@article {666, title = {Exome sequencing of family trios from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study: Tapping into a rich resource of genetic and environmental data.}, journal = {Birth Defects Res}, volume = {111}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Dec 01}, pages = {1618-1632}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) is a multisite, population-based, case-control study of genetic and nongenetic risk factors for major structural birth defects. Eligible women had a pregnancy affected by a birth defect or a liveborn child without a birth defect between 1997 and 2011. They were invited to complete a telephone interview to collect pregnancy exposure data and were mailed buccal cell collection kits to collect specimens from themselves, their child (if living), and their child{\textquoteright}s father. Over 23,000 families representing more than 30 major structural birth defects provided DNA specimens.

METHODS: To evaluate their utility for exome sequencing (ES), specimens from 20 children with colonic atresia were studied. Evaluations were conducted on specimens collected using cytobrushes stored and transported in open versus closed packaging, on native genomic DNA (gDNA) versus whole genome amplified (WGA) products and on a library preparation protocol adapted to low amounts of DNA.

RESULTS: The DNA extracted from brushes in open packaging yielded higher quality sequence data than DNA from brushes in closed packaging. Quality metrics of sequenced gDNA were consistently higher than metrics from corresponding WGA products and were consistently high when using a low input protocol.

CONCLUSIONS: This proof-of-principle study established conditions under which ES can be applied to NBDPS specimens. Successful sequencing of exomes from well-characterized NBDPS families indicated that this unique collection can be used to investigate the roles of genetic variation and gene-environment interaction effects in birth defect etiologies, providing a valuable resource for birth defect researchers.

}, issn = {2472-1727}, doi = {10.1002/bdr2.1554}, author = {Jenkins, Mary M and Almli, Lynn M and Pangilinan, Faith and Chong, Jessica X and Blue, Elizabeth E and Shapira, Stuart K and White, Janson and McGoldrick, Daniel and Smith, Joshua D and Mullikin, James C and Bean, Christopher J and Nembhard, Wendy N and Lou, Xiang-Yang and Shaw, Gary M and Romitti, Paul A and Keppler-Noreuil, Kim and Yazdy, Mahsa M and Kay, Denise M and Carter, Tonia C and Olshan, Andrew F and Moore, Kristin J and Nascone-Yoder, Nanette and Finnell, Richard H and Lupo, Philip J and Feldkamp, Marcia L and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Brody, Lawrence C and Reefhuis, Jennita} } @article {656, title = {Exploring by whole exome sequencing patients with initial diagnosis of Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome: the interconnections of epigenetic machinery disorders.}, journal = {Hum Genet}, volume = {138}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Mar}, pages = {257-269}, abstract = {

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is an autosomal-dominant neurodevelopmental disease affecting 1:125,000 newborns characterized by intellectual disability, growth retardation, facial dysmorphisms and skeletal abnormalities. RSTS is caused by mutations in genes encoding for writers of the epigenetic machinery: CREBBP (~ 60\%) or its homologous EP300 (~ 10\%). No causative mutation is identified in up to 30\% of patients. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) on eight RSTS-like individuals who had normal high-resolution array CGH testing and were CREBBP- and EP300-mutation -negative, to identify the molecular cause. In four cases, we identified putatively causal variants in three genes (ASXL1, KMT2D and KMT2A) encoding members of the epigenetic machinery known to be associated with the Bohring-Opitz, Kabuki and Wiedemann-Steiner syndromes. Each variant is novel, de novo, fulfills the ACMG criteria and is predicted to result in loss-of-function leading to haploinsufficiency of the epi-gene. In two of the remaining cases, homozygous/compound heterozygous variants in XYLT2 and PLCB4 genes, respectively, associated with spondyloocular and auriculocondylar 2 syndromes and in the latter an additional candidate variant in XRN2, a gene yet unrelated to any disease, were detected, but their pathogenicity remains uncertain. These results underscore the broad clinical spectrum of Mendelian disorders of the epigenetic apparatus and the high rate of WES disclosure of the genetic basis in cases which may pose a challenge for phenotype encompassing distinct syndromes. The overlapping features of distinct intellectual disability syndromes reflect common pathogenic molecular mechanisms affecting the complex regulation of balance between open and closed chromatin.

}, keywords = {Child, Child, Preschool, Comparative Genomic Hybridization, CREB-Binding Protein, E1A-Associated p300 Protein, Epigenesis, Genetic, Facies, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mutation, Phenotype, Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1432-1203}, doi = {10.1007/s00439-019-01985-y}, author = {Negri, Gloria and Magini, Pamela and Milani, Donatella and Crippa, Milena and Biamino, Elisa and Piccione, Maria and Sotgiu, Stefano and Perr{\`\i}a, Chiara and Vitiello, Giuseppina and Frontali, Marina and Boni, Antonella and Di Fede, Elisabetta and Gandini, Maria Chiara and Colombo, Elisa Adele and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Smith, Joshua D and Loddo, Italia and Finelli, Palma and Seri, Marco and Pippucci, Tommaso and Larizza, Lidia and Gervasini, Cristina} } @article {100, title = {Expansion of the spectrum of ITGB6-related disorders to adolescent alopecia, dentogingival abnormalities and intellectual disability.}, journal = {Eur J Hum Genet}, volume = {24}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 08}, pages = {1223-7}, abstract = {

Alopecia with mental retardation (APMR) is a very rare disorder. In this study, we report on a consanguineous Pakistani family (AP91) with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability, adolescent alopecia and dentogingival abnormalities. Using homozygosity mapping, linkage analysis and exome sequencing, we identified a novel rare missense variant c.898G>A (p.(Glu300Lys)) in ITGB6, which co-segregates with the phenotype within the family and is predicted to be deleterious. Structural modeling shows that Glu300 lies in the β-propeller domain, and is surrounded by several residues that are important for heterodimerization with α integrin. Previous studies showed that ITGB6 variants can cause amelogenesis imperfecta in humans, but patients from family AP91 who are homozygous for the c.898G>A variant present with neurological and dermatological features, indicating a role for ITGB6 beyond enamel formation. Our study demonstrates that a rare deleterious variant within ITGB6 causes not only dentogingival anomalies but also intellectual disability and alopecia.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Alopecia, Child, Female, Humans, Integrin beta Chains, Intellectual Disability, Male, Mutation, Missense, Pedigree, Phenotype, Protein Domains, Syndrome, Tooth Abnormalities}, issn = {1476-5438}, doi = {10.1038/ejhg.2015.260}, author = {Ansar, Muhammad and Jan, Abid and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Wang, Xin and Suliman, Muhammad and Acharya, Anushree and Habib, Rabia and Abbe, Izoduwa and Ali, Ghazanfar and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Smith, Joshua D and Nickerson, Deborah A and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Ahmad, Wasim and Leal, Suzanne M} } @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} }