 induce increased genomic instability and cause a NHEJ-related syndrome defined by facial dysmorphism, primary microcephaly and short statur

The Genetic Landscape and Clinical Implication of Pediatric Moyamoya Angiopathy in an International Cohort

Pediatric Moyamoya Angiopathy (MMA) is a progressive intracranial occlusive arteriopathy that represents a leading cause of transient ischemic attacks and strokes in childhood. Despite this, up to now no large, exclusively pediatric MMA cohort has been subjected to systematic genetic investigation. In this study, we performed molecular karyotyping, exome sequencing and automated structural assessment of missense variants on a series of 88 pediatric MMA patients and correlated genetic, angiographic and clinical (stroke burden) findings. The two largest subgroups in our cohort consisted of RNF213 and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. While deleterious RNF213 variants were associated with a severe MMA clinical course with early symptom onset, frequent posterior cerebral artery involvement and higher stroke rates in multiple territories, NF1 patients had a similar infarct burden compared to non-NF1 individuals and were often diagnosed incidentally during routine MRIs. Additionally, we found that MMA-associated RNF213 variants have lower predicted functional impact compared to those associated with aortic disease. We also raise the question of MMA as a feature of recurrent as well as rare chromosomal imbalances and further support the possible association of MMA with STAT3 deficiency. In conclusion, we provide a comprehensive characterization at the genetic and clinical level of a large exclusively pediatric MMA population. Due to the clinical differences found across genetic subgroups, we propose genetic testing for risk stratification as part of the routine assessment of pediatric MMA patients