@article {923, title = {Alternative genomic diagnoses for individuals with a clinical diagnosis of Dubowitz syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {185}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 01}, pages = {119-133}, abstract = {

Dubowitz syndrome (DubS) is considered a recognizable syndrome characterized by a distinctive facial appearance and deficits in growth and development. There have been over 200 individuals reported with Dubowitz or a "Dubowitz-like" condition, although no single gene has been implicated as responsible for its cause. We have performed exome (ES) or genome sequencing (GS) for 31 individuals clinically diagnosed with DubS. After genome-wide sequencing, rare variant filtering and computational and Mendelian genomic analyses, a presumptive molecular diagnosis was made in 13/27 (48\%) families. The molecular diagnoses included biallelic variants in SKIV2L, SLC35C1, BRCA1, NSUN2; de novo variants in ARID1B, ARID1A, CREBBP, POGZ, TAF1, HDAC8, and copy-number variation at1p36.11(ARID1A), 8q22.2(VPS13B), Xp22, and Xq13(HDAC8). Variants of unknown significance in known disease genes, and also in genes of uncertain significance, were observed in 7/27 (26\%) additional families. Only one gene, HDAC8, could explain the phenotype in more than one family (N = 2). All but two of the genomic diagnoses were for genes discovered, or for conditions recognized, since the introduction of next-generation sequencing. Overall, the DubS-like clinical phenotype is associated with extensive locus heterogeneity and the molecular diagnoses made are for emerging clinical conditions sharing characteristic features that overlap the DubS phenotype.

}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.61926}, author = {Dyment, David A and O{\textquoteright}Donnell-Luria, Anne and Agrawal, Pankaj B and Coban Akdemir, Zeynep and Aleck, Kyrieckos A and Antaki, Danny and Al Sharhan, Hind and Au, Ping-Yee B and Aydin, Hatip and Beggs, Alan H and Bilguvar, Kaya and Boerwinkle, Eric and Brand, Harrison and Brownstein, Catherine A and Buyske, Steve and Chodirker, Bernard and Choi, Jungmin and Chudley, Albert E and Clericuzio, Carol L and Cox, Gerald F and Curry, Cynthia and de Boer, Elke and de Vries, Bert B A and Dunn, Kathryn and Dutmer, Cullen M and England, Eleina M and Fahrner, Jill A and Geckinli, Bilgen B and Genetti, Casie A and Gezdirici, Alper and Gibson, William T and Gleeson, Joseph G and Greenberg, Cheryl R and Hall, April and Hamosh, Ada and Hartley, Taila and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Karaca, Ender and Kernohan, Kristin and Lauzon, Julie L and Lewis, M E Suzanne and Lowry, R Brian and L{\'o}pez-Gir{\'a}ldez, Francesc and Matise, Tara C and McEvoy-Venneri, Jennifer and McInnes, Brenda and Mhanni, Aziz and Garcia Minaur, Sixto and Moilanen, Jukka and Nguyen, An and Nowaczyk, Malgorzata J M and Posey, Jennifer E and {\~O}unap, Katrin and Pehlivan, Davut and Pajusalu, Sander and Penney, Lynette S and Poterba, Timothy and Prontera, Paolo and Doriqui, Maria Juliana Rodovalho and Sawyer, Sarah L and Sobreira, Nara and Stanley, Valentina and Torun, Deniz and Wargowski, David and Witmer, P Dane and Wong, Isaac and Xing, Jinchuan and Zaki, MAH S and Zhang, Yeting and Boycott, Kym M and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Blue, Elizabeth E and Innes, A Micheil} } @article {816, title = {Spectrum of genetic variants in moderate to severe sporadic hearing loss in Pakistan.}, journal = {Sci Rep}, volume = {10}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 07 17}, pages = {11902}, abstract = {

Hearing loss affects 380 million people worldwide due to environmental or genetic causes. Determining the cause of deafness in individuals without previous family history of hearing loss is challenging and has been relatively unexplored in Pakistan. We investigated the spectrum of genetic variants in hearing loss in a cohort of singleton affected individuals born to consanguineous parents. Twenty-one individuals with moderate to severe hearing loss were recruited. We performed whole-exome sequencing on DNA samples from the participants, which identified seventeen variants in ten known deafness genes and one novel candidate gene. All identified variants were homozygous except for two. Eleven of the variants were novel, including one multi-exonic homozygous deletion in OTOA. A missense variant in ESRRB was implicated for recessively inherited moderate to severe hearing loss. Two individuals were heterozygous for variants in MYO7A and CHD7, respectively, consistent with de novo variants or dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance as the reason for their hearing loss. Our results indicate that similar to familial cases of deafness, variants in a large number of genes are responsible for moderate to severe hearing loss in sporadic individuals born to consanguineous couples.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Amino Acid Sequence, Audiometry, Pure-Tone, Child, Child, Preschool, Deafness, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetic Variation, Hearing Loss, Heterozygote, Homozygote, Humans, Mutation, Missense, Pakistan, Phenotype, Whole Exome Sequencing, Young Adult}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-020-68779-5}, author = {Ramzan, Memoona and Bashir, Rasheeda and Salman, Midhat and Mujtaba, Ghulam and Sobreira, Nara and Witmer, P Dane and Naz, Sadaf} } @article {768, title = {The utility of exome sequencing for fetal pleural effusions.}, journal = {Prenat Diagn}, volume = {40}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 04}, pages = {590-595}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the performance of exome sequencing (ES) in determining an underlying genetic etiology for cases of fetal pleural effusions.

STUDY DESIGN: We examined a prospective cohort series of fetal pleural effusions visualized sonographically between 1 April 2016 and 31 August 2017. Fetal pleural effusions attributed to twin sharing, anemia, or structural anomalies were excluded, as were all cases with a genetic diagnosis established by karyotype or chromosomal microarray analysis. The remaining cases with pleural effusions of unclear etiology were offered ES. ES was performed by clinical sequencing and/or sequencing under the Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics{\textquoteright} (BHCMG) research platform. All cases were evaluated for novel genes or phenotypic expansion of disease-causing genes.

RESULTS: ES was performed on six probands affected by pleural effusions. A pathogenic variant was identified in one case (16.7\%). Four additional cases had variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in candidate genes of pathological interest. Neither clinical nor candidate genes were evident in the final case.

CONCLUSION: ES should be considered in the evaluation of prenatally detected idiopathic pleural effusions when other diagnostic workup for a genetic etiology has failed.

}, issn = {1097-0223}, doi = {10.1002/pd.5650}, author = {Jelin, Angie C and Sobreira, Nara and Wohler, Elizabeth and Solomon, Benjamin and Sparks, Teresa and Sagaser, Katelynn G and Forster, Katherine R and Miller, Jena and Witmer, P Dane and Hamosh, Ada and Valle, David and Blakemore, Karin} } @article {595, title = {Insights into genetics, human biology and disease gleaned from family based genomic studies.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {21}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 04}, pages = {798-812}, abstract = {

Identifying genes and variants contributing to rare disease phenotypes and Mendelian conditions informs biology and medicine, yet potential phenotypic consequences for variation of >75\% of the ~20,000 annotated genes in the human genome are lacking. Technical advances to assess rare variation genome-wide, particularly exome sequencing (ES), enabled establishment in the United States of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported Centers for Mendelian Genomics (CMGs) and have facilitated collaborative studies resulting in~novel "disease gene" discoveries. Pedigree-based genomic studies and rare variant analyses in families with suspected Mendelian conditions have led to the elucidation of hundreds of novel disease genes and highlighted the impact of de novo mutational events, somatic variation underlying nononcologic traits, incompletely penetrant alleles, phenotypes with high locus heterogeneity, and multilocus pathogenic variation. Herein, we highlight CMG collaborative discoveries that have contributed to understanding both rare and common diseases and discuss opportunities for future discovery in single-locus Mendelian disorder genomics. Phenotypic annotation of all human genes; development of bioinformatic tools and analytic methods; exploration of non-Mendelian modes of inheritance including reduced penetrance, multilocus variation, and oligogenic inheritance; construction of allelic series at a locus; enhanced data sharing worldwide; and integration with clinical genomics are explored. Realizing the full contribution of rare disease research to functional annotation of the human genome, and further illuminating human biology and health, will lay the foundation for the Precision Medicine Initiative.

}, keywords = {Databases, Genetic, Genetic Diseases, Inborn, Genetic Heterogeneity, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome, Human, Genomics, Humans, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Pedigree, United States, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/s41436-018-0408-7}, author = {Posey, Jennifer E and O{\textquoteright}Donnell-Luria, Anne H and Chong, Jessica X and Harel, Tamar and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Coban Akdemir, Zeynep H and Buyske, Steven and Pehlivan, Davut and Carvalho, Claudia M B and Baxter, Samantha and Sobreira, Nara and Liu, Pengfei and Wu, Nan and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Kumar, Sushant and Avramopoulos, Dimitri and White, Janson J and Doheny, Kimberly F and Witmer, P Dane and Boehm, Corinne and Sutton, V Reid and Muzny, Donna M and Boerwinkle, Eric and G{\"u}nel, Murat and Nickerson, Deborah A and Mane, Shrikant and MacArthur, Daniel G and Gibbs, Richard A and Hamosh, Ada and Lifton, Richard P and Matise, Tara C and Rehm, Heidi L and Gerstein, Mark and Bamshad, Michael J and Valle, David and Lupski, James R} } @article {73, title = {Two novel germline DDX41 mutations in a family with inherited myelodysplasia/acute myeloid leukemia.}, journal = {Haematologica}, volume = {101}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 06}, pages = {e228-31}, keywords = {DEAD-box RNA Helicases, Family, Female, Germ-Line Mutation, Humans, Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute, Male, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Neoplasm Proteins}, issn = {1592-8721}, doi = {10.3324/haematol.2015.139790}, author = {Li, Ruijuan and Sobreira, Nara and Witmer, P Dane and Pratz, Keith W and Braunstein, Evan M} } @article {149, title = {The Genetic Basis of Mendelian Phenotypes: Discoveries, Challenges, and Opportunities.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {97}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Aug 06}, pages = {199-215}, abstract = {

Discovering the genetic basis of a Mendelian phenotype establishes a causal link between genotype and phenotype, making possible carrier and population screening and direct diagnosis. Such discoveries also contribute to our knowledge of gene function, gene regulation, development, and biological mechanisms that can be used for developing new therapeutics. As of February 2015, 2,937 genes underlying 4,163 Mendelian phenotypes have been discovered, but the genes underlying \~{}50\% (i.e., 3,152) of all known Mendelian phenotypes are still unknown, and many more Mendelian conditions have yet to be recognized. This is a formidable gap in biomedical knowledge. Accordingly, in December 2011, the NIH established the Centers for Mendelian Genomics (CMGs) to provide the collaborative framework and infrastructure necessary for undertaking large-scale whole-exome sequencing and discovery of the genetic variants responsible for Mendelian phenotypes. In partnership with 529 investigators from 261 institutions in 36 countries, the CMGs assessed 18,863 samples from 8,838 families representing 579 known and 470 novel Mendelian phenotypes as of January 2015. This collaborative effort has identified 956 genes, including 375 not previously associated with human health, that underlie a Mendelian phenotype. These results provide insight into study design and analytical strategies, identify novel mechanisms of disease, and reveal the extensive clinical variability of Mendelian phenotypes. Discovering the gene underlying every Mendelian phenotype will require tackling challenges such as worldwide ascertainment and phenotypic characterization of families affected by Mendelian conditions, improvement in sequencing and analytical techniques, and pervasive sharing of phenotypic and genomic data among researchers, clinicians, and families.

}, keywords = {Genetic Diseases, Inborn, Genetics, Medical, Humans, Phenotype, Proteins}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.06.009}, author = {Chong, Jessica X and Buckingham, Kati J and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Boehm, Corinne and Sobreira, Nara and Smith, Joshua D and Harrell, Tanya M and McMillin, Margaret J and Wiszniewski, Wojciech and Gambin, Tomasz and Coban Akdemir, Zeynep H and Doheny, Kimberly and Scott, Alan F and Avramopoulos, Dimitri and Chakravarti, Aravinda and Hoover-Fong, Julie and Mathews, Debra and Witmer, P Dane and Ling, Hua and Hetrick, Kurt and Watkins, Lee and Patterson, Karynne E and Reinier, Frederic and Blue, Elizabeth and Muzny, Donna and Kircher, Martin and Bilguvar, Kaya and L{\'o}pez-Gir{\'a}ldez, Francesc and Sutton, V Reid and Tabor, Holly K and Leal, Suzanne M and G{\"u}nel, Murat and Mane, Shrikant and Gibbs, Richard A and Boerwinkle, Eric and Hamosh, Ada and Shendure, Jay and Lupski, James R and Lifton, Richard P and Valle, David and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {214, title = {Truncating mutations in the last exon of NOTCH3 cause lateral meningocele syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {167A}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Feb}, pages = {271-81}, abstract = {

Lateral meningocele syndrome (LMS, OMIM\%130720), also known as Lehman syndrome, is a very rare skeletal disorder with facial anomalies, hypotonia and meningocele-related neurologic dysfunction. The characteristic lateral meningoceles represent the severe end of the dural ectasia spectrum and are typically most severe in the lower spine. Facial features of LMS include hypertelorism and telecanthus, high arched eyebrows, ptosis, midfacial hypoplasia, micrognathia, high and narrow palate, low-set ears and a hypotonic appearance. Hyperextensibility, hernias and scoliosis reflect a connective tissue abnormality, and aortic dilation, a high-pitched nasal voice, wormian bones and osteolysis may be present. Lateral meningocele syndrome has phenotypic overlap with Hajdu-Cheney syndrome. We performed exome resequencing in five unrelated individuals with LMS and identified heterozygous truncating NOTCH3 mutations. In an additional unrelated individual Sanger sequencing revealed a deleterious variant in the same exon 33. In total, five novel de novo NOTCH3 mutations were identified in six unrelated patients. One had a 26 bp deletion (c.6461_6486del, p.G2154fsTer78), two carried the same single base pair insertion (c.6692_93insC, p.P2231fsTer11), and three individuals had a nonsense point mutation at c.6247A > T (pK2083*), c.6663C > G (p.Y2221*) or c.6732C > A, (p.Y2244*). All mutations cluster into the last coding exon, resulting in premature termination of the protein and truncation of the negative regulatory proline-glutamate-serine-threonine rich PEST domain. Our results suggest that mutant mRNA products escape nonsense mediated decay. The truncated NOTCH3 may cause gain-of-function through decreased clearance of the active intracellular product, resembling NOTCH2 mutations in the clinically related Hajdu-Cheney syndrome and contrasting the NOTCH3 missense mutations causing CADASIL.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA Mutational Analysis, Exome, Exons, Facies, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Meningocele, Mutation, Phenotype, Receptor, Notch3, Receptors, Notch, Young Adult}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.36863}, author = {Gripp, Karen W and Robbins, Katherine M and Sobreira, Nara L and Witmer, P Dane and Bird, Lynne M and Avela, Kristiina and M{\"a}kitie, Outi and Alves, Daniela and Hogue, Jacob S and Zackai, Elaine H and Doheny, Kimberly F and Stabley, Deborah L and Sol-Church, Katia} }