@article {1000, title = {A DNA repair disorder caused by de novo monoallelic DDB1 variants is associated with a neurodevelopmental syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {108}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 04 01}, pages = {749-756}, abstract = {

The DNA damage-binding protein 1 (DDB1) is part of the CUL4-DDB1 ubiquitin E3 ligase complex (CRL4), which is essential for DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, DNA replication, and signal transduction. Loss-of-function variants in genes encoding the complex components CUL4 and PHIP have been reported to cause syndromic intellectual disability with hypotonia and obesity, but no phenotype has been reported in association with DDB1 variants. Here, we report eight unrelated individuals, identified through Matchmaker Exchange, with de novo monoallelic variants in DDB1, including one recurrent variant in four individuals. The affected individuals have a consistent phenotype of hypotonia, mild to moderate intellectual disability, and similar facies, including horizontal or slightly bowed eyebrows, deep-set eyes, full cheeks, a short nose, and large, fleshy and forward-facing earlobes, demonstrated in the composite face generated from the cohort. Digital anomalies, including brachydactyly and syndactyly, were common. Three older individuals have obesity. We show that cells derived from affected individuals have altered DDB1 function resulting in abnormal DNA damage signatures and histone methylation following UV-induced DNA damage. Overall, our study adds to the growing family of neurodevelopmental phenotypes mediated by disruption of the CRL4 ubiquitin ligase pathway and begins to delineate the phenotypic and molecular effects of DDB1 misregulation.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Alleles, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA Repair, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Humans, Male, Mutation, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Phenotype, Syndrome}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.03.007}, author = {White, Susan M and Bhoj, Elizabeth and Nellaker, Christoffer and Lachmeijer, Augusta M A and Marshall, Aren E and Boycott, Kym M and Li, Dong and Smith, Wendy and Hartley, Taila and McBride, Arran and Ernst, Michelle E and May, Alison S and Wieczorek, Dagmar and Abou Jamra, Rami and Koch-Hogrebe, Margarete and {\~O}unap, Katrin and Pajusalu, Sander and van Gassen, K L I and Sadedin, Simon and Ellingwood, Sara and Tan, Tiong Yang and Christodoulou, John and Barea, Jaime and Lockhart, Paul J and Nezarati, Marjan M and Kernohan, Kristin D} } @article {991, title = {Mutations in transcription factor CP2-like 1 may cause a novel syndrome with distal renal tubulopathy in humans.}, journal = {Nephrol Dial Transplant}, volume = {36}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 01 25}, pages = {237-246}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: An underlying monogenic cause of early-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) can be detected in \~{}20\% of individuals. For many etiologies of CKD manifesting before 25 years of age, >200 monogenic causative genes have been identified to date, leading to the elucidation of mechanisms of renal pathogenesis.

METHODS: In 51 families with echogenic kidneys and CKD, we performed whole-exome sequencing to identify novel monogenic causes of CKD.

RESULTS: We discovered a homozygous truncating mutation in the transcription factor gene transcription factor CP2-like 1 (TFCP2L1) in an Arabic patient of consanguineous descent. The patient developed CKD by the age of 2 months and had episodes of severe hypochloremic, hyponatremic and hypokalemic alkalosis, seizures, developmental delay and hypotonia together with cataracts. We found that TFCP2L1~was localized throughout kidney development particularly in the distal nephron. Interestingly, TFCP2L1 induced the growth and development of renal tubules from rat mesenchymal cells. Conversely, the deletion of TFCP2L1~in mice was previously shown to lead to reduced expression of renal cell markers including ion transporters and cell identity proteins expressed in different segments of the distal nephron. TFCP2L1 localized to the nucleus in HEK293T cells only upon coexpression with its paralog upstream-binding protein 1 (UBP1). A TFCP2L1 mutant complementary DNA (cDNA) clone that represented the patient{\textquoteright}s mutation failed to form homo- and heterodimers with UBP1, an essential step for its transcriptional activity.

CONCLUSION: Here, we identified a loss-of-function TFCP2L1 mutation as a potential novel cause of CKD in childhood accompanied by a salt-losing tubulopathy.

}, keywords = {Animals, Child, DNA-Binding Proteins, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, Female, HEK293 Cells, Humans, Kidney Diseases, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Mutation, Rats, Repressor Proteins, Single-Cell Analysis, Transcription Factors, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1460-2385}, doi = {10.1093/ndt/gfaa215}, author = {Kl{\"a}mbt, Verena and Werth, Max and Onuchic-Whitford, Ana C and Getwan, Maike and Kitzler, Thomas M and Buerger, Florian and Mao, Youying and Deutsch, Konstantin and Mann, Nina and Majmundar, Amar J and Kaminski, Michael M and Shen, Tian and Schmidt-Ott, Kai M and Shalaby, Mohamed and El Desoky, Sherif and Kari, Jameela A and Shril, Shirlee and Lienkamp, Soeren S and Barasch, Jonathan and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm} } @article {1008, title = {SPEN haploinsufficiency causes a neurodevelopmental disorder overlapping proximal 1p36 deletion syndrome with an episignature of X chromosomes in females.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {108}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 03 04}, pages = {502-516}, abstract = {

Deletion 1p36 (del1p36) syndrome is the most common human disorder resulting from a terminal autosomal deletion. This condition is molecularly and clinically heterogeneous. Deletions involving two non-overlapping regions, known as the distal (telomeric) and proximal (centromeric) critical regions, are sufficient to cause the majority of the recurrent clinical features, although with different facial features and dysmorphisms. SPEN encodes a transcriptional repressor commonly deleted in proximal del1p36 syndrome and is located centromeric to the proximal 1p36 critical region. Here, we used clinical data from 34 individuals with truncating variants in SPEN to define a neurodevelopmental disorder presenting with features that overlap considerably with those of proximal del1p36 syndrome. The clinical profile of this disease includes developmental delay/intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, aggressive behavior, attention deficit disorder, hypotonia, brain and spine anomalies, congenital heart defects, high/narrow palate, facial dysmorphisms, and obesity/increased BMI, especially in females. SPEN also emerges as a relevant gene for del1p36 syndrome by co-expression analyses. Finally, we show that haploinsufficiency of SPEN is associated with a distinctive DNA methylation episignature of the X chromosome in affected females, providing further evidence of a specific contribution of the protein to the epigenetic control of this chromosome, and a paradigm of an X chromosome-specific episignature that classifies syndromic traits. We conclude that SPEN is required for multiple developmental processes and SPEN haploinsufficiency is a major contributor to a disorder associated with deletions centromeric to the previously established 1p36 critical regions.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Child, Child, Preschool, Chromosome Deletion, Chromosome Disorders, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1, Chromosomes, Human, X, DNA Methylation, DNA-Binding Proteins, Epigenesis, Genetic, Female, Haploinsufficiency, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Phenotype, RNA-Binding Proteins, Young Adult}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.01.015}, author = {Radio, Francesca Clementina and Pang, Kaifang and Ciolfi, Andrea and Levy, Michael A and Hernandez-Garcia, Andres and Pedace, Lucia and Pantaleoni, Francesca and Liu, Zhandong and de Boer, Elke and Jackson, Adam and Bruselles, Alessandro and McConkey, Haley and Stellacci, Emilia and Lo Cicero, Stefania and Motta, Marialetizia and Carrozzo, Rosalba and Dentici, Maria Lisa and McWalter, Kirsty and Desai, Megha and Monaghan, Kristin G and Telegrafi, Aida and Philippe, Christophe and Vitobello, Antonio and Au, Margaret and Grand, Katheryn and Sanchez-Lara, Pedro A and Baez, Joanne and Lindstrom, Kristin and Kulch, Peggy and Sebastian, Jessica and Madan-Khetarpal, Suneeta and Roadhouse, Chelsea and MacKenzie, Jennifer J and Monteleone, Berrin and Saunders, Carol J and Jean Cuevas, July K and Cross, Laura and Zhou, Dihong and Hartley, Taila and Sawyer, Sarah L and Monteiro, Fabiola Paoli and Secches, Tania Vertemati and Kok, Fernando and Schultz-Rogers, Laura E and Macke, Erica L and Morava, Eva and Klee, Eric W and Kemppainen, Jennifer and Iascone, Maria and Selicorni, Angelo and Tenconi, Romano and Amor, David J and Pais, Lynn and Gallacher, Lyndon and Turnpenny, Peter D and Stals, Karen and Ellard, Sian and Cabet, Sara and Lesca, Gaetan and Pascal, Joset and Steindl, Katharina and Ravid, Sarit and Weiss, Karin and Castle, Alison M R and Carter, Melissa T and Kalsner, Louisa and de Vries, Bert B A and van Bon, Bregje W and Wevers, Marijke R and Pfundt, Rolph and Stegmann, Alexander P A and Kerr, Bronwyn and Kingston, Helen M and Chandler, Kate E and Sheehan, Willow and Elias, Abdallah F and Shinde, Deepali N and Towne, Meghan C and Robin, Nathaniel H and Goodloe, Dana and Vanderver, Adeline and Sherbini, Omar and Bluske, Krista and Hagelstrom, R Tanner and Zanus, Caterina and Faletra, Flavio and Musante, Luciana and Kurtz-Nelson, Evangeline C and Earl, Rachel K and Anderlid, Britt-Marie and Morin, Gilles and van Slegtenhorst, Marjon and Diderich, Karin E M and Brooks, Alice S and Gribnau, Joost and Boers, Ruben G and Finestra, Teresa Robert and Carter, Lauren B and Rauch, Anita and Gasparini, Paolo and Boycott, Kym M and Barakat, Tahsin Stefan and GrAHm, John M and Faivre, Laurence and Banka, Siddharth and Wang, Tianyun and Eichler, Evan E and Priolo, Manuela and Dallapiccola, Bruno and Vissers, Lisenka E L M and Sadikovic, Bekim and Scott, Daryl A and Holder, Jimmy Lloyd and Tartaglia, Marco} } @article {835, title = {Inherited causes of clonal haematopoiesis in 97,691 whole genomes.}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {586}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 10}, pages = {763-768}, abstract = {

Age is the dominant risk factor for most chronic human diseases, but the mechanisms through which ageing confers this risk are largely unknown. The age-related acquisition of somatic mutations that lead to clonal expansion in regenerating haematopoietic stem cell populations has recently been associated with both haematological cancer and coronary heart disease-this phenomenon is~termed clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP). Simultaneous analyses of germline and somatic whole-genome sequences provide the opportunity to identify root causes of CHIP. Here we analyse high-coverage whole-genome sequences from 97,691 participants of diverse ancestries in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Trans-omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) programme, and identify 4,229 individuals with CHIP. We identify associations with blood cell, lipid and inflammatory traits that are specific to different CHIP~driver genes. Association of a genome-wide set of germline genetic variants enabled the identification of three genetic loci associated with CHIP status, including one locus at TET2 that was specific to individuals of African ancestry. In silico-informed in vitro evaluation of the TET2 germline locus enabled the identification of a causal variant that disrupts a TET2 distal enhancer, resulting in increased self-renewal of haematopoietic stem cells. Overall, we observe that germline genetic variation shapes haematopoietic stem cell function, leading to CHIP through mechanisms that are specific to clonal haematopoiesis as well as shared mechanisms that lead to somatic mutations across tissues.

}, keywords = {Adult, Africa, African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, alpha Karyopherins, Cell Self Renewal, Clonal Hematopoiesis, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome, Human, Germ-Line Mutation, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Humans, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Male, Middle Aged, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.), Phenotype, Precision Medicine, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Tripartite Motif Proteins, United States, Whole Genome Sequencing}, issn = {1476-4687}, doi = {10.1038/s41586-020-2819-2}, author = {Bick, Alexander G and Weinstock, Joshua S and Nandakumar, Satish K and Fulco, Charles P and Bao, Erik L and Zekavat, Seyedeh M and Szeto, Mindy D and Liao, Xiaotian and Leventhal, Matthew J and Nasser, Joseph and Chang, Kyle and Laurie, Cecelia and Burugula, Bala Bharathi and Gibson, Christopher J and Lin, Amy E and Taub, Margaret A and Aguet, Francois and Ardlie, Kristin and Mitchell, Braxton D and Barnes, Kathleen C and Moscati, Arden and Fornage, Myriam and Redline, Susan and Psaty, Bruce M and Silverman, Edwin K and Weiss, Scott T and Palmer, Nicholette D and Vasan, Ramachandran S and Burchard, Esteban G and Kardia, Sharon L R and He, Jiang and Kaplan, Robert C and Smith, Nicholas L and Arnett, Donna K and Schwartz, David A and Correa, Adolfo and de Andrade, Mariza and Guo, Xiuqing and Konkle, Barbara A and Custer, Brian and Peralta, Juan M and Gui, Hongsheng and Meyers, Deborah A and McGarvey, Stephen T and Chen, Ida Yii-Der and Shoemaker, M Benjamin and Peyser, Patricia A and Broome, Jai G and Gogarten, Stephanie M and Wang, Fei Fei and Wong, Quenna and Montasser, May E and Daya, Michelle and Kenny, Eimear E and North, Kari E and Launer, Lenore J and Cade, Brian E and Bis, Joshua C and Cho, Michael H and Lasky-Su, Jessica and Bowden, Donald W and Cupples, L Adrienne and Mak, Angel C Y and Becker, Lewis C and Smith, Jennifer A and Kelly, Tanika N and Aslibekyan, Stella and Heckbert, Susan R and Tiwari, Hemant K and Yang, Ivana V and Heit, John A and Lubitz, Steven A and Johnsen, Jill M and Curran, Joanne E and Wenzel, Sally E and Weeks, Daniel E and Rao, Dabeeru C and Darbar, Dawood and Moon, Jee-Young and Tracy, Russell P and Buth, Erin J and Rafaels, Nicholas and Loos, Ruth J F and Durda, Peter and Liu, Yongmei and Hou, Lifang and Lee, Jiwon and Kachroo, Priyadarshini and Freedman, Barry I and Levy, Daniel and Bielak, Lawrence F and Hixson, James E and Floyd, James S and Whitsel, Eric A and Ellinor, Patrick T and Irvin, Marguerite R and Fingerlin, Tasha E and Raffield, Laura M and Armasu, Sebastian M and Wheeler, Marsha M and Sabino, Ester C and Blangero, John and Williams, L Keoki and Levy, Bruce D and Sheu, Wayne Huey-Herng and Roden, Dan M and Boerwinkle, Eric and Manson, JoAnn E and Mathias, Rasika A and Desai, Pinkal and Taylor, Kent D and Johnson, Andrew D and Auer, Paul L and Kooperberg, Charles and Laurie, Cathy C and Blackwell, Thomas W and Smith, Albert V and Zhao, Hongyu and Lange, Ethan and Lange, Leslie and Rich, Stephen S and Rotter, Jerome I and Wilson, James G and Scheet, Paul and Kitzman, Jacob O and Lander, Eric S and Engreitz, Jesse M and Ebert, Benjamin L and Reiner, Alexander P and Jaiswal, Siddhartha and Abecasis, Gon{\c c}alo and Sankaran, Vijay G and Kathiresan, Sekar and Natarajan, Pradeep} } @article {828, title = {Loss of the neural-specific BAF subunit ACTL6B relieves repression of early response genes and causes recessive autism.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {117}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 05 05}, pages = {10055-10066}, abstract = {

Synaptic activity in neurons leads to the rapid activation of genes involved in mammalian behavior. ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers such as the BAF complex contribute to these responses and are generally thought to activate transcription. However, the mechanisms keeping such "early activation" genes silent have been a mystery. In the course of investigating Mendelian recessive autism, we identified six families with segregating loss-of-function mutations in the neuronal BAF (nBAF) subunit (originally named ). Accordingly, was the most significantly mutated gene in the Simons Recessive Autism Cohort. At least 14 subunits of the nBAF complex are mutated in autism, collectively making it a major contributor to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Patient mutations destabilized ACTL6B protein in neurons and rerouted dendrites to the wrong glomerulus in the fly olfactory system. Humans and mice lacking showed corpus callosum hypoplasia, indicating a conserved role for in facilitating neural connectivity. knockout mice on two genetic backgrounds exhibited ASD-related behaviors, including social and memory impairments, repetitive behaviors, and hyperactivity. Surprisingly, mutation of relieved repression of early response genes including AP1 transcription factors (, , , and ), increased chromatin accessibility at AP1 binding sites, and transcriptional changes in late response genes associated with early response transcription factor activity. loss is thus an important cause of recessive ASD, with impaired neuron-specific chromatin repression indicated as a potential mechanism.

}, keywords = {Actins, Adenosine Triphosphate, Animals, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Behavior, Animal, Chromatin, Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly, Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone, Chromosome Pairing, Corpus Callosum, Dendrites, Disease Models, Animal, DNA-Binding Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Hippocampus, Humans, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Mutation, Neurons, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1908238117}, author = {Wenderski, Wendy and Wang, Lu and Krokhotin, Andrey and Walsh, Jessica J and Li, Hongjie and Shoji, Hirotaka and Ghosh, Shereen and George, Renee D and Miller, Erik L and Elias, Laura and Gillespie, Mark A and Son, Esther Y and Staahl, Brett T and Baek, Seung Tae and Stanley, Valentina and Moncada, Cynthia and Shipony, Zohar and Linker, Sara B and Marchetto, Maria C N and Gage, Fred H and Chen, Dillon and Sultan, Tipu and Zaki, MAH S and Ranish, Jeffrey A and Miyakawa, Tsuyoshi and Luo, Liqun and Malenka, Robert C and Crabtree, Gerald R and Gleeson, Joseph G} } @article {907, title = {Mutations of the Transcriptional Corepressor ZMYM2 Cause Syndromic Urinary Tract Malformations.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {107}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 10 01}, pages = {727-742}, abstract = {

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) constitute one of the most frequent birth defects and represent the most common cause of chronic kidney disease in the first three decades of life. Despite the discovery of dozens of monogenic causes of CAKUT, most pathogenic pathways remain elusive. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in 551 individuals with CAKUT and identified a heterozygous de novo stop-gain variant in ZMYM2 in two different families with CAKUT. Through collaboration, we identified in total 14 different heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in ZMYM2 in 15 unrelated families. Most mutations occurred de novo, indicating possible interference with reproductive function. Human disease features are replicated in X.~tropicalis larvae with morpholino knockdowns, in which expression of truncated ZMYM2 proteins, based on individual mutations, failed to rescue renal and craniofacial defects. Moreover, heterozygous Zmym2-deficient mice recapitulated features of CAKUT with high penetrance. The ZMYM2 protein is a component of a transcriptional corepressor complex recently linked to the silencing of developmentally regulated endogenous retrovirus elements. Using protein-protein interaction assays, we show that ZMYM2 interacts with additional epigenetic silencing complexes, as well as confirming that it binds to FOXP1, a transcription factor that has also been linked to CAKUT. In summary, our findings establish that loss-of-function mutations of ZMYM2, and potentially that of other proteins in its interactome, as causes of human CAKUT, offering new routes for studying the pathogenesis of the disorder.

}, keywords = {Amphibian Proteins, Animals, Case-Control Studies, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA-Binding Proteins, Epigenesis, Genetic, Family, Female, Forkhead Transcription Factors, Heterozygote, Humans, Infant, Larva, Male, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Morpholinos, Mutation, Pedigree, Protein Binding, Repressor Proteins, Transcription Factors, Urinary Tract, Urogenital Abnormalities, Whole Exome Sequencing, Xenopus}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.08.013}, author = {Connaughton, Dervla M and Dai, Rufeng and Owen, Danielle J and Marquez, Jonathan and Mann, Nina and GrAHm-Paquin, Adda L and Nakayama, Makiko and Coyaud, Etienne and Laurent, Estelle M N and St-Germain, Jonathan R and Blok, Lot Snijders and Vino, Arianna and Kl{\"a}mbt, Verena and Deutsch, Konstantin and Wu, Chen-Han Wilfred and Kolvenbach, Caroline M and Kause, Franziska and Ottlewski, Isabel and Schneider, Ronen and Kitzler, Thomas M and Majmundar, Amar J and Buerger, Florian and Onuchic-Whitford, Ana C and Youying, Mao and Kolb, Amy and Salmanullah, Daanya and Chen, Evan and van der Ven, Amelie T and Rao, Jia and Ityel, Hadas and Seltzsam, Steve and Rieke, Johanna M and Chen, Jing and Vivante, Asaf and Hwang, Daw-Yang and Kohl, Stefan and Dworschak, Gabriel C and Hermle, Tobias and Alders, Marielle and Bartolomaeus, Tobias and Bauer, Stuart B and Baum, Michelle A and Brilstra, Eva H and Challman, Thomas D and Zyskind, Jacob and Costin, Carrie E and Dipple, Katrina M and Duijkers, Floor A and Ferguson, Marcia and FitzPatrick, David R and Fick, Roger and Glass, Ian A and Hulick, Peter J and Kline, Antonie D and Krey, Ilona and Kumar, Selvin and Lu, Weining and Marco, Elysa J and Wentzensen, Ingrid M and Mefford, Heather C and Platzer, Konrad and Povolotskaya, Inna S and Savatt, Juliann M and Shcherbakova, Natalia V and Senguttuvan, Prabha and Squire, Audrey E and Stein, Deborah R and Thiffault, Isabelle and Voinova, Victoria Y and Somers, Michael J G and Ferguson, Michael A and Traum, Avram Z and Daouk, Ghaleb H and Daga, Ankana and Rodig, Nancy M and Terhal, Paulien A and van Binsbergen, Ellen and Eid, Loai A and Tasic, Velibor and Rasouly, Hila Milo and Lim, Tze Y and Ahram, Dina F and Gharavi, Ali G and Reutter, Heiko M and Rehm, Heidi L and MacArthur, Daniel G and Lek, Monkol and Laricchia, Kristen M and Lifton, Richard P and Xu, Hong and Mane, Shrikant M and Sanna-Cherchi, Simone and Sharrocks, Andrew D and Raught, Brian and Fisher, Simon E and Bouchard, Maxime and Khokha, Mustafa K and Shril, Shirlee and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm} } @article {761, title = {Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: De novo variants and evidence for mutational burden in genes associated with atrial fibrillation.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {182}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 06}, pages = {1387-1399}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a relatively common arrhythmia affecting ~1-3/1,000 individuals. Mutations in PRKAG2 have been described in rare patients in association with cardiomyopathy. However, the genetic basis of WPW in individuals with a structurally normal heart remains poorly understood. Sudden death due to atrial fibrillation (AF) can also occur in these individuals. Several studies have indicated that despite ablation of an accessory pathway, the risk of AF remains high in patients compared to general population.

METHODS: We applied exome sequencing in 305 subjects, including 65 trios, 80 singletons, and 6 multiple affected families. We used de novo analysis, candidate gene approach, and burden testing to explore the genetic contributions to WPW.

RESULTS: A heterozygous deleterious variant in PRKAG2 was identified in one subject, accounting for 0.6\% (1/151) of the genetic basis of WPW in this study. Another individual with WPW and left ventricular hypertrophy carried a known pathogenic variant in MYH7. We found rare de novo variants in genes associated with arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy (ANK2, NEBL, PITX2, and PRDM16) in this cohort. There was an increased burden of rare deleterious variants (MAF <= 0.005) with CADD score >= 25 in genes linked to AF in cases compared to controls (P = .0023).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show an increased burden of rare deleterious variants in genes linked to AF in WPW syndrome, suggesting that genetic factors that determine the development of accessory pathways may be linked to an increased susceptibility of atrial muscle to AF in a subset of patients.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, AMP-Activated Protein Kinases, Ankyrins, Atrial Fibrillation, Carrier Proteins, Child, Cohort Studies, Cytoskeletal Proteins, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Heart Atria, Homeodomain Proteins, Humans, LIM Domain Proteins, Male, Mutation, Transcription Factors, Whole Exome Sequencing, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, Young Adult}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.61571}, author = {Coban-Akdemir, Zeynep H and Charng, Wu-Lin and Azamian, Mahshid and Paine, Ingrid S and Punetha, Jaya and Grochowski, Christopher M and Gambin, Tomasz and Valdes, Santiago O and Cannon, Bryan and Zapata, Gladys and Hernandez, Patricia P and Jhangiani, Shalini and Doddapaneni, Harsha and Hu, Jianhong and Boricha, Fatima and Muzny, Donna M and Boerwinkle, Eric and Yang, Yaping and Gibbs, Richard A and Posey, Jennifer E and Wehrens, Xander H T and Belmont, John W and Kim, Jeffrey J and Miyake, Christina Y and Lupski, James R and Lalani, Seema R} } @article {438, title = {ERCC4 variants identified in a cohort of patients with segmental progeroid syndromes.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {39}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 02}, pages = {255-265}, abstract = {

Pathogenic variants in genes, which encode DNA repair and damage response proteins, result in a number of genomic instability syndromes with features of accelerated aging. ERCC4 (XPF) encodes a protein that forms a complex with ERCC1 and is required for the 5{\textquoteright} incision during nucleotide excision repair. ERCC4 is also FANCQ, illustrating a critical role in interstrand crosslink repair. Pathogenic variants in this gene cause xeroderma pigmentosum, XFE progeroid syndrome, Cockayne syndrome (CS), and Fanconi anemia. We performed massive parallel sequencing for 42 unsolved cases submitted to the International Registry of Werner Syndrome. Two cases, each carrying two novel heterozygous ERCC4 variants, were identified. The first case was a compound heterozygote for: c.2395C~>~T (p.Arg799Trp) and c.388+1164_792+795del (p.Gly130Aspfs*18). Further molecular and cellular studies indicated that the ERCC4 variants in this patient are responsible for a phenotype consistent with a variant of CS. The second case was heterozygous for two variants in cis: c.[1488A~>~T; c.2579C~>~A] (p.[Gln496His; Ala860Asp]). While the second case also had several phenotypic features of accelerated aging, we were unable to provide biological evidence supporting the pathogenic roles of the associated ERCC4 variants. Precise genetic causes and disease mechanism of the second case remains to be determined.

}, keywords = {Actins, Aged, Cockayne Syndrome, DNA Repair, DNA-Binding Proteins, Fanconi Anemia, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Lamin Type A, Male, Middle Aged, Pedigree, Xeroderma Pigmentosum}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.23367}, author = {Mori, Takayasu and Yousefzadeh, Matthew J and Faridounnia, Maryam and Chong, Jessica X and Hisama, Fuki M and Hudgins, Louanne and Mercado, Gabriela and Wade, Erin A and Barghouthy, Amira S and Lee, Lin and Martin, George M and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Niedernhofer, Laura J and Oshima, Junko} } @article {431, title = {Genetic analysis of CHARGE syndrome identifies overlapping molecular biology.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {20}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 09}, pages = {1022-1029}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: CHARGE syndrome is an autosomal-dominant, multiple congenital anomaly condition characterized by vision and hearing loss, congenital heart disease, and malformations of craniofacial and other structures. Pathogenic variants in CHD7, encoding adenosine triphosphate-dependent chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 7, are present in the majority of affected individuals. However, no causal variant can be found in 5-30\% (depending on the cohort) of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of CHARGE syndrome.

METHODS: We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 28 families from which at least one individual presented with features highly suggestive of CHARGE syndrome.

RESULTS: Pathogenic variants in CHD7 were present in 15 of 28 individuals (53.6\%), whereas 4 (14.3\%) individuals had pathogenic variants in other genes (RERE, KMT2D, EP300, or PUF60). A variant of uncertain clinical significance in KDM6A was identified in one (3.5\%) individual. The remaining eight (28.6\%) individuals were not found to have pathogenic variants by WES.

CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the phenotypic features of CHARGE syndrome overlap with multiple other rare single-gene syndromes. Additionally, they implicate a shared molecular pathology that disrupts epigenetic regulation of multiple-organ development.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Carrier Proteins, CHARGE Syndrome, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, DNA Helicases, DNA-Binding Proteins, E1A-Associated p300 Protein, Epigenesis, Genetic, Female, Genetic Testing, Humans, Infant, Male, Mutation, Neoplasm Proteins, Phenotype, Repressor Proteins, RNA Splicing Factors}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/gim.2017.233}, author = {Moccia, Amanda and Srivastava, Anshika and Skidmore, Jennifer M and Bernat, John A and Wheeler, Marsha and Chong, Jessica X and Nickerson, Deborah and Bamshad, Michael and Hefner, Margaret A and Martin, Donna M and Bielas, Stephanie L} } @article {449, title = {Congenital heart defects and left ventricular non-compaction in males with loss-of-function variants in NONO.}, journal = {J Med Genet}, volume = {54}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 01}, pages = {47-53}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The non-POU domain containing octamer-binding gene (NONO) is located on chromosome Xq13.1 and encodes a member of a small family of RNA-binding and DNA-binding proteins that perform a variety of tasks involved in RNA synthesis, transcriptional regulation and DNA repair. Loss-of-function variants in NONO have been described as a cause of intellectual disability in males but have not been described in association with congenital heart defects or cardiomyopathy. In this article, we seek to further define the phenotypic consequences of NONO depletion in human subjects.

METHODS: We searched a clinical database of over 6000 individuals referred for exome sequencing and over 60 000 individuals referred for CNV analysis.

RESULTS: We identified two males with atrial and ventricular septal defects, left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC), developmental delay and intellectual disability, who harboured de novo, loss-of-function variants in NONO. We also identified a male infant with developmental delay, congenital brain anomalies and severe LVNC requiring cardiac transplantation, who inherited a single-gene deletion of NONO from his asymptomatic mother.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in addition to global developmental delay and intellectual disability, males with loss-of-function variants in NONO may also be predisposed to developing congenital heart defects and LVNC with the penetrance of these cardiac-related problems being influenced by genetic, epigenetic, environmental or stochastic factors. Brain imaging of males with NONO deficiency may reveal structural defects with abnormalities of the corpus callosum being the most common. Although dysmorphic features vary between affected individuals, relative macrocephaly is a common feature.

}, keywords = {Child, Child, Preschool, Developmental Disabilities, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Heart Defects, Congenital, Heart Ventricles, Humans, Infant, Male, Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins, Octamer Transcription Factors, RNA-Binding Proteins}, issn = {1468-6244}, doi = {10.1136/jmedgenet-2016-104039}, author = {Scott, Daryl A and Hernandez-Garcia, Andres and Azamian, Mahshid S and Jordan, Valerie K and Kim, Bum Jun and Starkovich, Molly and Zhang, Jinglan and Wong, Lee-Jun and Darilek, Sandra A and Breman, Amy M and Yang, Yaping and Lupski, James R and Jiwani, Amyn K and Das, Bibhuti and Lalani, Seema R and Iglesias, Alejandro D and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Xia, Fan} } @article {388, title = {Heterozygous De Novo UBTF Gain-of-Function Variant Is Associated with Neurodegeneration in Childhood.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {101}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Aug 03}, pages = {267-273}, abstract = {

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is transcribed from rDNA by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) to produce the 45S precursor of the 28S, 5.8S, and 18S rRNA components of the ribosome. Two transcription factors have been defined for Pol I in mammals, the selectivity factor SL1, and the upstream binding transcription factor (UBF), which interacts with the upstream control element to facilitate the assembly of the transcription initiation complex including SL1 and Pol I. In seven unrelated affected individuals, all suffering from developmental regression starting at 2.5-7 years, we identified a heterozygous variant, c.628G>A in UBTF, encoding p.Glu210Lys in UBF, which occurred de novo in~all cases. While the levels of UBF, Ser388 phosphorylated UBF, and other Pol I-related components (POLR1E, TAF1A, and TAF1C) remained unchanged in cells of an affected individual, the variant conferred gain of function to UBF, manifesting by markedly increased UBF binding to the rDNA promoter and to the 5{\textquoteright}- external transcribed spacer. This was associated with significantly increased 18S expression, and enlarged nucleoli which were reduced in number per cell. The data link neurodegeneration in childhood with altered rDNA chromatin status and rRNA metabolism.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Atrophy, Brain, Brain Diseases, Cell Nucleolus, Child, Chromatin, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Humans, Male, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Pol1 Transcription Initiation Complex Proteins, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Promoter Regions, Genetic, RNA, Ribosomal, 18S, Young Adult}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.07.002}, author = {Edvardson, Simon and Nicolae, Claudia M and Agrawal, Pankaj B and Mignot, Cyril and Payne, Katelyn and Prasad, Asuri Narayan and Prasad, Chitra and Sadler, Laurie and Nava, Caroline and Mullen, Thomas E and Begtrup, Amber and Baskin, Berivan and Powis, Z{\"o}e and Shaag, Avraham and Keren, Boris and Moldovan, George-Lucian and Elpeleg, Orly} } @article {391, title = {Heterozygous variants in ACTL6A, encoding a component of the BAF complex, are associated with intellectual disability.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {38}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 10}, pages = {1365-1371}, abstract = {

Pathogenic variants in genes encoding components of the BRG1-associated factor (BAF) chromatin remodeling complex have been associated with intellectual disability syndromes. We identified heterozygous, novel variants in ACTL6A, a gene encoding a component of the BAF complex, in three subjects with varying degrees of intellectual disability. Two subjects have missense variants affecting highly conserved amino acid residues within the actin-like domain. Missense mutations in the homologous region in yeast actin were previously reported to be dominant lethal and were associated with impaired binding of the human ACTL6A to β-actin and BRG1. A third subject has a splicing variant that creates an in-frame deletion. Our findings suggest that the variants identified in our subjects may have a deleterious effect on the function of the protein by disturbing the integrity of the BAF complex. Thus, ACTL6A gene mutation analysis should be considered in patients with intellectual disability, learning disabilities, or developmental language disorder.

}, keywords = {Actins, Adolescent, Child, Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly, Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone, DNA Helicases, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Face, Female, Hand Deformities, Congenital, Heterozygote, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Micrognathism, Multiprotein Complexes, Mutation, Missense, Nuclear Proteins, Protein Binding, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.23282}, author = {Marom, Ronit and Jain, Mahim and Burrage, Lindsay C and Song, I-Wen and Graham, Brett H and Brown, Chester W and Stevens, Servi J C and Stegmann, Alexander P A and Gunter, Andrew T and Kaplan, Julie D and Gavrilova, Ralitza H and Shinawi, Marwan and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Bae, Yangjin and Tran, Alyssa A and Chen, Yuqing and Lu, James T and Gibbs, Richard A and Eng, Christine and Yang, Yaping and Rousseau, Justine and de Vries, Bert B A and Campeau, Philippe M and Lee, Brendan} } @article {357, title = {Lessons learned from additional research analyses of unsolved clinical exome cases.}, journal = {Genome Med}, volume = {9}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 03 21}, pages = {26}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Given the rarity of most single-gene Mendelian disorders, concerted efforts of data exchange between clinical and scientific communities are critical to optimize molecular diagnosis and novel disease gene discovery.

METHODS: We designed and implemented protocols for the study of cases for which a plausible molecular diagnosis was not achieved in a clinical genomics diagnostic laboratory (i.e. unsolved clinical exomes). Such cases were recruited to a research laboratory for further analyses, in order to potentially: (1) accelerate novel disease gene discovery; (2) increase the molecular diagnostic yield of whole exome sequencing (WES); and (3) gain insight into the genetic mechanisms of disease. Pilot project data included 74 families, consisting mostly of parent-offspring trios. Analyses performed on a research basis employed both WES from additional family members and complementary bioinformatics approaches and protocols.

RESULTS: Analysis of all possible modes of Mendelian inheritance, focusing on both single nucleotide variants (SNV) and copy number variant (CNV) alleles, yielded a likely contributory variant in 36\% (27/74) of cases. If one includes candidate genes with variants identified within a single family, a potential contributory variant was identified in a total of ~51\% (38/74) of cases enrolled in this pilot study. The molecular diagnosis was achieved in 30/63 trios (47.6\%). Besides this, the analysis workflow yielded evidence for pathogenic variants in disease-associated genes in 4/6 singleton cases (66.6\%), 1/1 multiplex family involving three affected siblings, and 3/4 (75\%) quartet families. Both the analytical pipeline and the collaborative efforts between the diagnostic and research laboratories provided insights that allowed recent disease gene discoveries (PURA, TANGO2, EMC1, GNB5, ATAD3A, and MIPEP) and increased the number of novel genes, defined in this study as genes identified in more than one family (DHX30 and EBF3).

CONCLUSION: An efficient genomics pipeline in which clinical sequencing in a diagnostic laboratory is followed by the detailed reanalysis of unsolved cases in a research environment, supplemented with WES data from additional family members, and subject to adjuvant bioinformatics analyses including relaxed variant filtering parameters in informatics pipelines, can enhance the molecular diagnostic yield and provide mechanistic insights into Mendelian disorders. Implementing these approaches requires collaborative clinical molecular diagnostic and research efforts.

}, keywords = {Adenosine Triphosphatases, ATPases Associated with Diverse Cellular Activities, Computational Biology, DNA Copy Number Variations, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Female, Genetic Diseases, Inborn, Genomics, GTP-Binding Protein beta Subunits, Humans, Male, Membrane Proteins, Metalloendopeptidases, Mitochondrial Proteins, Pilot Projects, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1756-994X}, doi = {10.1186/s13073-017-0412-6}, author = {Eldomery, Mohammad K and Coban-Akdemir, Zeynep and Harel, Tamar and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Gambin, Tomasz and Stray-Pedersen, Asbj{\o}rg and K{\"u}ry, S{\'e}bastien and Mercier, Sandra and Lessel, Davor and Denecke, Jonas and Wiszniewski, Wojciech and Penney, Samantha and Liu, Pengfei and Bi, Weimin and Lalani, Seema R and Schaaf, Christian P and Wangler, Michael F and Bacino, Carlos A and Lewis, Richard Alan and Potocki, Lorraine and Graham, Brett H and Belmont, John W and Scaglia, Fernando and Orange, Jordan S and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Chiang, Theodore and Doddapaneni, Harsha and Hu, Jianhong and Muzny, Donna M and Xia, Fan and Beaudet, Arthur L and Boerwinkle, Eric and Eng, Christine M and Plon, Sharon E and Sutton, V Reid and Gibbs, Richard A and Posey, Jennifer E and Yang, Yaping and Lupski, James R} } @article {632, title = {Sequence variants in nine different genes underlying rare skin disorders in 10 consanguineous families.}, journal = {Int J Dermatol}, volume = {56}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Dec}, pages = {1406-1413}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Genodermatoses represent genetic anomalies of skin tissues including hair follicles, sebaceous glands, eccrine glands, nails, and teeth. Ten consanguineous families segregating various genodermatosis phenotypes were investigated in the present study.

METHODS: Homozygosity mapping, exome, and Sanger sequencing were employed to search for the disease-causing variants in the 10 families.

RESULTS: Exome sequencing identified seven homozygous sequence variants in different families, including: c.27delT in FERMT1; c.836delA in ABHD5; c.2453C>T in ERCC5; c.5314C>T in COL7A1; c.1630C>T in ALOXE3; c.502C>T in PPOX; and c.10G>T in ALDH3A2. Sanger sequencing revealed three homozygous variants: c.1718~+~2A>G in FERMT1; c.10459A>T in FLG; and c.92delT in the KRT14 genes as the underlying genetic cause of skin phenotypes.

CONCLUSION: This study supports the use of exome sequencing as a powerful, efficient tool for identifying genes that underlie rare monogenic skin disorders.

}, keywords = {1-Acylglycerol-3-Phosphate O-Acyltransferase, Aldehyde Oxidoreductases, Blister, Collagen Type VII, Consanguinity, DNA Mutational Analysis, DNA-Binding Proteins, Endonucleases, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Epidermolysis Bullosa Dystrophica, Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex, Exome, Female, Flavoproteins, Homozygote, Humans, Ichthyosiform Erythroderma, Congenital, Ichthyosis Vulgaris, Ichthyosis, Lamellar, INDEL Mutation, Intermediate Filament Proteins, Keratin-14, Lipid Metabolism, Inborn Errors, Lipoxygenase, Male, Membrane Proteins, Mitochondrial Proteins, Muscular Diseases, Neoplasm Proteins, Nuclear Proteins, Pedigree, Periodontal Diseases, Phenotype, Photosensitivity Disorders, Porphyria, Variegate, Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase, Rare Diseases, Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome, Skin Diseases, Genetic, Transcription Factors, Xeroderma Pigmentosum}, issn = {1365-4632}, doi = {10.1111/ijd.13778}, author = {Shah, Khadim and Mehmood, Sabba and Jan, Abid and Abbe, Izoduwa and Hussain Ali, Raja and Khan, Anwar and Chishti, Muhammad S and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Ahmad, Farooq and Ansar, Muhammad and Shahzad, Shaheen and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Coucke, Paul J and Santos-Cortez, Regie L P and Spritz, Richard A and Leal, Suzanne M and Ahmad, Wasim} } @article {28, title = {De Novo Mutations in SON Disrupt RNA Splicing of Genes Essential for Brain Development and Metabolism, Causing an Intellectual-Disability Syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {99}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Sep 01}, pages = {711-719}, abstract = {

The overall understanding of the molecular etiologies of intellectual disability (ID) and developmental delay (DD) is increasing as next-generation sequencing technologies identify genetic variants in individuals with such disorders. However, detailed analyses conclusively confirming these variants, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms explaining the diseases, are often lacking. Here, we report on an ID syndrome caused by de novo heterozygous loss-of-function (LoF) mutations in SON. The syndrome is characterized by ID and/or DD, malformations of the cerebral cortex, epilepsy, vision problems, musculoskeletal abnormalities, and congenital malformations. Knockdown of son in zebrafish resulted in severe malformation of the spine, brain, and eyes. Importantly, analyses of RNA from affected individuals revealed that genes critical for neuronal migration and cortex organization (TUBG1, FLNA, PNKP, WDR62, PSMD3, and~HDAC6) and metabolism (PCK2, PFKL, IDH2, ACY1, and ADA) are significantly downregulated because of the accumulation of mis-spliced transcripts resulting from erroneous SON-mediated RNA splicing. Our data highlight SON as a master regulator governing neurodevelopment and demonstrate the importance of SON-mediated RNA splicing in human development.

}, keywords = {Animals, Brain, Developmental Disabilities, DNA-Binding Proteins, Eye Abnormalities, Female, Genes, Essential, Haploinsufficiency, Head, Heterozygote, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Metabolic Diseases, Minor Histocompatibility Antigens, Mutation, Pedigree, RNA Splicing, RNA, Messenger, Spine, Syndrome, Zebrafish}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.06.029}, author = {Kim, Jung-Hyun and Shinde, Deepali N and Reijnders, Margot R F and Hauser, Natalie S and Belmonte, Rebecca L and Wilson, Gregory R and Bosch, Dani{\"e}lle G M and Bubulya, Paula A and Shashi, Vandana and Petrovski, Slav{\'e} and Stone, Joshua K and Park, Eun Young and Veltman, Joris A and Sinnema, Margje and Stumpel, Connie T R M and Draaisma, Jos M and Nicolai, Joost and Yntema, Helger G and Lindstrom, Kristin and de Vries, Bert B A and Jewett, Tamison and Santoro, Stephanie L and Vogt, Julie and Bachman, Kristine K and Seeley, Andrea H and Krokosky, Alyson and Turner, Clesson and Rohena, Luis and Hempel, Maja and Kort{\"u}m, Fanny and Lessel, Davor and Neu, Axel and Strom, Tim M and Wieczorek, Dagmar and Bramswig, Nuria and Laccone, Franco A and Behunova, Jana and Rehder, Helga and Gordon, Christopher T and Rio, Marl{\`e}ne and Romana, Serge and Tang, Sha and El-Khechen, Dima and Cho, Megan T and McWalter, Kirsty and Douglas, Ganka and Baskin, Berivan and Begtrup, Amber and Funari, Tara and Schoch, Kelly and Stegmann, Alexander P A and Stevens, Servi J C and Zhang, Dong-Er and Traver, David and Yao, Xu and MacArthur, Daniel G and Brunner, Han G and Mancini, Grazia M and Myers, Richard M and Owen, Laurie B and Lim, Ssang-Taek and Stachura, David L and Vissers, Lisenka E L M and Ahn, Eun-Young Erin} } @article {417, title = {Exome sequencing identifies a de novo frameshift mutation in the imprinted gene ZDBF2 in a sporadic patient with Nasopalpebral Lipoma-coloboma syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {170}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 07}, pages = {1934-7}, abstract = {

Nasopalpebral lipoma-coloboma syndrome (NPLCS, OMIM\%167730) is an uncommon malformation entity with autosomal dominant inheritance characterized by the combination of nasopalpebral lipoma, colobomas in upper and lower eyelids, telecanthus, and maxillary hypoplasia. To date, no genetic defects have been associated with familial or sporadic NPLCS cases and the etiology of the disease remains unknown. In this work, the results of whole exome sequencing in a sporadic NPLCS patient are presented. Exome sequencing identified a de novo heterozygous frameshift dinucleotide insertion c.6245_6246 insTT (p.His2082fs*67) in ZDBF2 (zinc finger, DBF-type containing 2), a gene located at 2q33.3. This variant was absent in parental DNA, in a set of 300 ethnically matched controls, and in public exome variant databases. This is the first genetic variant identified in a NPLCS patient and evidence supporting the pathogenicity of the identified mutation is discussed. {\textcopyright} 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Base Sequence, Child, Preschool, Coloboma, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Eyelid Neoplasms, Female, Frameshift Mutation, Genomic Imprinting, Humans, Lipoma, Pedigree}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.37683}, author = {Chac{\'o}n-Camacho, Oscar F and Sobreira, Nara and You, Jing and Pi{\~n}a-Aguilar, Raul E and Villegas-Ruiz, Vanessa and Zenteno, Juan C} } @article {32, title = {Exome Sequencing Identifies Biallelic MSH3 Germline Mutations as a Recessive Subtype of Colorectal Adenomatous Polyposis.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {99}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Aug 04}, pages = {337-51}, abstract = {

In \~{}30\% of families affected by colorectal adenomatous polyposis, no germline mutations have been identified in the previously implicated genes APC, MUTYH, POLE, POLD1, and NTHL1, although a hereditary etiology is likely. To uncover further genes with high-penetrance causative mutations, we performed exome sequencing of leukocyte DNA from 102 unrelated individuals with unexplained adenomatous polyposis. We identified two unrelated individuals with differing compound-heterozygous loss-of-function (LoF) germline mutations in the mismatch-repair gene MSH3. The impact of the MSH3 mutations (c.1148delA, c.2319-1G>A, c.2760delC, and c.3001-2A>C) was indicated at the RNA and protein levels. Analysis of the diseased individuals{\textquoteright} tumor tissue demonstrated high microsatellite instability of di- and tetranucleotides (EMAST), and immunohistochemical staining illustrated a complete loss of nuclear MSH3 in normal and tumor tissue, confirming the LoF effect and causal relevance of the mutations. The pedigrees, genotypes, and frequency of MSH3 mutations in the general population are consistent with an autosomal-recessive mode of inheritance. Both index persons have an affected sibling carrying the same mutations. The tumor spectrum in these four persons comprised colorectal and duodenal adenomas, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and an early-onset astrocytoma. Additionally, we detected one unrelated individual with biallelic PMS2 germline mutations, representing constitutional mismatch-repair deficiency. Potentially causative variants in 14 more candidate genes identified in 26 other individuals require further workup. In the present study, we identified biallelic germline MSH3 mutations in individuals with a suspected hereditary tumor syndrome. Our data suggest that MSH3 mutations represent an additional recessive subtype of colorectal adenomatous polyposis.

}, keywords = {Adenomatous Polyposis Coli, Adolescent, Adult, Alleles, Child, Preschool, Colorectal Neoplasms, DNA Mutational Analysis, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Female, Genes, Recessive, Germ-Line Mutation, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mismatch Repair Endonuclease PMS2, MutS Homolog 3 Protein, Pedigree}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.06.015}, author = {Adam, Ronja and Spier, Isabel and Zhao, Bixiao and Kloth, Michael and Marquez, Jonathan and Hinrichsen, Inga and Kirfel, Jutta and Tafazzoli, Aylar and Horpaopan, Sukanya and Uhlhaas, Siegfried and Stienen, Dietlinde and Friedrichs, Nicolaus and Altm{\"u}ller, Janine and Laner, Andreas and Holzapfel, Stefanie and Peters, Sophia and Kayser, Katrin and Thiele, Holger and Holinski-Feder, Elke and Marra, Giancarlo and Kristiansen, Glen and N{\"o}then, Markus M and B{\"u}ttner, Reinhard and M{\"o}slein, Gabriela and Betz, Regina C and Brieger, Angela and Lifton, Richard P and Aretz, Stefan} } @article {126, title = {Gonadal mosaicism in ARID1B gene causes intellectual disability and dysmorphic features in three siblings.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {170A}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Jan}, pages = {156-61}, abstract = {

The gene encoding the AT-rich interaction domain-containing protein 1B (ARID1B) has recently been shown to be one of the most frequently mutated genes in patients with intellectual disability (ID). The phenotypic spectrums associated with variants in this gene vary widely ranging for mild to severe non-specific ID to Coffin-Siris syndrome. In this study, we evaluated three children from a consanguineous Emirati family affected with ID and dysmorphic features. Genomic DNA from all affected siblings was analyzed using CGH array and whole-exome sequencing (WES). Based on a recessive mode of inheritance, homozygous or compound heterozygous variants shared among all three affected children could not be identified. However, further analysis revealed a heterozygous variant (c.4318C>T; p.Q1440*) in the three affected children in an autosomal dominant ID causing gene, ARID1B. This variant was absent in peripheral blood samples obtained from both parents and unaffected siblings. Therefore, we propose that the most likely explanation for this situation is that one of the parents is a gonadal mosaic for the variant. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a gonadal mosaicism inheritance of an ARID1B variant leading to familial ID recurrence.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Adolescent, Child, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Face, Female, Hand Deformities, Congenital, Heterozygote, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Micrognathism, Mosaicism, Mutation, Neck, Pedigree, Siblings, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.37405}, author = {Ben-Salem, Salma and Sobreira, Nara and Akawi, Nadia A and Al-Shamsi, Aisha M and John, Anne and Pramathan, Thachillath and Valle, David and Ali, Bassam R and Al-Gazali, Lihadh} } @article {133, title = {DNA REPAIR. Mus81 and converging forks limit the mutagenicity of replication fork breakage.}, journal = {Science}, volume = {349}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Aug 14}, pages = {742-7}, abstract = {

Most spontaneous DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) result from replication-fork breakage. Break-induced replication (BIR), a genome rearrangement-prone repair mechanism that requires the Pol32/POLD3 subunit of eukaryotic DNA Polδ, was proposed to repair broken forks, but how genome destabilization is avoided was unknown. We show that broken fork repair initially uses error-prone Pol32-dependent synthesis, but that mutagenic synthesis is limited to within a few kilobases from the break by Mus81 endonuclease and a converging fork. Mus81 suppresses template switches between both homologous sequences and diverged human Alu repetitive elements, highlighting its importance for stability of highly repetitive genomes. We propose that lack of a timely converging fork or Mus81 may propel genome instability observed in cancer.

}, keywords = {Alu Elements, Base Sequence, DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded, DNA Repair, DNA Replication, DNA-Binding Proteins, DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase, Endonucleases, Genomic Instability, Humans, Molecular Sequence Data, Neoplasms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins}, issn = {1095-9203}, doi = {10.1126/science.aaa8391}, author = {Mayle, Ryan and Campbell, Ian M and Beck, Christine R and Yu, Yang and Wilson, Marenda and Shaw, Chad A and Bjergbaek, Lotte and Lupski, James R and Ira, Grzegorz} } @article {248, title = {De novo truncating mutations in AHDC1 in individuals with syndromic expressive language delay, hypotonia, and sleep apnea.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {94}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 May 01}, pages = {784-9}, abstract = {

Clinical whole-exome sequencing (WES) for identification of mutations leading to Mendelian disease has been offered to the medical community since 2011. Clinically undiagnosed neurological disorders are the most frequent basis for test referral, and currently, approximately 25\% of such cases are diagnosed at the molecular level. To date, there are approximately 4,000 "known" disease-associated loci, and many are associated with striking dysmorphic features, making genotype-phenotype correlations relatively straightforward. A significant fraction of cases, however, lack characteristic dysmorphism or clinical pathognomonic traits and are dependent upon molecular tests for definitive diagnoses. Further, many molecular diagnoses are guided by recent gene-disease association discoveries. Hence, there is a critical interplay between clinical testing and research leading to gene-disease association discovery. Here, we describe four probands, all of whom presented with hypotonia, intellectual disability, global developmental delay, and mildly dysmorphic facial features. Three of the four also had sleep apnea. Each was a simplex case without a remarkable family history. Using WES, we identified AHDC1 de novo truncating mutations that most likely cause this genetic syndrome.

}, keywords = {Child, Child, Preschool, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Female, Humans, Infant, Intellectual Disability, Language Development Disorders, Male, Muscle Hypotonia, Mutation, Sleep Apnea Syndromes, Syndrome}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.04.006}, author = {Xia, Fan and Bainbridge, Matthew N and Tan, Tiong Yang and Wangler, Michael F and Scheuerle, Angela E and Zackai, Elaine H and Harr, Margaret H and Sutton, V Reid and Nalam, Roopa L and Zhu, Wenmiao and Nash, Margot and Ryan, Monique M and Yaplito-Lee, Joy and Hunter, Jill V and Deardorff, Matthew A and Penney, Samantha J and Beaudet, Arthur L and Plon, Sharon E and Boerwinkle, Eric A and Lupski, James R and Eng, Christine M and Muzny, Donna M and Yang, Yaping and Gibbs, Richard A} } @article {227, title = {Exome sequencing identifies a recurrent de novo ZSWIM6 mutation associated with acromelic frontonasal dysostosis.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {95}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Aug 07}, pages = {235-40}, abstract = {

Acromelic frontonasal dysostosis (AFND) is a rare disorder characterized by distinct craniofacial, brain, and limb malformations, including frontonasal dysplasia, interhemispheric lipoma, agenesis of the corpus callosum, tibial hemimelia, preaxial polydactyly of the feet, and intellectual disability. Exome sequencing of one trio and two unrelated probands revealed the same heterozygous variant (c.3487C>T [p. Arg1163Trp]) in a highly conserved protein domain of ZSWIM6; this variant has not been seen in the 1000 Genomes data, dbSNP, or the Exome Sequencing Project. Sanger validation of the three trios confirmed that the variant was de novo and was also present in a fourth isolated proband. In situ hybridization of early zebrafish embryos at 24 hr postfertilization (hpf) demonstrated telencephalic expression of zswim6 and onset of midbrain, hindbrain, and retinal expression at 48 hpf. Immunohistochemistry of later-stage mouse embryos demonstrated tissue-specific expression in the derivatives of all three germ layers. qRT-PCR expression analysis of osteoblast and fibroblast cell lines available from two probands was suggestive of Hedgehog pathway activation, indicating that the ZSWIM6 mutation associated with AFND may lead to the craniofacial, brain and limb malformations through the disruption of Hedgehog signaling.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Craniofacial Abnormalities, DNA Mutational Analysis, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Face, Hedgehog Proteins, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Limb Deformities, Congenital, Mandibulofacial Dysostosis, Mice, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Zebrafish, Zinc Fingers}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.07.008}, author = {Smith, Joshua D and Hing, Anne V and Clarke, Christine M and Johnson, Nathan M and Perez, Francisco A and Park, Sarah S and Horst, Jeremy A and Mecham, Brig and Maves, Lisa and Nickerson, Deborah A and Cunningham, Michael L} } @article {258, title = {Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of ARID1B-mediated disorders and identification of altered cell-cycle dynamics due to ARID1B haploinsufficiency.}, journal = {Orphanet J Rare Dis}, volume = {9}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Mar 27}, pages = {43}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Mutations in genes encoding components of the Brahma-associated factor (BAF) chromatin remodeling complex have recently been shown to contribute to multiple syndromes characterised by developmental delay and intellectual disability. ARID1B mutations have been identified as the predominant cause of Coffin-Siris syndrome and have also been shown to be a frequent cause of nonsyndromic intellectual disability. Here, we investigate the molecular basis of a patient with an overlapping but distinctive phenotype of intellectual disability, plantar fat pads and facial dysmorphism.

METHODS/RESULTS: High density microarray analysis of the patient demonstrated a heterozygous deletion at 6q25.3, which resulted in the loss of four genes including AT Rich Interactive Domain 1B (ARID1B). Subsequent quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed ARID1B haploinsufficiency in the patient. Analysis of both patient-derived and ARID1B knockdown fibroblasts after serum starvation demonstrated delayed cell cycle re-entry associated with reduced cell number in the S1 phase. Based on the patient{\textquoteright}s distinctive phenotype, we ascertained four additional patients and identified heterozygous de novo ARID1B frameshift or nonsense mutations in all of them.

CONCLUSIONS: This study broadens the spectrum of ARID1B associated phenotypes by describing a distinctive phenotype including plantar fat pads but lacking the hypertrichosis or fifth nail hypoplasia associated with Coffin-Siris syndrome. We present the first direct evidence in patient-derived cells that alterations in cell cycle contribute to the underlying pathogenesis of syndromes associated with ARID1B haploinsufficiency.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Cell Cycle, Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly, DNA-Binding Proteins, Face, Female, Hand Deformities, Congenital, Haploinsufficiency, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Micrognathism, Neck, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1750-1172}, doi = {10.1186/1750-1172-9-43}, author = {Sim, Joe C H and White, Susan M and Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth and Wilson, Gabrielle R and Gillies, Greta and Pope, Kate and Mountford, Hayley S and Torring, Pernille M and McKee, Shane and Vulto-van Silfhout, Anneke T and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Muzny, Donna M and Leventer, Richard J and Delatycki, Martin B and Amor, David J and Lockhart, Paul J} } @article {261, title = {Mutations in Alstr{\"o}m protein impair terminal differentiation of cardiomyocytes.}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {5}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Mar 04}, pages = {3416}, abstract = {

Cardiomyocyte cell division and replication in mammals proceed through embryonic development and abruptly decline soon after birth. The process governing cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest is poorly understood. Here we carry out whole-exome sequencing in an infant with evidence of persistent postnatal cardiomyocyte replication to determine the genetic risk factors. We identify compound heterozygous ALMS1 mutations in the proband, and confirm their presence in her affected sibling, one copy inherited from each heterozygous parent. Next, we recognize homozygous or compound heterozygous truncating mutations in ALMS1 in four other children with high levels of postnatal cardiomyocyte proliferation. Alms1 mRNA knockdown increases multiple markers of proliferation in cardiomyocytes, the percentage of cardiomyocytes in G2/M phases, and the number of cardiomyocytes by 10\% in cultured cells. Homozygous Alms1-mutant mice have increased cardiomyocyte proliferation at 2 weeks postnatal compared with wild-type littermates. We conclude that deficiency of Alstr{\"o}m protein impairs postnatal cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest.

}, keywords = {Animals, Cell Cycle, Cell Differentiation, Cells, Cultured, DNA-Binding Proteins, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Mice, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Myocytes, Cardiac, Proteins, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms4416}, author = {Shenje, Lincoln T and Andersen, Peter and Halushka, Marc K and Lui, Cecillia and Fernandez, Laviel and Collin, Gayle B and Amat-Alarcon, Nuria and Meschino, Wendy and Cutz, Ernest and Chang, Kenneth and Yonescu, Raluca and Batista, Denise A S and Chen, Yan and Chelko, Stephen and Crosson, Jane E and Scheel, Janet and Vricella, Luca and Craig, Brian D and Marosy, Beth A and Mohr, David W and Hetrick, Kurt N and Romm, Jane M and Scott, Alan F and Valle, David and Naggert, J{\"u}rgen K and Kwon, Chulan and Doheny, Kimberly F and Judge, Daniel P} } @article {211, title = {Mutations in PURA cause profound neonatal hypotonia, seizures, and encephalopathy in 5q31.3 microdeletion syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {95}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Nov 06}, pages = {579-83}, abstract = {

5q31.3 microdeletion syndrome is characterized by neonatal hypotonia, encephalopathy with or without epilepsy, and severe developmental delay, and the minimal critical deletion interval harbors three genes. We describe 11 individuals with clinical features of 5q31.3 microdeletion syndrome and de novo mutations in PURA, encoding transcriptional activator protein Pur-α, within the critical region. These data implicate causative PURA mutations responsible for the severe neurological phenotypes observed in this syndrome.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Caenorhabditis elegans, Chromosome Deletion, Chromosome Mapping, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5, DNA-Binding Proteins, Humans, Molecular Sequence Data, Muscle Hypotonia, Mutation, Seizures, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Syndrome, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.09.014}, author = {Lalani, Seema R and Zhang, Jing and Schaaf, Christian P and Brown, Chester W and Magoulas, Pilar and Tsai, Anne Chun-Hui and El-Gharbawy, Areeg and Wierenga, Klaas J and Bartholomew, Dennis and Fong, Chin-To and Barbaro-Dieber, Tina and Kukolich, Mary K and Burrage, Lindsay C and Austin, Elise and Keller, Kory and Pastore, Matthew and Fernandez, Fabio and Lotze, Timothy and Wilfong, Angus and Purcarin, Gabriela and Zhu, Wenmiao and Craigen, William J and McGuire, Marianne and Jain, Mahim and Cooney, Erin and Azamian, Mahshid and Bainbridge, Matthew N and Muzny, Donna M and Boerwinkle, Eric and Person, Richard E and Niu, Zhiyv and Eng, Christine M and Lupski, James R and Gibbs, Richard A and Beaudet, Arthur L and Yang, Yaping and Wang, Meng C and Xia, Fan} } @article {263, title = {Mutations in RSPH1 cause primary ciliary dyskinesia with a unique clinical and ciliary phenotype.}, journal = {Am J Respir Crit Care Med}, volume = {189}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Mar 15}, pages = {707-17}, abstract = {

RATIONALE: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically heterogeneous recessive disorder of motile cilia, but the genetic cause is not defined for all patients with PCD.

OBJECTIVES: To identify disease-causing mutations in novel genes, we performed exome sequencing, follow-up characterization, mutation scanning, and genotype-phenotype studies in patients with PCD.

METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing was performed using NimbleGen capture and Illumina HiSeq sequencing. Sanger-based sequencing was used for mutation scanning, validation, and segregation analysis.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We performed exome sequencing on an affected sib-pair with normal ultrastructure in more than 85\% of cilia. A homozygous splice-site mutation was detected in RSPH1 in both siblings; parents were carriers. Screening RSPH1 in 413 unrelated probands, including 325 with PCD and 88 with idiopathic bronchiectasis, revealed biallelic loss-of-function mutations in nine additional probands. Five affected siblings of probands in RSPH1 families harbored the familial mutations. The 16 individuals with RSPH1 mutations had some features of PCD; however, nasal nitric oxide levels were higher than in patients with PCD with other gene mutations (98.3 vs. 20.7 nl/min; P < 0.0003). Additionally, individuals with RSPH1 mutations had a lower prevalence (8 of 16) of neonatal respiratory distress, and later onset of daily wet cough than typical for PCD, and better lung function (FEV1), compared with 75 age- and sex-matched PCD cases (73.0 vs. 61.8, FEV1 \% predicted; P = 0.043). Cilia from individuals with RSPH1 mutations had normal beat frequency (6.1 {\textpm} Hz at 25{\textdegree}C), but an abnormal, circular beat pattern.

CONCLUSIONS: The milder clinical disease and higher nasal nitric oxide in individuals with biallelic mutations in RSPH1 provides evidence of a unique genotype-phenotype relationship in PCD, and suggests that mutations in RSPH1 may be associated with residual ciliary function.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Child, Cilia, DNA Mutational Analysis, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exome, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Markers, Genetic Testing, Homozygote, Humans, Kartagener Syndrome, Linear Models, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Nasal Mucosa, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Young Adult}, issn = {1535-4970}, doi = {10.1164/rccm.201311-2047OC}, author = {Knowles, Michael R and Ostrowski, Lawrence E and Leigh, Margaret W and Sears, Patrick R and Davis, Stephanie D and Wolf, Whitney E and Hazucha, Milan J and Carson, Johnny L and Olivier, Kenneth N and Sagel, Scott D and Rosenfeld, Margaret and Ferkol, Thomas W and Dell, Sharon D and Milla, Carlos E and Randell, Scott H and Yin, Weining and Sannuti, Aruna and Metjian, Hilda M and Noone, Peadar G and Noone, Peter J and Olson, Christina A and Patrone, Michael V and Dang, Hong and Lee, Hye-Seung and Hurd, Toby W and Gee, Heon Yung and Otto, Edgar A and Halbritter, Jan and Kohl, Stefan and Kircher, Martin and Krischer, Jeffrey and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm and Shendure, Jay and Zariwala, Maimoona A} } @article {292, title = {Neonatal diabetes, gallbladder agenesis, duodenal atresia, and intestinal malrotation caused by a novel homozygous mutation in RFX6.}, journal = {Pediatr Diabetes}, volume = {15}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Feb}, pages = {67-72}, abstract = {

Recently, bi-allelic mutations in the transcription factor RFX6 were described as the cause of a rare condition characterized by neonatal diabetes with pancreatic and biliary hypoplasia and duodenal/jejunal atresia. A male infant developed severe hyperglycemia (446 mg/dL) within 24 h of birth. Acute abdominal concerns by day five necessitated exploratory surgery that revealed duodenal atresia, gallbladder agenesis, annular pancreas and intestinal malrotation. He also exhibited chronic diarrhea and feeding intolerance, cholestatic jaundice, and subsequent liver failure. He died of sepsis at four months old while awaiting liver transplantation. The phenotype of neonatal diabetes with intestinal atresia and biliary agenesis clearly pointed to RFX6 as the causative gene; indeed, whole exome sequencing revealed a novel homozygous RFX6 mutation c.779A>C; p.Lys260Thr (K260T). This missense mutation also changes the consensus 5{\textquoteright} splice donor site before intron 7 and is thus predicted to cause disruption in splicing. Both parents, who were not known to be related, were heterozygous carriers. Targeted genetic testing based on consideration of phenotypic features may reveal a cause among the many genes now associated with heterogeneous forms of monogenic neonatal diabetes. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of using modern sequencing technology to identify one such rare cause. Continued research is needed to determine the possible cost-effectiveness of this approach, especially when clear phenotypic clues are absent. Further study of patients with RFX6 mutations should clarify its role in pancreatic, intestinal and enteroendocrine cellular development and explain features such as the diarrhea exhibited in our case.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Congenital Abnormalities, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Digestive System Abnormalities, DNA-Binding Proteins, Duodenal Obstruction, Fatal Outcome, Gallbladder, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Newborn, Diseases, Intestinal Atresia, Intestinal Volvulus, Male, Pancreas, Pancreatic Diseases, Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1399-5448}, doi = {10.1111/pedi.12063}, author = {Concepcion, Jennifer P and Reh, Christina S and Daniels, Mark and Liu, Xiaoming and Paz, Veronica P and Ye, Honggang and Highland, Heather M and Hanis, Craig L and Greeley, Siri Atma W} } @article {271, title = {NR2F1 mutations cause optic atrophy with intellectual disability.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {94}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Feb 06}, pages = {303-9}, abstract = {

Optic nerve atrophy and hypoplasia can be primary disorders or can result from trans-synaptic degeneration arising from cerebral visual impairment (CVI). Here we report six individuals with CVI and/or optic nerve abnormalities, born after an uneventful pregnancy and delivery, who have either de novo heterozygous missense mutations in NR2F1, also known as COUP-TFI, or deletions encompassing NR2F1. All affected individuals show mild to moderate intellectual impairment. NR2F1 encodes a nuclear receptor protein that regulates transcription. A reporter assay showed that missense mutations in the zinc-finger DNA-binding domain and the putative ligand-binding domain decrease NR2F1 transcriptional activity. These findings indicate that NR2F1 plays an important role in the neurodevelopment of the visual system and that its disruption can lead to optic atrophy with intellectual disability.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Amino Acid Sequence, Child, Child, Preschool, COUP Transcription Factor I, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Genotype, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Missense, Optic Atrophy, Phenotype, Young Adult, Zinc Fingers}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.01.002}, author = {Bosch, Dani{\"e}lle G M and Boonstra, F Nienke and Gonzaga-Jauregui, Claudia and Xu, Mafei and de Ligt, Joep and Jhangiani, Shalini and Wiszniewski, Wojciech and Muzny, Donna M and Yntema, Helger G and Pfundt, Rolph and Vissers, Lisenka E L M and Spruijt, Liesbeth and Blokland, Ellen A W and Chen, Chun-An and Lewis, Richard A and Tsai, Sophia Y and Gibbs, Richard A and Tsai, Ming-Jer and Lupski, James R and Zoghbi, Huda Y and Cremers, Frans P M and de Vries, Bert B A and Schaaf, Christian P} } @article {290, title = {Evidence for replicative mechanism in a CHD7 rearrangement in a patient with CHARGE syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {161A}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Dec}, pages = {3182-6}, abstract = {

Haploinsufficiency of CHD7 (OMIM$\#$ 608892) is known to cause CHARGE syndrome (OMIM$\#$ 214800). Molecular testing supports a definitive diagnosis in approximately 65-70\% of cases. Most CHD7 mutations arise de novo, and no mutations affecting exon-7 have been reported to date. We report on an 8-year-old girl diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome that was referred to our laboratory for comprehensive CHD7 gene screening. Genomic DNA from the subject with a suspected diagnosis of CHARGE was isolated from peripheral blood lymphocytes and comprehensive Sanger sequencing, along with deletion/duplication analysis of the CHD7 gene using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), was performed. MLPA analysis identified a reduced single probe signal for exon-7 of the CHD7 gene consistent with potential heterozygous deletion. Long-range PCR breakpoint analysis identified a complex genomic rearrangement (CGR) leading to the deletion of exon-7 and breakpoints consistent with a replicative mechanism such as fork stalling and template switching (FoSTeS) or microhomology-mediated break-induced replication (MMBIR). Taken together this represents the first evidence for a CHD7 intragenic CGR in a patient with CHARGE syndrome leading to what appears to be also the first report of a mutation specifically disrupting exon-7. Although likely rare, CGR may represent an overlooked mechanism in subjects with CHARGE syndrome that can be missed by current sequencing and dosage assays.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, CHARGE Syndrome, Child, DNA Helicases, DNA Replication, DNA-Binding Proteins, Exons, Female, Gene Deletion, Haploinsufficiency, Humans, Mutation}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.36178}, author = {Vatta, Matteo and Niu, Zhiyv and Lupski, James R and Putnam, Philip and Spoonamore, Katherine G and Fang, Ping and Eng, Christine M and Willis, Alecia S} } @article {319, title = {Mutations in the TGF-β repressor SKI cause Shprintzen-Goldberg syndrome with aortic aneurysm.}, journal = {Nat Genet}, volume = {44}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Nov}, pages = {1249-54}, abstract = {

Elevated transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of syndromic presentations of aortic aneurysm, including Marfan syndrome (MFS) and Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS). However, the location and character of many of the causal mutations in LDS intuitively imply diminished TGF-β signaling. Taken together, these data have engendered controversy regarding the specific role of TGF-β in disease pathogenesis. Shprintzen-Goldberg syndrome (SGS) has considerable phenotypic overlap with MFS and LDS, including aortic aneurysm. We identified causative variation in ten individuals with SGS in the proto-oncogene SKI, a known repressor of TGF-β activity. Cultured dermal fibroblasts from affected individuals showed enhanced activation of TGF-β signaling cascades and higher expression of TGF-β-responsive genes relative to control cells. Morpholino-induced silencing of SKI paralogs in zebrafish recapitulated abnormalities seen in humans with SGS. These data support the conclusions that increased TGF-β signaling is the mechanism underlying SGS and that high signaling contributes to multiple syndromic presentations of aortic aneurysm.

}, keywords = {Animals, Aortic Aneurysm, Arachnodactyly, Cells, Cultured, Craniosynostoses, DNA-Binding Proteins, Fibroblasts, Humans, Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, Marfan Syndrome, Mice, Mutation, Phenotype, Phosphorylation, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Signal Transduction, Transforming Growth Factor beta, Zebrafish}, issn = {1546-1718}, doi = {10.1038/ng.2421}, author = {Doyle, Alexander J and Doyle, Jefferson J and Bessling, Seneca L and Maragh, Samantha and Lindsay, Mark E and Schepers, Dorien and Gillis, Elisabeth and Mortier, Geert and Homfray, Tessa and Sauls, Kimberly and Norris, Russell A and Huso, Nicholas D and Leahy, Dan and Mohr, David W and Caulfield, Mark J and Scott, Alan F and Destr{\'e}e, Anne and Hennekam, Raoul C and Arn, Pamela H and Curry, Cynthia J and Van Laer, Lut and McCallion, Andrew S and Loeys, Bart L and Dietz, Harry C} }