@article {1021, title = {Deletion of CTCF sites in the SHH locus alters enhancer-promoter interactions and leads to acheiropodia.}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {12}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 04 16}, pages = {2282}, abstract = {

Acheiropodia, congenital limb truncation, is associated with homozygous deletions in the LMBR1 gene around ZRS, an enhancer regulating SHH during limb development. How these deletions lead to this phenotype is unknown. Using whole-genome sequencing, we fine-mapped the acheiropodia-associated region to 12 kb and show that it does not function as an enhancer. CTCF and RAD21 ChIP-seq together with 4C-seq and DNA FISH identify three CTCF sites within the acheiropodia-deleted region that mediate the interaction between the ZRS and the SHH promoter. This interaction is substituted with other CTCF sites centromeric to the ZRS in the disease state. Mouse knockouts of the orthologous 12 kb sequence have no apparent abnormalities, showcasing the challenges in modelling CTCF alterations in animal models due to inherent motif differences between species. Our results show that alterations in CTCF motifs can lead to a Mendelian condition due to altered enhancer-promoter interactions.

}, keywords = {Animals, Binding Sites, CCCTC-Binding Factor, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing, Disease Models, Animal, Embryo, Mammalian, Enhancer Elements, Genetic, Exons, Extremities, Female, Foot Deformities, Congenital, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Genetic Loci, Genetic Testing, Hand Deformities, Congenital, Hedgehog Proteins, Humans, Introns, Male, Membrane Proteins, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Sequence Deletion, Species Specificity, Whole Genome Sequencing}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-22470-z}, author = {Ushiki, Aki and Zhang, Yichi and Xiong, Chenling and Zhao, Jingjing and Georgakopoulos-Soares, Ilias and Kane, Lauren and Jamieson, Kirsty and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Shen, Yin and Lettice, Laura A and Silveira-Lucas, Elizabeth Lemos and Petit, Florence and Ahituv, Nadav} } @article {944, title = {Dominant variants in PRR12 result in unilateral or bilateral complex microphthalmia.}, journal = {Clin Genet}, volume = {99}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Mar}, pages = {437-442}, abstract = {

Complex microphthalmia is characterized by small eyes with additional abnormalities that may include anterior segment dysgenesis. While many genes are known, a genetic cause is identified in only 4-30\% of microphthalmia, with the lowest rate in unilateral cases. We identified four novel pathogenic loss-of-function alleles in PRR12 in families affected by complex microphthalmia and/or Peters anomaly, including two de novo, the first dominantly transmitted allele, as well as the first splicing variant. The ocular phenotypes were isolated with no additional systemic features observed in two unrelated families. Remarkably, ocular phenotypes were asymmetric in all individuals and unilateral (with structurally normal contralateral eye) in three. There are only three previously reported PRR12 variants identified in probands with intellectual disability, neuropsychiatric disorders, and iris anomalies. While some overlap with previously reported cases is seen, nonsyndromic developmental ocular anomalies are a novel phenotype for this gene. Additional phenotypic expansions included short stature and normal development/cognition, each noted in two individuals in this cohort, as well as absence of neuropsychiatric disorders in all. This study identifies new associations for PRR12 disruption in humans and presents a genetic diagnosis resulting in unilateral ocular phenotypes in a significant proportion of cases.

}, issn = {1399-0004}, doi = {10.1111/cge.13897}, author = {Reis, Linda M and Costakos, Deborah and Wheeler, Patricia G and Bardakjian, Tanya and Schneider, Adele and Fung, Simon S M and Semina, Elena V} } @article {996, title = {Further delineation of van den Ende-Gupta syndrome: Genetic heterogeneity and overlap with congenital heart defects and skeletal malformations syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Mar 30}, abstract = {

Van den Ende-Gupta syndrome (VDEGS) is a rare autosomal recessive condition characterized by distinctive facial and skeletal features, and in most affected persons, by biallelic pathogenic variants in SCARF2. We review the type and frequency of the clinical features in 36 reported individuals with features of VDEGS, 15 (42\%) of whom had known pathogenic variants in SCARF2, 6 (16\%) with negative SCARF2 testing, and 15 (42\%) not tested. We also report three new individuals with pathogenic variants in SCARF2 and clinical features of VDEGS. Of the six persons without known pathogenic variants in SCARF2, three remain unsolved despite extensive genetic testing. Three were found to have pathogenic ABL1 variants using whole exome sequencing (WES) or whole genome sequencing (WGS). Their phenotype was consistent with the congenital heart disease and skeletal malformations syndrome (CHDSKM), which has been associated with ABL1 variants. Of the three unsolved cases, two were brothers who underwent WGS and targeted long-range sequencing of both SCARF2 and ABL1, and the third person who underwent WES and RNA sequencing for SCARF2. Because these affected individuals with classical features of VDEGS lacked a detectable pathogenic SCARF2 variant, genetic heterogeneity is likely. Our study shows the importance of performing genetic testing on individuals with the VDEGS "phenotype," either as a targeted gene analysis (SCARF2, ABL1) or WES/WGS. Additionally, individuals with the combination of arachnodactyly and blepharophimosis should undergo echocardiography while awaiting results of molecular testing due to the overlapping physical features of VDEGS and CHDSKM.

}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.62194}, author = {Hildebrandt, Clara C and Patel, Nisha and GrAHm, John M and Bamshad, Michael and Nickerson, Deborah A and White, Janson J and Marvin, Colby T and Miller, Danny E and Grand, Katheryn L and Sanchez-Lara, Pedro A and Schweitzer, Daniela and Al-Zaidan, Hamad I and Al Masseri, Zainab and Alkuraya, Fowzan S and Lin, Angela E} } @article {982, title = {TMEM218 dysfunction causes ciliopathies, including Joubert and Meckel syndromes.}, journal = {HGG Adv}, volume = {2}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Jan 14}, abstract = {

The Joubert-Meckel syndrome spectrum is a continuum of recessive ciliopathy conditions caused by primary cilium dysfunction. The primary cilium is a microtubule-based, antenna-like organelle that projects from the surface of most human cell types, allowing them to respond to extracellular signals. The cilium is partitioned from the cell body by the transition zone, a known hotspot for ciliopathy-related proteins. Despite years of Joubert syndrome (JBTS) gene discovery, the genetic cause cannot be identified in up to 30\% of individuals with JBTS, depending on the cohort, sequencing method, and criteria for pathogenic variants. Using exome and targeted sequencing of 655 families with JBTS, we identified three individuals from two families harboring biallelic, rare, predicted-deleterious missense variants. Via MatchMaker Exchange, we identified biallelic variants in four additional families with ciliopathy phenotypes. Of note, four of the six families carry missense variants affecting the same highly conserved amino acid position 115. Clinical features included the molar tooth sign (N = 2), occipital encephalocele (N = 5, all fetuses), retinal dystrophy (N = 4, all living individuals), polycystic kidneys (N = 2), and polydactyly (N = 2), without liver involvement. Combined with existing functional data linking TMEM218 to ciliary transition zone function, our human genetic data make a strong case for TMEM218 dysfunction as a cause of ciliopathy phenotypes including JBTS with retinal dystrophy and Meckel syndrome. Identifying all genetic causes of the Joubert-Meckel spectrum enables diagnostic testing, prognostic and recurrence risk counseling, and medical monitoring, as well as work to delineate the underlying biological mechanisms and identify targets for future therapies.

}, issn = {2666-2477}, doi = {10.1016/j.xhgg.2020.100016}, author = {Van De Weghe, Julie C and Giordano, Jessica L and Mathijssen, Inge B and Mojarrad, Majid and Lugtenberg, Dorien and Miller, Caitlin V and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Mohajeri, Mahsa Sadat Asl and van Leeuwen, Elizabeth and Pajkrt, Eva and Klaver, Caroline C W and Houlden, Henry and Eslahi, Atieh and Waters, Aoife M and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Aggarwal, Vimla S and de Vries, Bert B A and Maroofian, Reza and Doherty, Dan} } @article {950, title = {8q24 genetic variation and comprehensive haplotypes altering familial risk of prostate cancer.}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {11}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 03 23}, pages = {1523}, abstract = {

The 8q24 genomic locus is tied to the origin of numerous cancers. We investigate its contribution to hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) in independent study populations of the Nashville Familial Prostate Cancer Study and International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics (combined: 2,836 HPC cases, 2,206 controls of European ancestry). Here we report 433 variants concordantly associated with HPC in both study populations, accounting for 9\% of heritability and modifying age of diagnosis as well as aggressiveness; 183 reach genome-wide significance. The variants comprehensively distinguish independent risk-altering haplotypes overlapping the 648 kb locus (three protective, and four risk (peak odds ratios: 1.5, 4, 5, and 22)). Sequence of the near-Mendelian haplotype reveals eleven causal mutation candidates. We introduce a linkage disequilibrium-based algorithm discerning eight independent sentinel variants, carrying considerable risk prediction ability (AUC = 0.625) for a single locus. These findings elucidate 8q24 locus structure and correlates for clinical prediction of prostate cancer risk.

}, keywords = {Aged, Case-Control Studies, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8, European Continental Ancestry Group, Genetic Loci, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Haplotypes, Heterozygote, Humans, Linkage Disequilibrium, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Prostatic Neoplasms, Protective Factors, Risk Factors}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-15122-1}, author = {Dupont, William D and Breyer, Joan P and Plummer, W Dale and Chang, Sam S and Cookson, Michael S and Smith, Joseph A and Blue, Elizabeth E and Bamshad, Michael J and Smith, Jeffrey R} } @article {823, title = {Dysfunction of the ciliary ARMC9/TOGARAM1 protein module causes Joubert syndrome.}, journal = {J Clin Invest}, volume = {130}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 08 03}, pages = {4423-4439}, abstract = {

Joubert syndrome (JBTS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental ciliopathy characterized by a pathognomonic hindbrain malformation. All known JBTS genes encode proteins involved in the structure or function of primary cilia, ubiquitous antenna-like organelles essential for cellular signal transduction. Here, we used the recently identified JBTS-associated protein armadillo repeat motif-containing 9 (ARMC9) in tandem-affinity purification and yeast 2-hybrid screens to identify a ciliary module whose dysfunction underlies JBTS. In addition to the known JBTS-associated proteins CEP104 and CSPP1, we identified coiled-coil domain containing 66 (CCDC66) and TOG array regulator of axonemal microtubules 1 (TOGARAM1) as ARMC9 interaction partners. We found that TOGARAM1 variants cause JBTS and disrupt TOGARAM1 interaction with ARMC9. Using a combination of protein interaction analyses, characterization of patient-derived fibroblasts, and analysis of CRISPR/Cas9-engineered zebrafish and hTERT-RPE1 cells, we demonstrated that dysfunction of ARMC9 or TOGARAM1 resulted in short cilia with decreased axonemal acetylation and polyglutamylation, but relatively intact transition zone function. Aberrant serum-induced ciliary resorption and cold-induced depolymerization in ARMC9 and TOGARAM1 patient cell lines suggest a role for this new JBTS-associated protein module in ciliary stability.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Acetylation, Animals, Armadillo Domain Proteins, Cerebellum, Cilia, CRISPR-Cas Systems, Disease Models, Animal, Eye Abnormalities, Humans, Kidney Diseases, Cystic, Peptides, Retina, Zebrafish, Zebrafish Proteins}, issn = {1558-8238}, doi = {10.1172/JCI131656}, author = {Latour, Brooke L and Van De Weghe, Julie C and Rusterholz, Tamara Ds and Letteboer, Stef Jf and Gomez, Arianna and Shaheen, Ranad and Gesemann, Matthias and Karamzade, Arezou and Asadollahi, Mostafa and Barroso-Gil, Miguel and Chitre, Manali and Grout, Megan E and van Reeuwijk, Jeroen and van Beersum, Sylvia Ec and Miller, Caitlin V and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Morsy, Heba and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Neuhauss, Stephan Cf and Boldt, Karsten and Ueffing, Marius and Keramatipour, Mohammad and Sayer, John A and Alkuraya, Fowzan S and Bachmann-Gagescu, Ruxandra and Roepman, Ronald and Doherty, Dan} } @article {770, title = {MN1 C-terminal truncation syndrome is a novel neurodevelopmental and craniofacial disorder with partial rhombencephalosynapsis.}, journal = {Brain}, volume = {143}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 01 01}, pages = {55-68}, abstract = {

MN1 encodes a transcriptional co-regulator without homology to other proteins, previously implicated in acute myeloid leukaemia and development of the palate. Large deletions encompassing MN1 have been reported in individuals with variable neurodevelopmental anomalies and non-specific facial features. We identified a cluster of de novo truncating mutations in MN1 in a cohort of 23 individuals with strikingly similar dysmorphic facial features, especially midface hypoplasia, and intellectual disability with severe expressive language delay. Imaging revealed an atypical form of rhombencephalosynapsis, a distinctive brain malformation characterized by partial or complete loss of the cerebellar vermis with fusion of the cerebellar hemispheres, in 8/10 individuals. Rhombencephalosynapsis has no previously known definitive genetic or environmental causes. Other frequent features included perisylvian polymicrogyria, abnormal posterior clinoid processes and persistent trigeminal artery. MN1 is encoded by only two exons. All mutations, including the recurrent variant p.Arg1295* observed in 8/21 probands, fall in the terminal exon or the extreme 3{\textquoteright} region of exon 1, and are therefore predicted to result in escape from nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. This was confirmed in fibroblasts from three individuals. We propose that the condition described here, MN1 C-terminal truncation (MCTT) syndrome, is not due to MN1 haploinsufficiency but rather is the result of dominantly acting C-terminally truncated MN1 protein. Our data show that MN1 plays a critical role in human craniofacial and brain development, and opens the door to understanding the biological mechanisms underlying rhombencephalosynapsis.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Adolescent, Basilar Artery, Carotid Arteries, Cerebellar Vermis, Cerebellum, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Comparative Genomic Hybridization, Craniofacial Abnormalities, Female, Fibroblasts, Humans, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Infant, Intellectual Disability, Language Development Disorders, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Nervous System Malformations, Nonsense Mediated mRNA Decay, Polymicrogyria, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, RNA-Seq, Syndrome, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Trans-Activators, Tumor Suppressor Proteins, Whole Exome Sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing}, issn = {1460-2156}, doi = {10.1093/brain/awz379}, author = {Mak, Christopher C Y and Doherty, Dan and Lin, Angela E and Vegas, Nancy and Cho, Megan T and Viot, G{\'e}raldine and Dimartino, Cl{\'e}mantine and Weisfeld-Adams, James D and Lessel, Davor and Joss, Shelagh and Li, Chumei and Gonzaga-Jauregui, Claudia and Zarate, Yuri A and Ehmke, Nadja and Horn, Denise and Troyer, Caitlin and Kant, Sarina G and Lee, Youngha and Ishak, Gisele E and Leung, Gordon and Barone Pritchard, Amanda and Yang, Sandra and Bend, Eric G and Filippini, Francesca and Roadhouse, Chelsea and Lebrun, Nicolas and Mehaffey, Michele G and Martin, Pierre-Marie and Apple, Benjamin and Millan, Francisca and Puk, Oliver and Hoffer, Mariette J V and Henderson, Lindsay B and McGowan, Ruth and Wentzensen, Ingrid M and Pei, Steven and Zahir, Farah R and Yu, Mullin and Gibson, William T and Seman, Ann and Steeves, Marcie and Murrell, Jill R and Luettgen, Sabine and Francisco, Elizabeth and Strom, Tim M and Amlie-Wolf, Louise and Kaindl, Angela M and Wilson, William G and Halbach, Sara and Basel-Salmon, Lina and Lev-El, Noa and Denecke, Jonas and Vissers, Lisenka E L M and Radtke, Kelly and Chelly, Jamel and Zackai, Elaine and Friedman, Jan M and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Reid, Russell R and Devriendt, Koenraad and Chae, Jong-Hee and Stolerman, Elliot and McDougall, Carey and Powis, Z{\"o}e and Bienvenu, Thierry and Tan, Tiong Y and Orenstein, Naama and Dobyns, William B and Shieh, Joseph T and Choi, Murim and Waggoner, Darrel and Gripp, Karen W and Parker, Michael J and Stoler, Joan and Lyonnet, Stanislas and Cormier-Daire, Val{\'e}rie and Viskochil, David and Hoffman, Trevor L and Amiel, Jeanne and Chung, Brian H Y and Gordon, Christopher T} } @article {931, title = {Mutations in GRK2 cause Jeune syndrome by impairing Hedgehog and canonical Wnt signaling.}, journal = {EMBO Mol Med}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 11 06}, pages = {e11739}, abstract = {

Mutations in genes affecting primary cilia cause ciliopathies, a diverse group of disorders often affecting skeletal development. This includes Jeune syndrome or asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (ATD), an autosomal recessive skeletal disorder. Unraveling the responsible molecular pathology helps illuminate mechanisms responsible for functional primary cilia. We identified two families with ATD caused by loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding adrenergic receptor kinase 1 (ADRBK1 or GRK2). GRK2 cells from an affected individual homozygous for the p.R158* mutation resulted in loss of GRK2, and disrupted chondrocyte growth and differentiation in the cartilage growth plate. GRK2 null cells displayed normal cilia morphology, yet loss of GRK2 compromised cilia-based signaling of Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. Canonical Wnt signaling was also impaired, manifested as a failure to respond to Wnt ligand due to impaired phosphorylation of the Wnt co-receptor LRP6. We have identified GRK2 as an essential regulator of skeletogenesis and demonstrate how both Hh and Wnt signaling mechanistically contribute to skeletal ciliopathies.

}, issn = {1757-4684}, doi = {10.15252/emmm.201911739}, author = {Bosakova, Michaela and AbrAHm, Sara P and Nita, Alexandru and Hruba, Eva and Buchtova, Marcela and Taylor, S Paige and Duran, Ivan and Martin, Jorge and Svozilova, Katerina and Barta, Tomas and Varecha, Miroslav and Balek, Lukas and Kohoutek, Jiri and Radaszkiewicz, Tomasz and Pusapati, Ganesh V and Bryja, Vitezslav and Rush, Eric T and Thiffault, Isabelle and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Rohatgi, Rajat and Cohn, Daniel H and Krakow, Deborah and Krejci, Pavel} } @article {814, title = {Mutations in MYLPF Cause a Novel Segmental Amyoplasia that Manifests as Distal Arthrogryposis.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {107}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 08 06}, pages = {293-310}, abstract = {

We identified ten persons in six consanguineous families with distal arthrogryposis (DA) who had congenital contractures, scoliosis, and short stature. Exome sequencing revealed that each affected person was homozygous for one of two different rare variants (c.470G>T [p.Cys157Phe] or c.469T>C [p.Cys157Arg]) affecting the same residue of myosin light chain, phosphorylatable, fast skeletal muscle (MYLPF). In a seventh family, a c.487G>A (p.Gly163Ser) variant in MYLPF arose de novo in a father, who transmitted it to his son. In an eighth family comprised of seven individuals with dominantly inherited DA, a c.98C>T (p.Ala33Val) variant segregated in all four persons tested. Variants in MYLPF underlie both dominant and recessively inherited DA. Mylpf protein models suggest that the residues associated with dominant DA interact with myosin whereas the residues altered in families with recessive DA only indirectly impair this interaction. Pathological and histological exam of a foot amputated from an affected child revealed complete absence of skeletal muscle (i.e., segmental amyoplasia). To investigate the mechanism for this finding, we generated an animal model for partial MYLPF impairment by knocking out zebrafish mylpfa. The mylpfa mutant had reduced trunk contractile force and complete pectoral fin paralysis, demonstrating that mylpf impairment most severely affects limb movement. mylpfa mutant muscle weakness was most pronounced in an appendicular muscle and was explained by reduced myosin activity and fiber degeneration. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that partial loss of MYLPF function can lead to congenital contractures, likely as a result of degeneration of skeletal muscle in the distal limb.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Arthrogryposis, Child, Contracture, Extremities, Female, Humans, Male, Muscle, Skeletal, Musculoskeletal Abnormalities, Mutation, Myosin Light Chains, Myosins, Pedigree, Young Adult, Zebrafish}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.06.014}, author = {Chong, Jessica X and Talbot, Jared C and Teets, Emily M and Previs, Samantha and Martin, Brit L and Shively, Kathryn M and Marvin, Colby T and Aylsworth, Arthur S and Saadeh-Haddad, Reem and Schatz, Ulrich A and Inzana, Francesca and Ben-Omran, Tawfeg and Almusafri, Fatima and Al-Mulla, Mariam and Buckingham, Kati J and Harel, Tamar and Mor-Shaked, Hagar and Radhakrishnan, Periyasamy and Girisha, Katta M and Nayak, Shalini S and Shukla, Anju and Dieterich, Klaus and Faure, Julien and Rendu, John and Capri, Yline and Latypova, X{\'e}nia and Nickerson, Deborah A and Warshaw, David M and Janssen, Paul M L and Amacher, Sharon L and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {910, title = {Pathogenic Variants in CEP85L Cause Sporadic and Familial Posterior Predominant Lissencephaly.}, journal = {Neuron}, volume = {106}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 04 22}, pages = {237-245.e8}, abstract = {

Lissencephaly (LIS), denoting a "smooth brain," is characterized by the absence of normal cerebral convolutions with abnormalities of cortical thickness. Pathogenic variants in over 20 genes are associated with LIS. The majority of posterior predominant LIS is caused by pathogenic variants in LIS1~(also known as PAFAH1B1), although a significant fraction remains without a known genetic etiology. We now implicate CEP85L as an important cause of~posterior predominant LIS, identifying 13 individuals with rare, heterozygous CEP85L variants, including 2 families with autosomal dominant inheritance. We show that CEP85L is a centrosome protein localizing to the pericentriolar material, and knockdown of Cep85l causes a neuronal migration defect in mice. LIS1 also localizes to the centrosome, suggesting that this organelle is key to the mechanism of posterior predominant LIS.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Age of Onset, Animals, Centrosome, Child, Child, Preschool, Chromosome Aberrations, Classical Lissencephalies and Subcortical Band Heterotopias, Cytoskeletal Proteins, Female, Gene Knockdown Techniques, Genetic Variation, Heterozygote, Humans, Infant, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mice, Mutation, Oncogene Proteins, Fusion, Pedigree, Seizures, Young Adult}, issn = {1097-4199}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuron.2020.01.027}, author = {Tsai, Meng-Han and Muir, Alison M and Wang, Won-Jing and Kang, Yi-Ning and Yang, Kun-Chuan and Chao, Nian-Hsin and Wu, Mei-Feng and Chang, Ying-Chao and Porter, Brenda E and Jansen, Laura A and Sebire, Guillaume and Deconinck, Nicolas and Fan, Wen-Lang and Su, Shih-Chi and Chung, Wen-Hung and Almanza Fuerte, Edith P and Mehaffey, Michele G and Ng, Ching-Ching and Chan, Chung-Kin and Lim, Kheng-Seang and Leventer, Richard J and Lockhart, Paul J and Riney, Kate and Damiano, John A and Hildebrand, Michael S and Mirzaa, Ghayda M and Dobyns, William B and Berkovic, Samuel F and Scheffer, Ingrid E and Tsai, Jin-Wu and Mefford, Heather C} } @article {699, title = {A2ML1 and otitis media: novel variants, differential expression, and relevant pathways.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {40}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 08}, pages = {1156-1171}, abstract = {

A genetic basis for otitis media is established, however, the role of rare variants in disease etiology is largely unknown. Previously a duplication variant within A2ML1 was identified as a significant risk factor for otitis media in an indigenous Filipino population and in US children. In this report exome and Sanger sequencing was performed using DNA samples from the indigenous Filipino population, Filipino cochlear implantees, US probands, Finnish, and Pakistani families with otitis media. Sixteen novel, damaging A2ML1 variants identified in otitis media patients were rare or low-frequency in population-matched controls. In the indigenous population, both gingivitis and A2ML1 variants including the known duplication variant and the novel splice variant c.4061 + 1 G>C were independently associated with otitis media. Sequencing of salivary RNA samples from indigenous Filipinos demonstrated lower A2ML1 expression according to the carriage of A2ML1 variants. Sequencing of additional salivary RNA samples from US patients with otitis media revealed differentially expressed genes that are highly correlated with A2ML1 expression levels. In particular,~RND3 is upregulated in both A2ML1 variant carriers and high-A2ML1 expressors. These findings support a role for A2ML1 in keratinocyte differentiation within the middle ear as part of otitis media pathology and the potential application of ROCK inhibition in otitis media.

}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.23769}, author = {Larson, Eric D and Magno, Jose Pedrito M and Steritz, Matthew J and Llanes, Erasmo Gonzalo D V and Cardwell, Jonathan and Pedro, Melquiadesa and Roberts, Tori Bootpetch and Einarsdottir, Elisabet and Rosanes, Rose Anne Q and Greenlee, Christopher and Santos, Rachel Ann P and Yousaf, Ayesha and Streubel, Sven-Olrik and Santos, Aileen Trinidad R and Ruiz, Amanda G and Lagrana-Villagracia, Sheryl Mae and Ray, Dylan and Yarza, Talitha Karisse L and Scholes, Melissa A and Anderson, Catherine B and Acharya, Anushree and Gubbels, Samuel P and Bamshad, Michael J and Cass, Stephen P and Lee, Nanette R and Shaikh, Rehan S and Nickerson, Deborah A and Mohlke, Karen L and Prager, Jeremy D and Cruz, Teresa Luisa G and Yoon, Patricia J and Abes, Generoso T and Schwartz, David A and Chan, Abner L and Wine, Todd M and Cutiongco-de la Paz, Eva Maria and Friedman, Norman and Kechris, Katerina and Kere, Juha and Leal, Suzanne M and Yang, Ivana V and Patel, Janak A and Tantoco, Ma Leah C and Riazuddin, Saima and Chan, Kenny H and Mattila, Petri S and Reyes-Quintos, Maria Rina T and Ahmed, Zubair M and Jenkins, Herman A and Chonmaitree, Tasnee and Hafr{\'e}n, Lena and Chiong, Charlotte M and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P} } @article {593, title = {Bi-allelic Variants in TONSL Cause SPONASTRIME Dysplasia and a Spectrum of Skeletal Dysplasia Phenotypes.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {104}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 03 07}, pages = {422-438}, abstract = {

SPONASTRIME dysplasia is an autosomal-recessive spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia characterized by spine (spondylar) abnormalities, midface hypoplasia with a depressed nasal bridge, metaphyseal striations, and disproportionate short stature. Scoliosis, coxa vara, childhood cataracts, short dental roots, and hypogammaglobulinemia have also been reported in this disorder. Although an autosomal-recessive~inheritance pattern has been hypothesized, pathogenic variants in a specific gene have not been discovered in individuals with SPONASTRIME dysplasia. Here, we identified bi-allelic variants in TONSL, which encodes the Tonsoku-like DNA repair protein, in nine subjects (from eight families) with SPONASTRIME dysplasia, and four subjects (from three families) with short stature of varied severity and spondylometaphyseal dysplasia with or without immunologic and hematologic abnormalities, but no definitive metaphyseal striations at diagnosis. The finding of early embryonic lethality in a Tonsl murine model and the discovery of reduced length, spinal abnormalities, reduced numbers of neutrophils, and early lethality in a tonsl zebrafish model both support the hypomorphic nature of the identified TONSL variants. Moreover, functional studies revealed increased amounts of spontaneous replication fork stalling and chromosomal aberrations, as well as fewer camptothecin (CPT)-induced RAD51 foci in subject-derived cell lines. Importantly, these cellular defects were rescued upon re-expression of wild-type (WT) TONSL; this rescue is consistent with the hypothesis that hypomorphic TONSL variants are pathogenic. Overall, our studies in humans, mice, zebrafish, and subject-derived cell lines confirm that pathogenic variants in TONSL impair DNA replication and homologous recombination-dependent repair processes, and they lead to a spectrum of skeletal dysplasia phenotypes with numerous extra-skeletal manifestations.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.01.007}, author = {Burrage, Lindsay C and Reynolds, John J and Baratang, Nissan Vida and Phillips, Jennifer B and Wegner, Jeremy and McFarquhar, Ashley and Higgs, Martin R and Christiansen, Audrey E and Lanza, Denise G and Seavitt, John R and Jain, Mahim and Li, Xiaohui and Parry, David A and Raman, Vandana and Chitayat, David and Chinn, Ivan K and Bertuch, Alison A and Karaviti, Lefkothea and Schlesinger, Alan E and Earl, Dawn and Bamshad, Michael and Savarirayan, Ravi and Doddapaneni, Harsha and Muzny, Donna and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Eng, Christine M and Gibbs, Richard A and Bi, Weimin and Emrick, Lisa and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Postlethwait, John and Westerfield, Monte and Dickinson, Mary E and Beaudet, Arthur L and Ranza, Emmanuelle and Huber, Celine and Cormier-Daire, Val{\'e}rie and Shen, Wei and Mao, Rong and Heaney, Jason D and Orange, Jordan S and Bertola, D{\'e}bora and Yamamoto, Guilherme L and Baratela, Wagner A R and Butler, Merlin G and Ali, Asim and Adeli, Mehdi and Cohn, Daniel H and Krakow, Deborah and Jackson, Andrew P and Lees, Melissa and Offiah, Amaka C and Carlston, Colleen M and Carey, John C and Stewart, Grant S and Bacino, Carlos A and Campeau, Philippe M and Lee, Brendan} } @article {575, title = {De Novo SOX4 Variants Cause a Neurodevelopmental Disease Associated with Mild Dysmorphism.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {104}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 02 07}, pages = {246-259}, abstract = {

SOX4, together with SOX11 and SOX12, forms group C of SRY-related (SOX) transcription factors. They play key roles, often in redundancy, in multiple developmental pathways, including neurogenesis and skeletogenesis. De novo SOX11 heterozygous mutations have been shown to cause intellectual disability, growth deficiency, and dysmorphic features compatible with mild Coffin-Siris syndrome. Using trio-based exome sequencing, we here identify de novo SOX4 heterozygous missense variants in four children who share developmental delay, intellectual disability, and mild facial and digital morphological abnormalities. SOX4 is highly expressed in areas of active neurogenesis in human fetuses, and sox4 knockdown in Xenopus embryos diminishes brain and whole-body size. The SOX4 variants cluster in the highly conserved, SOX family-specific HMG domain, but each alters a different residue. In silico tools predict that each variant affects a distinct structural feature of this DNA-binding domain, and functional assays demonstrate that these SOX4 proteins carrying these variants are unable to bind DNA in~vitro and transactivate SOX reporter genes in cultured cells. These variants are not found in the gnomAD database of individuals with presumably normal development, but 12 other SOX4 HMG-domain missense variants~are recorded and all demonstrate partial to full activity in the reporter assay. Taken together, these findings point to specific SOX4 HMG-domain missense variants as the cause of a characteristic human neurodevelopmental disorder associated with mild facial and digital dysmorphism.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Child, Child, Preschool, Coffin-Lowry Syndrome, Cohort Studies, Conserved Sequence, DNA, Female, Heterozygote, HMG-Box Domains, Humans, Male, Mutation, Missense, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, SOXC Transcription Factors, Transcriptional Activation, Xenopus}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.12.014}, author = {Zawerton, Ash and Yao, Baojin and Yeager, J Paige and Pippucci, Tommaso and Haseeb, Abdul and Smith, Joshua D and Wischmann, Lisa and K{\"u}hl, Susanne J and Dean, John C S and Pilz, Daniela T and Holder, Susan E and McNeill, Alisdair and Graziano, Claudio and Lefebvre, V{\'e}ronique} } @article {705, title = {Disruptive mutations in TANC2 define a neurodevelopmental syndrome associated with psychiatric disorders.}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {10}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Oct 15}, pages = {4679}, abstract = {

Postsynaptic density (PSD) proteins have been implicated in the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Here, we present detailed clinical and genetic data for 20 patients with likely gene-disrupting mutations in TANC2-whose protein product interacts with multiple PSD proteins. Pediatric patients with disruptive mutations present with autism, intellectual disability, and delayed language and motor development. In addition to a variable degree of epilepsy and facial dysmorphism, we observe a pattern of more complex psychiatric dysfunction or behavioral problems in adult probands or carrier parents. Although this observation requires replication to establish statistical significance, it also suggests that mutations in this gene are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders consistent with its postsynaptic function. We find that TANC2 is expressed broadly in the human developing brain, especially in excitatory neurons and glial cells, but shows a more restricted pattern in Drosophila glial cells where its disruption affects behavioral outcomes.

}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-12435-8}, author = {Guo, Hui and Bettella, Elisa and Marcogliese, Paul C and Zhao, Rongjuan and Andrews, Jonathan C and Nowakowski, Tomasz J and Gillentine, Madelyn A and Hoekzema, Kendra and Wang, Tianyun and Wu, Huidan and Jangam, Sharayu and Liu, Cenying and Ni, Hailun and Willemsen, Marjolein H and van Bon, Bregje W and Rinne, Tuula and Stevens, Servi J C and Kleefstra, Tjitske and Brunner, Han G and Yntema, Helger G and Long, Min and Zhao, Wenjing and Hu, Zhengmao and Colson, Cindy and Richard, Nicolas and Schwartz, Charles E and Romano, Corrado and Castiglia, Lucia and Bottitta, Maria and Dhar, Shweta U and Erwin, Deanna J and Emrick, Lisa and Keren, Boris and Afenjar, Alexandra and Zhu, Baosheng and Bai, Bing and Stankiewicz, Pawel and Herman, Kristin and Mercimek-Andrews, Saadet and Juusola, Jane and Wilfert, Amy B and Abou Jamra, Rami and B{\"u}ttner, Benjamin and Mefford, Heather C and Muir, Alison M and Scheffer, Ingrid E and Regan, Brigid M and Malone, Stephen and Gecz, Jozef and Cobben, Jan and Weiss, Marjan M and Waisfisz, Quinten and Bijlsma, Emilia K and Hoffer, Mariette J V and Ruivenkamp, Claudia A L and Sartori, Stefano and Xia, Fan and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Bernier, Raphael A and Wangler, Michael F and Yamamoto, Shinya and Xia, Kun and Stegmann, Alexander P A and Bellen, Hugo J and Murgia, Alessandra and Eichler, Evan E} } @article {518, title = {DPAGT1 Deficiency with Encephalopathy (DPAGT1-CDG): Clinical and Genetic Description of 11 New Patients.}, journal = {JIMD Rep}, volume = {44}, year = {2019}, month = {2019}, pages = {85-92}, abstract = {

Pathogenic mutations in DPAGT1 cause a rare type of a congenital disorder of glycosylation termed DPAGT1-CDG or, alternatively, a milder version with only myasthenia known as DPAGT1-CMS. Fourteen disease-causing mutations in 28 patients from 10 families have previously been reported to cause the systemic form, DPAGT1-CDG. We here report on another 11 patients from 8 families and add 10 new mutations. Most patients have a very severe disease course, where common findings are pronounced muscular hypotonia, intractable epilepsy, global developmental delay/intellectual disability, and early death. We also present data on three affected females that are young adults and have a somewhat milder, stable disease. Our findings expand both the molecular and clinical knowledge of previously published data but also widen the phenotypic spectrum of DPAGT1-CDG.

}, issn = {2192-8304}, doi = {10.1007/8904_2018_128}, author = {Ng, Bobby G and Underhill, Hunter R and Palm, Lars and Bengtson, Per and Rozet, Jean-Michel and Gerber, Sylvie and Munnich, Arnold and Zanlonghi, Xavier and Stevens, Cathy A and Kircher, Martin and Nickerson, Deborah A and Buckingham, Kati J and Josephson, Kevin D and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Freeze, Hudson H and Eklund, Erik A} } @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 {659, title = {Genome sequencing identifies multiple deleterious variants in autism patients with more severe phenotypes.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {21}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 07}, pages = {1611-1620}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: To maximize the discovery of potentially pathogenic variants to better understand the diagnostic utility of genome sequencing (GS) and to assess how the presence of multiple risk events might affect the phenotypic severity in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

METHODS: GS was applied to 180 simplex and multiplex ASD families (578 individuals, 213 patients) with exome sequencing and array comparative genomic hybridization further applied to a subset for validation and cross-platform comparisons.

RESULTS: We found that 40.8\% of patients carried variants with evidence of disease risk, including a de novo frameshift variant in NR4A2 and two de novo missense variants in SYNCRIP, while 21.1\% carried clinically relevant pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants. Patients with more than one risk variant (9.9\%) were more severely affected with respect to cognitive ability compared with patients with a single or no-risk variant. We observed no instance among the 27 multiplex families where a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant was transmitted to all affected members in the family.

CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates the diagnostic utility of GS, especially for multiple risk variants that contribute to the phenotypic severity, shows the genetic heterogeneity in multiplex families, and provides evidence for new genes for follow up.

}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/s41436-018-0380-2}, author = {Guo, Hui and Duyzend, Michael H and Coe, Bradley P and Baker, Carl and Hoekzema, Kendra and Gerdts, Jennifer and Turner, Tychele N and Zody, Michael C and Beighley, Jennifer S and Murali, Shwetha C and Nelson, Bradley J and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bernier, Raphael A and Eichler, Evan E} } @article {657, title = {GGC Repeat Expansion and Exon 1 Methylation of XYLT1 Is a Common Pathogenic Variant in Baratela-Scott Syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {104}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jan 03}, pages = {35-44}, abstract = {

Baratela-Scott syndrome (BSS) is a rare, autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by short stature, facial dysmorphisms, developmental delay, and skeletal dysplasia caused by pathogenic variants in XYLT1. We report clinical and molecular investigation of 10 families (12 individuals) with BSS. Standard sequencing methods identified biallelic pathogenic variants in XYLT1 in only two families. Of the remaining cohort, two probands had no variants and six probands had only a single variant, including four with a heterozygous 3.1 Mb 16p13 deletion encompassing XYLT1 and two with a heterozygous truncating variant. Bisulfite sequencing revealed aberrant hypermethylation in exon 1 of XYLT1, always in trans with the sequence variant or deletion when present; both alleles were methylated in those with no identified variant. Expression of the methylated XYLT1 allele was severely reduced in fibroblasts from two probands. Southern blot studies combined with repeat expansion analysis of genome sequence data showed that the hypermethylation is associated with expansion of a GGC repeat in the XYLT1 promoter region that is not present in the reference genome, confirming that BSS is a trinucleotide repeat expansion disorder. The hypermethylated allele accounts for 50\% of disease alleles in our cohort and is not present in 130 control subjects. Our study highlights the importance of investigating non-sequence-based alterations, including epigenetic changes, to identify the missing heritability in genetic disorders.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.11.005}, author = {LaCroix, Amy J and Stabley, Deborah and Sahraoui, Rebecca and Adam, Margaret P and Mehaffey, Michele and Kernan, Kelly and Myers, Candace T and Fagerstrom, Carrie and Anadiotis, George and Akkari, Yassmine M and Robbins, Katherine M and Gripp, Karen W and Baratela, Wagner A R and Bober, Michael B and Duker, Angela L and Doherty, Dan and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Miller, Daniel G and Kircher, Martin and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Mefford, Heather C and Sol-Church, Katia} } @article {549, title = {Global genetic insight contributed by consanguineous Pakistani families segregating hearing loss.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {40}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jan}, pages = {53-72}, abstract = {

Consanguineous Pakistani pedigrees segregating deafness have contributed decisively to the discovery of 31 of the 68 genes associated with nonsyndromic autosomal recessive hearing loss (HL) worldwide. In this study, we utilized genome-wide genotyping, Sanger and exome sequencing to identify 163 DNA variants in 41 previously reported HL genes segregating in 321 Pakistani families. Of these, 70 (42.9\%) variants identified in 29 genes are novel. As expected from genetic studies of disorders segregating in consanguineous families, the majority of affected individuals (94.4\%) are homozygous for HL-associated variants, with the other variants being compound heterozygotes. The five most common HL genes in the Pakistani population are SLC26A4, MYO7A, GJB2, CIB2 and HGF, respectively. Our study provides a profile of the genetic etiology of HL in Pakistani families, which will allow for the development of more efficient genetic diagnostic tools, aid in accurate genetic counseling, and guide application of future gene-based therapies. These findings are also valuable in interpreting pathogenicity of variants that are potentially associated with HL in individuals of all ancestries. The Pakistani population, and its infrastructure for studying human genetics, will continue to be valuable to gene discovery for HL and other inherited disorders.

}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.23666}, author = {Richard, Elodie M and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Faridi, Rabia and Rehman, Atteeq U and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Shahzad, Mohsin and Acharya, Anushree and Khan, Asma A and Imtiaz, Ayesha and Chakchouk, Imen and Takla, Christina and Abbe, Izoduwa and Rafeeq, Maria and Liaqat, Khurram and Chaudhry, Taimur and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Schrauwen, Isabelle and Khan, Shaheen N and Morell, Robert J and Zafar, Saba and Ansar, Muhammad and Ahmed, Zubair M and Ahmad, Wasim and Riazuddin, Sheikh and Friedman, Thomas B and Leal, Suzanne M and Riazuddin, Saima} } @article {660, title = {Identification of CACNA1D variants associated with sinoatrial node dysfunction and deafness in additional Pakistani families reveals a clinical significance.}, journal = {J Hum Genet}, volume = {64}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Feb}, pages = {153-160}, abstract = {

Sinoatrial node dysfunction and deafness (SANDD) syndrome is rare and characterized by a low heart beat and severe-to-profound deafness. Additional features include fatigue, dizziness, and episodic syncope. The sinoatrial node (SAN) drives heart automaticity and continuously regulates heart rate. The CACNA1D gene encoding the Ca1.3 protein expressed in inner hair cells, atria and SAN, induces loss-of-function in channel activity and underlies SANDD. To date, only one variant c.1208_1209insGGG:p.(G403_V404insG) has been reported for SANDD syndrome. We studied five Pakistani families with SANDD and characterized a new missense variant p.(A376V) in CACNA1D in one family, and further characterized the founder variant p.(G403_V404insG) in four additional pedigrees. We show that affected individuals in the four families which segregate p.(G403_V404insG) share a 1.03 MB haplotype on 3p21.1 suggesting they share a common distant ancestor. In conclusion, we identified new and known variants in CACNA1D in five Pakistani families with SANDD. This study is of clinical importance as the CACNA1D founder variant is only observed in families from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, in Pakistan. Therefore, screening patients with congenital deafness for SAN dysfunction in this province could ensure adequate follow-up and prevent cardiac failure associated with SAN.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Calcium Channels, L-Type, Deafness, Female, Heart Diseases, Humans, Male, Mutation, Pakistan, Pedigree, Prognosis, Sinoatrial Node}, issn = {1435-232X}, doi = {10.1038/s10038-018-0542-8}, author = {Liaqat, Khurram and Schrauwen, Isabelle and Raza, Syed Irfan and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Hussain, Shabir and Chakchouk, Imen and Nasir, Abdul and Acharya, Anushree and Abbe, Izoduwa and Umair, Muhammad and Ansar, Muhammad and Ullah, Irfan and Shah, Khadim and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Ahmad, Wasim and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {557, title = {Loss of function, missense, and intronic variants in NOTCH1 confer different risks for left ventricular outflow tract obstructive heart defects in two European cohorts.}, journal = {Genet Epidemiol}, volume = {43}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 03}, pages = {215-226}, abstract = {

Loss of function variants in NOTCH1 cause left ventricular outflow tract obstructive defects (LVOTO). However, the risk conferred by rare and noncoding variants in NOTCH1 for LVOTO remains largely uncharacterized. In a cohort of 49 families affected by hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe form of LVOTO, we discovered predicted loss of function NOTCH1 variants in 6\% of individuals. Rare or low-frequency missense variants were found in 16\% of families. To make a quantitative estimate of the genetic risk posed by variants in NOTCH1 for LVOTO, we studied associations of 400 coding and noncoding variants in NOTCH1 in 1,085 cases and 332,788 controls from the UK Biobank. Two rare intronic variants in strong linkage disequilibrium displayed significant association with risk for LVOTO amongst European-ancestry individuals. This result was replicated in an independent analysis of 210 cases and 68,762 controls of non-European and mixed ancestry. In conclusion, carrying rare predicted loss of function variants in NOTCH1 confer significant risk for LVOTO. In addition, the two intronic variants seem to be associated with an increased risk for these defects. Our approach demonstrates the utility of population-based data sets in quantifying the specific risk of individual variants for disease-related phenotypes.

}, keywords = {Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Heart Defects, Congenital, Humans, Introns, Loss of Function Mutation, Male, Mutation, Missense, Pedigree, Receptor, Notch1, Risk Factors, Ventricular Outflow Obstruction, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1098-2272}, doi = {10.1002/gepi.22176}, author = {Helle, Emmi and C{\'o}rdova-Palomera, Aldo and Ojala, Tiina and Saha, Priyanka and Potiny, Praneetha and Gustafsson, Stefan and Ingelsson, Erik and Bamshad, Michael and Nickerson, Deborah and Chong, Jessica X and Ashley, Euan and Priest, James R} } @article {581, title = {SMAD4 rare variants in individuals and families with thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.}, journal = {Eur J Hum Genet}, volume = {27}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jul}, pages = {1054-1060}, abstract = {

SMAD4 pathogenic variants cause juvenile polyposis (JPS) and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), and 40\% of affected individuals also have thoracic aortic disease. At the same time, SMAD4 pathogenic variants have not been reported in thoracic aortic disease families without JPS-HHT. A SMAD4 heterozygous variant, c.290G>T, p.(Arg97Leu), not present in population databases and predicted to be damaging to protein function, was identified in a family with thoracic aortic disease and no evidence of HHT or JPS. Cellular studies revealed that the SMAD4 p.(Arg97Leu) alteration increased SMAD4 ubiquitination and 26S proteasome-mediated protein degradation. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) infected with lentivirus expressing the SMAD4 p.(Arg97Leu) variant demonstrated reduced contractile protein gene expression when compared to that of wild-type SMAD4. In addition, two rare variants were identified in individuals with early age of onset of thoracic aortic dissection. These results suggest that SMAD4 rare missense variants can lead to thoracic aortic disease in individuals who do not have JPS or HHT.

}, issn = {1476-5438}, doi = {10.1038/s41431-019-0357-x}, author = {Duan, Xue-Yan and Guo, Dong-Chuan and Regalado, Ellen S and Shen, Hong and Coselli, Joseph S and Estrera, Anthony L and Safi, Hazim J and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and LeMaire, Scott A and De Backer, Julie and Milewicz, Dianna M} } @article {577, title = {ZMIZ1 Variants Cause a Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {104}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 02 07}, pages = {319-330}, abstract = {

ZMIZ1 is a coactivator of several transcription factors, including p53, the androgen receptor, and NOTCH1. Here, we report 19 subjects with intellectual disability and developmental delay carrying variants in ZMIZ1. The associated features include growth failure, feeding difficulties, microcephaly, facial dysmorphism, and various other congenital malformations. Of these 19, 14 unrelated subjects carried de~novo heterozygous single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) or single-base insertions/deletions, 3 siblings harbored a heterozygous single-base insertion, and 2 subjects had a balanced translocation disrupting ZMIZ1 or involving a regulatory region of ZMIZ1. In total, we identified 13 point mutations that affect key protein regions, including a SUMO acceptor site, a central disordered alanine-rich motif, a proline-rich domain, and a transactivation domain. All identified variants were absent from all available exome and genome databases. In~vitro, ZMIZ1 showed impaired coactivation of the androgen receptor. In~vivo, overexpression of ZMIZ1 mutant alleles in developing mouse brains using in utero electroporation resulted in abnormal pyramidal neuron morphology, polarization, and positioning, underscoring the importance of ZMIZ1 in neural development and supporting mutations in ZMIZ1 as the cause of a rare neurodevelopmental syndrome.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Animals, Child, Child, Preschool, Developmental Disabilities, Female, Humans, Infant, Intellectual Disability, Male, Mice, Point Mutation, Syndrome, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.12.007}, author = {Carapito, Raphael and Ivanova, Ekaterina L and Morlon, Aurore and Meng, Linyan and Molitor, Anne and Erdmann, Eva and Kieffer, Bruno and Pichot, Ang{\'e}lique and Naegely, Lydie and Kolmer, Aline and Paul, Nicod{\`e}me and Hanauer, Antoine and Tran Mau-Them, Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric and Jean-Mar{\c c}ais, Nolwenn and Hiatt, Susan M and Cooper, Gregory M and Tvrdik, Tatiana and Muir, Alison M and Dimartino, Cl{\'e}mantine and Chopra, Maya and Amiel, Jeanne and Gordon, Christopher T and Dutreux, Fabien and Garde, Aurore and Thauvin-Robinet, Christel and Wang, Xia and Leduc, Magalie S and Phillips, Meredith and Crawford, Heather P and Kukolich, Mary K and Hunt, David and Harrison, Victoria and Kharbanda, Mira and Smigiel, Robert and Gold, Nina and Hung, Christina Y and Viskochil, David H and Dugan, Sarah L and Bayrak-Toydemir, Pinar and Joly-Helas, G{\'e}raldine and Guerrot, Anne-Marie and Schluth-Bolard, Caroline and Rio, Marl{\`e}ne and Wentzensen, Ingrid M and McWalter, Kirsty and Schnur, Rhonda E and Lewis, Andrea M and Lalani, Seema R and Mensah-Bonsu, No{\"e}l and C{\'e}raline, Jocelyn and Sun, Zijie and Ploski, Rafal and Bacino, Carlos A and Mefford, Heather C and Faivre, Laurence and Bodamer, Olaf and Chelly, Jamel and Isidor, Bertrand and Bahram, Seiamak} } @article {614, title = {Analysis of 17 genes detects mutations in 81\% of 811 patients with lissencephaly.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {20}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 11}, pages = {1354-1364}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: To estimate diagnostic yield and genotype-phenotype correlations in a cohort of 811 patients with lissencephaly or subcortical band heterotopia.

METHODS: We collected DNA from 756 children with lissencephaly over 30 years. Many were tested for deletion 17p13.3 and mutations of LIS1, DCX, and ARX, but few other genes. Among those tested, 216 remained unsolved and were tested by a targeted panel of 17 genes (ACTB, ACTG1, ARX, CRADD, DCX, LIS1, TUBA1A, TUBA8, TUBB2B, TUBB, TUBB3, TUBG1, KIF2A, KIF5C, DYNC1H1, RELN, and VLDLR) or by whole-exome sequencing. Fifty-five patients studied at another institution were added as a validation cohort.

RESULTS: The overall mutation frequency in the entire cohort was 81\%. LIS1 accounted for 40\% of patients, followed by DCX (23\%), TUBA1A (5\%), and DYNC1H1 (3\%). Other genes accounted for 1\% or less of patients. Nineteen percent remained unsolved, which suggests that several additional genes remain to be discovered. The majority of unsolved patients had posterior pachygyria, subcortical band heterotopia, or mild frontal pachygyria.

CONCLUSION: The brain-imaging pattern correlates with mutations in single lissencephaly-associated genes, as well as in biological pathways. We propose the first LIS classification system based on the underlying molecular mechanisms.

}, keywords = {Brain, Classical Lissencephalies and Subcortical Band Heterotopias, DNA Mutational Analysis, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Humans, Lissencephaly, Male, Mutation, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/gim.2018.8}, author = {Di Donato, Nataliya and Timms, Andrew E and Aldinger, Kimberly A and Mirzaa, Ghayda M and Bennett, James T and Collins, Sarah and Olds, Carissa and Mei, Davide and Chiari, Sara and Carvill, Gemma and Myers, Candace T and Rivi{\`e}re, Jean-Baptiste and Zaki, Maha S and Gleeson, Joseph G and Rump, Andreas and Conti, Valerio and Parrini, Elena and Ross, M Elizabeth and Ledbetter, David H and Guerrini, Renzo and Dobyns, William B} } @article {624, title = {Ari-1 Regulates Myonuclear Organization Together with Parkin and Is Associated with Aortic Aneurysms.}, journal = {Dev Cell}, volume = {45}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 04 23}, pages = {226-244.e8}, abstract = {

Nuclei are actively positioned and anchored to the cytoskeleton via the LINC (Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton) complex. We identified mutations in the Parkin-like E3 ubiquitin ligase Ariadne-1 (Ari-1) that affect the localization and distribution of LINC~complex members in Drosophila. ari-1 mutants exhibit nuclear clustering and morphology defects in larval muscles. We show that Ari-1 mono-ubiquitinates the core LINC complex member Koi. Surprisingly, we discovered functional redundancy between Parkin and Ari-1: increasing Parkin expression rescues ari-1 mutant phenotypes and vice versa. We further show that rare variants in the human homolog of ari-1 (ARIH1) are associated with thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections, conditions resulting from smooth muscle cell (SMC) dysfunction. Human ARIH1 rescues fly ari-1 mutant phenotypes, whereas human variants found in patients fail to do so. In addition, SMCs obtained from patients display aberrant nuclear morphology. Hence, ARIH1 is critical in anchoring myonuclei to the cytoskeleton.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Animals, Aortic Aneurysm, Carrier Proteins, Cell Nucleus, Child, Preschool, Cytoskeleton, Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila Proteins, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Myocytes, Smooth Muscle, Pedigree, Phenotype, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases, Young Adult}, issn = {1878-1551}, doi = {10.1016/j.devcel.2018.03.020}, author = {Tan, Kai Li and Haelterman, Nele A and Kwartler, Callie S and Regalado, Ellen S and Lee, Pei-Tseng and Nagarkar-Jaiswal, Sonal and Guo, Dong-Chuan and Duraine, Lita and Wangler, Michael F and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Lin, Guang and Milewicz, Dianna M and Bellen, Hugo J} } @article {547, title = {Autosomal recessive Stickler syndrome resulting from a COL9A3 mutation.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {176}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Dec}, pages = {2887-2891}, abstract = {

Stickler syndrome is a connective tissue disorder characterized by hearing loss, ocular anomalies, palatal defects, and skeletal abnormalities. The autosomal dominant form is the most common, but autosomal recessive forms have also been described. We report the second case of autosomal recessive Stickler syndrome due to homozygosity for a loss of function mutation in COL9A3, which encodes the α3 chain of type IX procollagen. The clinical features were similar to the previously described COL9A3 Stickler syndrome family, including moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss, high myopia, and both tibial and femoral bowing at birth. Radiographs demonstrated abnormal capital femoral epiphyses and mild irregularities of the vertebral endplates. This case further establishes the phenotype associated with mutations in this gene. We suggest that loss of the α3 chain of type IX collagen results in a Stickler syndrome phenotype similar to that of the other autosomal recessive forms caused by mutations in genes encoding the α1 and α2 chains of type IX collagen.

}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.40647}, author = {Hanson-Kahn, Andrea and Li, Bing and Cohn, Daniel H and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Hudgins, Louanne} } @article {483, title = {De Novo Variants in the F-Box Protein FBXO11 in 20 Individuals with a Variable Neurodevelopmental Disorder.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {103}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 08 02}, pages = {305-316}, abstract = {

Next-generation sequencing combined with international data sharing has enormously facilitated identification of new disease-associated genes and mutations. This is particularly true for genetically extremely heterogeneous entities such as neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Through exome sequencing and world-wide collaborations, we identified and assembled 20 individuals with de novo variants in FBXO11. They present with mild to severe developmental delay associated with a range of features including short (4/20) or tall (2/20) stature, obesity (5/20), microcephaly (4/19) or macrocephaly (2/19), behavioral problems (17/20), seizures (5/20), cleft lip or palate or bifid uvula (3/20), and minor skeletal anomalies. FBXO11 encodes a member of the F-Box protein family, constituting a subunit of an E3-ubiquitin ligase complex. This complex is involved in ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation and thus in controlling critical biological processes by regulating protein turnover. The identified de novo aberrations comprise two large deletions, ten likely gene disrupting variants, and eight missense variants distributed throughout FBXO11. Structural modeling for missense variants located in the CASH or the Zinc-finger UBR domains suggests destabilization of the protein. This, in combination with the observed spectrum and localization of identified variants and the lack of apparent genotype-phenotype correlations, is compatible with loss of function or haploinsufficiency as an underlying mechanism. We implicate de novo missense and likely gene disrupting variants in FBXO11 in a neurodevelopmental disorder with variable intellectual disability and various other features.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.07.003}, author = {Gregor, Anne and Sadleir, Lynette G and Asadollahi, Reza and Azzarello-Burri, Silvia and Battaglia, Agatino and Ousager, Lilian Bomme and Boonsawat, Paranchai and Bruel, Ange-Line and Buchert, Rebecca and Calpena, Eduardo and Cogn{\'e}, Benjamin and Dallapiccola, Bruno and Distelmaier, Felix and Elmslie, Frances and Faivre, Laurence and Haack, Tobias B and Harrison, Victoria and Henderson, Alex and Hunt, David and Isidor, Bertrand and Joset, Pascal and Kumada, Satoko and Lachmeijer, Augusta M A and Lees, Melissa and Lynch, Sally Ann and Martinez, Francisco and Matsumoto, Naomichi and McDougall, Carey and Mefford, Heather C and Miyake, Noriko and Myers, Candace T and Moutton, S{\'e}bastien and Nesbitt, Addie and Novelli, Antonio and Orellana, Carmen and Rauch, Anita and Rosello, Monica and Saida, Ken and Santani, Avni B and Sarkar, Ajoy and Scheffer, Ingrid E and Shinawi, Marwan and Steindl, Katharina and Symonds, Joseph D and Zackai, Elaine H and Reis, Andr{\'e} and Sticht, Heinrich and Zweier, Christiane} } @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 {538, title = {Expanding the genetic architecture and phenotypic spectrum in the skeletal ciliopathies.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {39}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 01}, pages = {152-166}, abstract = {

Defects in the biosynthesis and/or function of primary cilia cause a spectrum of disorders collectively referred to as ciliopathies. A subset of these disorders is distinguished by profound abnormalities of the skeleton that include a long narrow chest with markedly short ribs, extremely short limbs, and polydactyly. These include the perinatal lethal short-rib polydactyly syndromes (SRPS) and the less severe asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (ATD), Ellis-van Creveld (EVC) syndrome, and cranioectodermal dysplasia (CED) phenotypes. To identify new genes and define the spectrum of mutations in the skeletal ciliopathies, we analyzed 152 unrelated families with SRPS, ATD, and EVC. Causal variants were discovered in 14 genes in 120 families, including one newly associated gene and two genes previously associated with other ciliopathies. These three genes encode components of three different ciliary complexes; FUZ, which encodes a planar cell polarity complex molecule; TRAF3IP1, which encodes an anterograde ciliary transport protein; and LBR, which encodes a nuclear membrane protein with sterol reductase activity. The results established the molecular basis of SRPS type IV, in which mutations were identified in four different ciliary genes. The data provide systematic insight regarding the genotypes associated with a large cohort of these genetically heterogeneous phenotypes and identified new ciliary components required for normal skeletal development.

}, keywords = {Ciliopathies, Cytoplasmic Dyneins, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Markers, Genetic Variation, Genotype, Humans, Mutation, Phenotype, Proteins, Radiography, Skeleton, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.23362}, author = {Zhang, Wenjuan and Taylor, S Paige and Ennis, Hayley A and Forlenza, Kimberly N and Duran, Ivan and Li, Bing and Sanchez, Jorge A Ortiz and Nevarez, Lisette and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael and Lachman, Ralph S and Krakow, Deborah and Cohn, Daniel H} } @article {543, title = {Functional Dysregulation of CDC42 Causes Diverse Developmental Phenotypes.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {102}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Feb 01}, pages = {309-320}, abstract = {

Exome sequencing has markedly enhanced the discovery of genes implicated in Mendelian disorders, particularly for individuals in whom a known clinical entity could not be assigned. This has led to the recognition that phenotypic heterogeneity resulting from allelic mutations occurs more commonly than previously appreciated. Here, we report that missense variants in CDC42, a gene encoding a small GTPase functioning as an intracellular signaling node, underlie a clinically heterogeneous group of phenotypes characterized by variable growth dysregulation, facial dysmorphism, and neurodevelopmental, immunological, and hematological anomalies, including a phenotype resembling Noonan syndrome, a developmental disorder caused by dysregulated RAS signaling. In silico, in~vitro, and in~vivo analyses demonstrate that mutations variably perturb CDC42 function by altering the switch between the active and inactive states of the GTPase and/or affecting CDC42 interaction with effectors, and differentially disturb cellular and developmental processes. These findings reveal the remarkably variable impact that dominantly acting CDC42 mutations have on cell function and development, creating challenges in syndrome definition, and exemplify the importance of functional profiling for syndrome recognition and delineation.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.12.015}, author = {Martinelli, Simone and Krumbach, Oliver H F and Pantaleoni, Francesca and Coppola, Simona and Amin, Ehsan and Pannone, Luca and Nouri, Kazem and Farina, Luciapia and Dvorsky, Radovan and Lepri, Francesca and Buchholzer, Marcel and Konopatzki, Raphael and Walsh, Laurence and Payne, Katelyn and Pierpont, Mary Ella and Vergano, Samantha Schrier and Langley, Katherine G and Larsen, Douglas and Farwell, Kelly D and Tang, Sha and Mroske, Cameron and Gallotta, Ivan and Di Schiavi, Elia and Della Monica, Matteo and Lugli, Licia and Rossi, Cesare and Seri, Marco and Cocchi, Guido and Henderson, Lindsay and Baskin, Berivan and Alders, Marielle and Mendoza-Londono, Roberto and Dupuis, Lucie and Nickerson, Deborah A and Chong, Jessica X and Meeks, Naomi and Brown, Kathleen and Causey, Tahnee and Cho, Megan T and Demuth, Stephanie and Digilio, Maria Cristina and Gelb, Bruce D and Bamshad, Michael J and Zenker, Martin and Ahmadian, Mohammad Reza and Hennekam, Raoul C and Tartaglia, Marco and Mirzaa, Ghayda M} } @article {626, title = {LTBP3 Pathogenic Variants Predispose Individuals to Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Dissections.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {102}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 04 05}, pages = {706-712}, abstract = {

The major diseases affecting the thoracic aorta are aneurysms and acute dissections, and pathogenic variants in 11 genes are confirmed to lead to heritable thoracic aortic disease. However, many families in which multiple members have thoracic aortic disease do not have alterations in the known aortopathy genes. Genes highly expressed in the aorta were assessed for rare variants in exome sequencing data from such families, and compound rare heterozygous variants (p.Pro45Argfs25 and p.Glu750) in LTBP3 were identified in affected members of one family. A homozygous variant (p.Asn678_Gly681delinsThrCys) that introduces an additional cysteine into an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain in the corresponding protein, latent TGF-β binding protein (LTBP-3), was identified in a second family. Individuals with compound heterozygous or homozygous variants in these families have aneurysms and dissections of the thoracic aorta, as well as aneurysms of the abdominal aorta and other arteries, along with dental abnormalities and short stature. Heterozygous carriers of the p.Asn678_Gly681delinsThrCys variant have later onset of thoracic aortic disease, as well as dental abnormalities. In these families, LTBP3 variants segregated with thoracic aortic disease with a combined LOD score of 3.9. Additionally, heterozygous rare LTBP3 variants were found in individuals with early onset of acute aortic dissections, and some of these variants disrupted LTBP-3 levels or EGF-like domains. When compared to wild-type mice, Ltbp3 mice have enlarged aortic roots and ascending aortas. In summary, homozygous LTBP3 pathogenic variants predispose individuals to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections, along with the previously described skeletal and dental abnormalities.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, 80 and over, Aneurysm, Dissecting, Animals, Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic, Blood Pressure, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Homozygote, Humans, Latent TGF-beta Binding Proteins, Male, Mice, Middle Aged, Mutation, Pedigree}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.03.002}, author = {Guo, Dong-Chuan and Regalado, Ellen S and Pinard, Amelie and Chen, Jiyuan and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Rigelsky, Christina and Zilberberg, Lior and Hostetler, Ellen M and Aldred, Micheala and Wallace, Stephanie E and Prakash, Siddharth K and Leal, Suzanne M and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Natowicz, Marvin and Rifkin, Daniel B and Milewicz, Dianna M} } @article {558, title = {MACF1 Mutations Encoding Highly Conserved Zinc-Binding Residues of the GAR Domain Cause Defects in Neuronal Migration and Axon Guidance.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {103}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 12 06}, pages = {1009-1021}, abstract = {

To date, mutations in 15 actin- or microtubule-associated genes have been associated with the cortical malformation lissencephaly and variable brainstem hypoplasia. During a multicenter review, we recognized a rare lissencephaly variant with a complex brainstem malformation in three unrelated children. We searched our large brain-malformation databases and found another five children with this malformation (as well as one with a less severe variant), analyzed available whole-exome or -genome sequencing data, and tested ciliogenesis in two affected individuals. The brain malformation comprised posterior predominant lissencephaly and midline crossing defects consisting of absent anterior commissure and a striking W-shaped brainstem malformation caused by small or absent pontine crossing fibers. We discovered heterozygous de novo missense variants or an in-frame deletion involving highly conserved zinc-binding residues within the GAR domain of MACF1 in the first eight subjects. We studied cilium formation and found a higher proportion of mutant cells with short cilia than of control cells with short cilia. A ninth child had similar lissencephaly but~only subtle brainstem dysplasia associated with a heterozygous de novo missense variant in the spectrin repeat domain of MACF1. Thus, we report variants of the microtubule-binding GAR domain of MACF1 as the cause of a distinctive and most likely pathognomonic brain malformation. A~gain-of-function or dominant-negative mechanism appears likely given that many heterozygous mutations leading to protein truncation are included in the ExAC Browser. However, three de novo variants in MACF1 have been observed in large schizophrenia cohorts.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.10.019}, author = {Dobyns, William B and Aldinger, Kimberly A and Ishak, Gisele E and Mirzaa, Ghayda M and Timms, Andrew E and Grout, Megan E and Dremmen, Marjolein H G and Schot, Rachel and Vandervore, Laura and van Slegtenhorst, Marjon A and Wilke, Martina and Kasteleijn, Esmee and Lee, Arthur S and Barry, Brenda J and Chao, Katherine R and Szcza{\l}uba, Krzysztof and Kobori, Joyce and Hanson-Kahn, Andrea and Bernstein, Jonathan A and Carr, Lucinda and D{\textquoteright}Arco, Felice and Miyana, Kaori and Okazaki, Tetsuya and Saito, Yoshiaki and Sasaki, Masayuki and Das, Soma and Wheeler, Marsha M and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Engle, Elizabeth C and Verheijen, Frans W and Doherty, Dan and Mancini, Grazia M S} } @article {621, title = {Mutations in the fourth β-propeller domain of LRP4 are associated with isolated syndactyly with fusion of the third and fourth fingers.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {39}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 06}, pages = {811-815}, abstract = {

Isolated hand syndactyly is a common limb malformation with limited known genetic etiology. We used exome sequencing to discover two novel variants, chr11 g.46896373C>G; p.D1403H and chr11 g.46893078G>T; p.Q1564K, in LRP4 in a child with isolated bilateral syndactyly of the third and fourth fingers. Each variant was inherited from a different parent and neither parent was affected. Variants in LRP4 have been previously associated with syndactyly in Cenani-Lenz syndactyly syndrome and Sclerosteosis 2, but have not been reported in individuals with isolated syndactyly. LRP4 inhibits LRP6/LRP5-mediated activation of canonical Wnt signaling and mediates sclerostin-dependent inhibition of bone formation. p.D1403H and p.Q1564K are located within the fourth β-propeller of the extracellular protein domain that has yet to be associated with human disease. Functional analyses of p.D1403H and p.Q1564K show that they significantly decrease LRP4{\textquoteright}s inhibition of Wnt signaling. These results suggest that variants in the fourth β-propeller of the extracellular protein domain may cause a phenotype distinct from previously characterized LRP4 variants.

}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.23417}, author = {Sukenik Halevy, Rivka and Chien, Huan-Chieh and Heinz, Bo and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Kircher, Martin and Ahituv, Nadav} } @article {484, title = {Novel digenic inheritance of PCDH15 and USH1G underlies profound non-syndromic hearing impairment.}, journal = {BMC Med Genet}, volume = {19}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 07 20}, pages = {122}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Digenic inheritance is the simplest model of oligenic disease. It can be observed when there is a strong epistatic interaction between two loci. For both syndromic and non-syndromic hearing impairment, several forms of digenic inheritance have been reported.

METHODS: We performed exome sequencing in a Pakistani family with profound non-syndromic hereditary hearing impairment to identify the genetic cause of disease.

RESULTS: We found that this family displays digenic inheritance for two trans heterozygous missense mutations, one in PCDH15 [p.(Arg1034His)] and another in USH1G [p.(Asp365Asn)]. Both of these genes are known to cause autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing impairment and Usher syndrome. The protein products of PCDH15 and USH1G function together at the stereocilia tips in the hair cells and are necessary for proper mechanotransduction. Epistasis between Pcdh15 and Ush1G has been previously reported in digenic heterozygous mice. The digenic mice displayed a significant decrease in hearing compared to age-matched heterozygous animals. Until now no human examples have been reported.

CONCLUSIONS: The discovery of novel digenic inheritance mechanisms in hereditary hearing impairment will aid in understanding the interaction between defective proteins and further define inner ear function and its interactome.

}, keywords = {Adult, Animals, Cadherins, Hearing Loss, Heterozygote, Humans, Male, Mechanotransduction, Cellular, Multifactorial Inheritance, Mutation, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Pakistan, Pedigree, Usher Syndromes, Young Adult}, issn = {1471-2350}, doi = {10.1186/s12881-018-0618-5}, author = {Schrauwen, Isabelle and Chakchouk, Imen and Acharya, Anushree and Liaqat, Khurram and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Shah, Khadim and Ahmad, Wasim and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {371, title = {Activation of a cryptic splice site in the mitochondrial elongation factor GFM1 causes combined OXPHOS deficiency.}, journal = {Mitochondrion}, volume = {34}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 05}, pages = {84-90}, abstract = {

We report the clinical, biochemical, and molecular findings in two brothers with encephalopathy and multi-systemic disease. Abnormal transferrin glycoforms were suggestive of a type I congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG). While exome sequencing was negative for CDG related candidate genes, the testing revealed compound heterozygous mutations in the mitochondrial elongation factor G gene (GFM1). One of the mutations had been reported previously while the second, novel variant was found deep in intron 6, activating a cryptic splice site. Functional studies demonstrated decreased GFM1 protein levels, suggested disrupted assembly of mitochondrial complexes III and V and decreased activities of mitochondrial complexes I and IV, all indicating combined OXPHOS deficiency.

}, keywords = {Child, Child, Preschool, Congenital Abnormalities, Gene Expression, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mitochondrial Proteins, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Peptide Elongation Factor G, RNA Splice Sites}, issn = {1872-8278}, doi = {10.1016/j.mito.2017.02.004}, author = {Simon, Mariella T and Ng, Bobby G and Friederich, Marisa W and Wang, Raymond Y and Boyer, Monica and Kircher, Martin and Collard, Renata and Buckingham, Kati J and Chang, Richard and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Van Hove, Johan L K and Freeze, Hudson H and Abdenur, Jose E} } @article {381, title = {Encephalopathy caused by novel mutations in the CMP-sialic acid transporter, SLC35A1.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {173}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Nov}, pages = {2906-2911}, abstract = {

Transport of activated nucleotide-sugars into the Golgi is critical for proper glycosylation and mutations in these transporters cause a group of rare genetic disorders termed congenital disorders of glycosylation. We performed exome sequencing on an individual with a profound neurological presentation and identified rare compound heterozygous mutations, p.Thr156Arg and p.Glu196Lys, in the CMP-sialic acid transporter, SLC35A1. Patient primary fibroblasts and serum showed a considerable decrease in the amount of N- and O-glycans terminating in sialic acid. Direct measurement of CMP-sialic acid transport into the Golgi showed a substantial decrease in overall rate of transport. Here we report the identification of the third patient with CMP-sialic acid transporter deficiency, who presented with severe neurological phenotype, but without hematological abnormalities.

}, keywords = {Animals, Brain Diseases, Child, CHO Cells, Cricetinae, Cricetulus, Female, Flow Cytometry, Golgi Apparatus, Humans, Mutation, N-Acetylneuraminic Acid, Nucleotide Transport Proteins, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.38412}, author = {Ng, Bobby G and Asteggiano, Carla G and Kircher, Martin and Buckingham, Kati J and Raymond, Kimiyo and Nickerson, Deborah A and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Ensslen, Matthias and Freeze, Hudson H} } @article {434, title = {An Expanded Multi-Organ Disease Phenotype Associated with Mutations in YARS.}, journal = {Genes (Basel)}, volume = {8}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Dec 11}, abstract = {

Whole exome sequence analysis was performed in a Swedish mother-father-affected proband trio with a phenotype characterized by progressive retinal degeneration with congenital nystagmus, profound congenital hearing impairment, primary amenorrhea, agenesis of the corpus callosum, and liver disease. A homozygous variant c.806T > C, p.(F269S) in the tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase gene () was the only identified candidate variant consistent with autosomal recessive inheritance. Mutations in have previously been associated with both autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome and a recently reported autosomal recessive multiorgan disease. Herein, we propose that mutations in underlie another clinical phenotype adding a second variant of the disease, including retinitis pigmentosa and deafness, to the spectrum of -associated disorders.

}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes8120381}, author = {Tracewska-Siemi{\k a}tkowska, Anna and Haer-Wigman, Lonneke and Bosch, Dani{\"e}lle G M and Nickerson, Deborah and Bamshad, Michael J and van de Vorst, Maartje and Rendtorff, Nanna Dahl and M{\"o}ller, Claes and Kjellstr{\"o}m, Ulrika and Andr{\'e}asson, Sten and Cremers, Frans P M and Tranebj{\ae}rg, Lisbeth} } @article {340, title = {Loss-of-Function Mutations in YY1AP1 Lead to Grange Syndrome and a Fibromuscular Dysplasia-Like Vascular Disease.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {100}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jan 05}, pages = {21-30}, abstract = {

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a heterogeneous group of non-atherosclerotic and non-inflammatory arterial diseases that primarily involves the renal and cerebrovascular arteries. Grange syndrome is an autosomal-recessive condition characterized by severe and early-onset vascular disease similar to FMD and variable penetrance of brachydactyly, syndactyly, bone fragility, and learning disabilities. Exome-sequencing analysis of DNA from three affected siblings with Grange syndrome identified compound heterozygous nonsense variants in YY1AP1, and homozygous nonsense or frameshift YY1AP1 variants were subsequently identified in additional unrelated probands with Grange syndrome. YY1AP1 encodes yin yang 1 (YY1)-associated protein 1 and is an activator of the YY1 transcription factor. We determined that YY1AP1 localizes to the nucleus and is a component of the INO80 chromatin remodeling complex, which is responsible for transcriptional regulation, DNA repair, and replication. Molecular studies revealed that loss of YY1AP1 in vascular smooth muscle cells leads to cell cycle arrest with decreased proliferation and increased levels of the cell cycle regulator p21/WAF/CDKN1A and disrupts TGF-β-driven differentiation of smooth muscle cells. Identification of YY1AP1 mutations as a cause of FMD indicates that this condition can result from underlying genetic variants that significantly alter the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Bone and Bones, Brachydactyly, Cell Cycle Checkpoints, Exome, Female, Fibromuscular Dysplasia, Genes, Recessive, Heterozygote, Homozygote, Humans, Learning Disorders, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle, Smooth, Vascular, Mutation, Nuclear Proteins, Pedigree, Syndactyly, Syndrome, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.11.008}, author = {Guo, Dong-Chuan and Duan, Xue-Yan and Regalado, Ellen S and Mellor-Crummey, Lauren and Kwartler, Callie S and Kim, Dong and Lieberman, Kenneth and de Vries, Bert B A and Pfundt, Rolph and Schinzel, Albert and Kotzot, Dieter and Shen, Xuetong and Yang, Min-Lee and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Gornik, Heather L and Ganesh, Santhi K and Braverman, Alan C and Grange, Dorothy K and Milewicz, Dianna M} } @article {392, title = {Mutations in ARMC9, which Encodes a Basal Body Protein, Cause Joubert Syndrome in Humans and Ciliopathy Phenotypes in Zebrafish.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {101}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jul 06}, pages = {23-36}, abstract = {

Joubert syndrome (JS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hypotonia, ataxia, abnormal eye movements, and variable cognitive impairment. It is defined by a distinctive brain malformation known as the "molar tooth sign" on axial MRI. Subsets of affected individuals have malformations such as coloboma, polydactyly, and encephalocele, as well as progressive retinal dystrophy, fibrocystic kidney disease, and liver fibrosis. More than 35 genes have been associated with JS, but in a subset of families the genetic cause remains unknown. All of the gene products localize in and around the primary cilium, making JS a canonical ciliopathy. Ciliopathies are unified by their overlapping clinical features and underlying mechanisms involving ciliary dysfunction. In this work, we identify biallelic rare, predicted-deleterious ARMC9 variants (stop-gain, missense, splice-site, and single-exon deletion) in 11 individuals with JS from 8 families, accounting for approximately 1\% of the disorder. The associated phenotypes range from isolated neurological involvement to JS with retinal dystrophy, additional brain abnormalities (e.g., heterotopia, Dandy-Walker malformation), pituitary insufficiency, and/or synpolydactyly. We show that ARMC9 localizes to the basal body of the cilium and is upregulated during ciliogenesis. Typical ciliopathy phenotypes (curved body shape, retinal dystrophy, coloboma, and decreased cilia) in a CRISPR/Cas9-engineered zebrafish mutant model provide additional support for ARMC9 as a ciliopathy-associated gene. Identifying ARMC9 mutations as a cause of JS takes us one step closer to a full genetic understanding of this important disorder and enables future functional work to define the central biological mechanisms underlying JS and other ciliopathies.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Animals, Armadillo Domain Proteins, Basal Bodies, Base Sequence, Brain, Cerebellum, Cilia, Ciliopathies, Diagnostic Imaging, Exome, Eye Abnormalities, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Kidney Diseases, Cystic, Mutation, Phenotype, Retina, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Up-Regulation, Zebrafish, Zebrafish Proteins}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.05.010}, author = {Van De Weghe, Julie C and Rusterholz, Tamara D S and Latour, Brooke and Grout, Megan E and Aldinger, Kimberly A and Shaheen, Ranad and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Maddirevula, Sateesh and Cheng, Yong-Han H and Phelps, Ian G and Gesemann, Matthias and Goel, Himanshu and Birk, Ohad S and Alanzi, Talal and Rawashdeh, Rifaat and Khan, Arif O and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Neuhauss, Stephan C F and Dobyns, William B and Alkuraya, Fowzan S and Roepman, Ronald and Bachmann-Gagescu, Ruxandra and Doherty, Dan} } @article {409, title = {Mutations in DYNC2H1, the cytoplasmic dynein 2, heavy chain 1 motor protein gene, cause short-rib polydactyly type I, Saldino-Noonan type.}, journal = {Clin Genet}, volume = {92}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Aug}, pages = {158-165}, abstract = {

The short-rib polydactyly syndromes (SRPS) are autosomal recessively inherited, genetically heterogeneous skeletal ciliopathies. SRPS phenotypes were historically categorized as types I-IV, with type I first delineated by Saldino and Noonan in 1972. Characteristic findings among all forms of SRP include short horizontal ribs, short limbs and polydactyly. The SRP type I phenotype is characterized by a very small thorax, extreme micromelia, very short, poorly mineralized long bones, and multiple organ system anomalies. To date, the molecular basis of this most severe type of SRP, also known as Saldino-Noonan syndrome, has not been determined. We identified three SRP cases that fit the original phenotypic description of SRP type I. In all three cases, exome sequence analysis revealed compound heterozygosity for mutations in DYNC2H1, which encodes the main component of the retrograde IFT A motor, cytoplasmic dynein 2 heavy chain 1. Thus SRP type I, II, III and asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (ATD), which also result from DYNC2H1 mutations. Herein we describe the phenotypic features, radiographic findings, and molecular basis of SRP type I.

}, keywords = {Cytoplasmic Dyneins, Ellis-Van Creveld Syndrome, Female, Fetus, Genetic Heterogeneity, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Mutation, Phenotype, Pregnancy, Radiography, Short Rib-Polydactyly Syndrome, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1399-0004}, doi = {10.1111/cge.12947}, author = {Badiner, N and Taylor, S P and Forlenza, K and Lachman, R S and Bamshad, M and Nickerson, D and Cohn, D H and Krakow, D} } @article {362, title = {Presynaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome with a homozygous sequence variant in LAMA5 combines myopia, facial tics, and failure of neuromuscular transmission.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {173}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Aug}, pages = {2240-2245}, abstract = {

Defects in genes encoding the isoforms of the laminin alpha subunit have been linked to various phenotypic manifestations, including brain malformations, muscular dystrophy, ocular defects, cardiomyopathy, and skin abnormalities. We report here a severe defect of neuromuscular transmission in a consanguineous patient with a homozygous variant in the laminin alpha-5 subunit gene (LAMA5). The variant c.8046C>T (p.Arg2659Trp) is rare and has a predicted deleterious effect. The affected individual, who also carries a rare homozygous sequence variant in LAMA1, had muscle weakness, myopia, and facial tics. Magnetic resonance imaging of brain showed mild volume loss and periventricular T2 prolongation. Repetitive nerve stimulation revealed 50\% decrement of compound muscle action potential amplitudes and 250\% facilitation immediately after exercise, Endplate studies identified a profound reduction of the endplate potential quantal content and endplates with normal postsynaptic folding that were denuded or partially occupied by small nerve terminals. Expression studies revealed that p.Arg2659Trp caused decreased binding of laminin alpha-5 to SV2A and impaired laminin-521 cell-adhesion and cell projection support in primary neuronal cultures. In summary, this report describing severe neuromuscular transmission failure in a patient with a LAMA5 mutation expands the list of phenotypes associated with defects in genes encoding alpha-laminins.

}, keywords = {Adult, Face, Female, Homozygote, Humans, Laminin, Myasthenic Syndromes, Congenital, Myopia, Neuromuscular Junction Diseases, Tics, Young Adult}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.38291}, author = {Maselli, Ricardo A and Arredondo, Juan and V{\'a}zquez, Jessica and Chong, Jessica X and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Lara, Marian and Ng, Fiona and Lo, Victoria L and Pytel, Peter and McDonald, Craig M} } @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 {356, title = {Sequencing of sporadic Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) identifies novel and potentially pathogenic de novo variants and excludes overlap with genes associated with autism spectrum disorder.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet}, volume = {174}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jun}, pages = {381-389}, abstract = {

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has high heritability; however, studies of common variation account for <5\% of ADHD variance. Using data from affected participants without a family history of ADHD, we sought to identify de novo variants that could account for sporadic ADHD. Considering a total of 128 families, two analyses were conducted in parallel: first, in 11 unaffected parent/affected proband trios (or quads with the addition of an unaffected sibling) we completed exome sequencing. Six de novo missense variants at highly conserved bases were identified and validated from four of the 11 families: the brain-expressed genes TBC1D9, DAGLA, QARS, CSMD2, TRPM2, and WDR83. Separately, in 117 unrelated probands with sporadic ADHD, we sequenced a panel of 26 genes implicated in intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to evaluate whether variation in ASD/ID-associated genes were also present in participants with ADHD. Only one putative deleterious variant (Gln600STOP) in CHD1L was identified; this was found in a single proband. Notably, no other nonsense, splice, frameshift, or highly conserved missense variants in the 26 gene panel were identified and validated. These data suggest that de novo variant analysis in families with independently adjudicated sporadic ADHD diagnosis can identify novel genes implicated in ADHD pathogenesis. Moreover, that only one of the 128 cases (0.8\%, 11 exome, and 117 MIP sequenced participants) had putative deleterious variants within our data in 26 genes related to ID and ASD suggests significant independence in the genetic pathogenesis of ADHD as compared to ASD and ID phenotypes. {\textcopyright} 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

}, keywords = {Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Biomarkers, Child, Exome, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Male, Mutation, Missense, Phenotype}, issn = {1552-485X}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.b.32527}, author = {Kim, Daniel Seung and Burt, Amber A and Ranchalis, Jane E and Wilmot, Beth and Smith, Joshua D and Patterson, Karynne E and Coe, Bradley P and Li, Yatong K and Bamshad, Michael J and Nikolas, Molly and Eichler, Evan E and Swanson, James M and Nigg, Joel T and Nickerson, Deborah A and Jarvik, Gail P} } @article {378, title = {Survival beyond the perinatal period expands the phenotypes caused by mutations in GLE1.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {173}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Nov}, pages = {3098-3103}, abstract = {

Mutations in GLE1 underlie Lethal Congenital Contracture syndrome (LCCS) and Lethal Arthrogryposis with Anterior Horn Cell Disease (LAAHD). Both LCCS and LAAHD are characterized by reduced fetal movements, congenital contractures, and a severe form of motor neuron disease that results in fetal death or death in the perinatal period, respectively. We identified bi-allelic mutations in GLE1 in two unrelated individuals with motor delays, feeding difficulties, and respiratory insufficiency who survived beyond the perinatal period. Each affected child had missense variants predicted to result in amino acid substitutions near the C-terminus of GLE1 that are predicted to disrupt protein-protein interaction or GLE1 protein targeting. We hypothesize that mutations that preserve function of the coiled-coil domain of GLE1 cause LAAHD whereas mutations that abolish the function of the coiled-coil domain cause LCCS. The phenotype of LAAHD is now expanded to include multiple individuals surviving into childhood suggesting that LAAHD is a misnomer and should be re-named Arthrogryposis with Anterior Horn Cell Disease (AAHD).

}, keywords = {Arthrogryposis, Child, Preschool, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Male, Motor Disorders, Motor Neuron Disease, Mutation, Nucleocytoplasmic Transport Proteins, Pedigree, Pregnancy}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.38406}, author = {Said, Edith and Chong, Jessica X and Hempel, Maja and Denecke, Jonas and Soler, Paul and Strom, Tim and Nickerson, Deborah A and Kubisch, Christian and Bamshad, Michael J and Lessel, Davor} } @article {77, title = {ALG1-CDG: Clinical and Molecular Characterization of 39 Unreported Patients.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {37}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 07}, pages = {653-60}, abstract = {

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) arise from pathogenic mutations in over 100 genes leading to impaired protein or lipid glycosylation. ALG1 encodes a β1,4 mannosyltransferase that catalyzes the addition of the first of nine mannose moieties to form a dolichol-lipid linked oligosaccharide intermediate required for proper N-linked glycosylation. ALG1 mutations cause a rare autosomal recessive disorder termed ALG1-CDG. To date 13 mutations in 18 patients from 14 families have been described with varying degrees of clinical severity. We identified and characterized 39 previously unreported cases of ALG1-CDG from 32 families and add 26 new mutations. Pathogenicity of each mutation was confirmed based on its inability to rescue impaired growth or hypoglycosylation of a standard biomarker in an alg1-deficient yeast strain. Using this approach we could not establish a rank order comparison of biomarker glycosylation and patient phenotype, but we identified mutations with a lethal outcome in the first two years of life. The recently identified protein-linked xeno-tetrasaccharide biomarker, NeuAc-Gal-GlcNAc2 , was seen in all 27 patients tested. Our study triples the number of known patients and expands the molecular and clinical correlates of this disorder.

}, keywords = {Biomarkers, Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, Female, Genes, Lethal, Glycosylation, Humans, Male, Mannosyltransferases, Mutation, Polysaccharides, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Survival Analysis}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.22983}, author = {Ng, Bobby G and Shiryaev, Sergey A and Rymen, Daisy and Eklund, Erik A and Raymond, Kimiyo and Kircher, Martin and Abdenur, Jose E and Alehan, Fusun and Midro, Alina T and Bamshad, Michael J and Barone, Rita and Berry, Gerard T and Brumbaugh, Jane E and Buckingham, Kati J and Clarkson, Katie and Cole, F Sessions and O{\textquoteright}Connor, Shawn and Cooper, Gregory M and Van Coster, Rudy and Demmer, Laurie A and Diogo, Luisa and Fay, Alexander J and Ficicioglu, Can and Fiumara, Agata and Gahl, William A and Ganetzky, Rebecca and Goel, Himanshu and Harshman, Lyndsay A and He, Miao and Jaeken, Jaak and James, Philip M and Katz, Daniel and Keldermans, Liesbeth and Kibaek, Maria and Kornberg, Andrew J and Lachlan, Katherine and Lam, Christina and Yaplito-Lee, Joy and Nickerson, Deborah A and Peters, Heidi L and Race, Valerie and R{\'e}gal, Luc and Rush, Jeffrey S and Rutledge, S Lane and Shendure, Jay and Souche, Erika and Sparks, Susan E and Trapane, Pamela and Sanchez-Valle, Amarilis and Vilain, Eric and V{\o}llo, Arve and Waechter, Charles J and Wang, Raymond Y and Wolfe, Lynne A and Wong, Derek A and Wood, Tim and Yang, Amy C and Matthijs, Gert and Freeze, Hudson H} } @article {89, title = {Autosomal-Recessive Hearing Impairment Due to Rare Missense Variants within S1PR2.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {98}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Feb 04}, pages = {331-8}, abstract = {

The sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors (S1PRs) are a well-studied class of transmembrane G protein-coupled sphingolipid receptors that mediate multiple cellular processes. However, S1PRs have not been previously reported to be involved in the genetic etiology of human traits. S1PR2 lies within the autosomal-recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (ARNSHI) locus DFNB68 on 19p13.2. From exome sequence data we identified two pathogenic S1PR2 variants, c.323G>C (p.Arg108Pro) and c.419A>G (p.Tyr140Cys). Each of these variants co-segregates with congenital profound hearing impairment in consanguineous Pakistani families with maximum LOD scores of 6.4 for family DEM4154 and 3.3 for family PKDF1400. Neither S1PR2 missense variant was reported among \~{}120,000 chromosomes in the Exome Aggregation Consortium database, in 76 unrelated Pakistani exomes, or in 720 Pakistani control chromosomes. Both DNA variants affect highly conserved residues of S1PR2 and are predicted to be damaging by multiple bioinformatics tools. Molecular modeling predicts that these variants affect binding of sphingosine-1-phosphate (p.Arg108Pro) and G protein docking (p.Tyr140Cys). In the previously reported S1pr2(-/-) mice, stria vascularis abnormalities, organ of Corti degeneration, and profound hearing loss were~observed. Additionally, hair cell defects were seen in both knockout mice and morphant zebrafish. Family PKDF1400 presents with ARNSHI, which is consistent with the lack of gross malformations in S1pr2(-/-) mice, whereas family DEM4154 has lower limb malformations in addition to hearing loss. Our findings suggest the possibility of developing therapies against hair cell damage (e.g., from ototoxic drugs) through targeted stimulation of S1PR2.

}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 19, Exome, Genes, Recessive, Hearing Loss, Humans, Lod Score, Logistic Models, Lysophospholipids, Models, Molecular, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Missense, Pedigree, Phenotype, Receptors, Lysosphingolipid, Sphingosine}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.12.004}, author = {Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Faridi, Rabia and Rehman, Atteeq U and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Ansar, Muhammad and Wang, Xin and Morell, Robert J and Isaacson, Rivka and Belyantseva, Inna A and Dai, Hang and Acharya, Anushree and Qaiser, Tanveer A and Muhammad, Dost and Ali, Rana Amjad and Shams, Sulaiman and Hassan, Muhammad Jawad and Shahzad, Shaheen and Raza, Syed Irfan and Bashir, Zil-E-Huma and Smith, Joshua D and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Riazuddin, Sheikh and Ahmad, Wasim and Friedman, Thomas B and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {60, title = {The ciliopathy-associated CPLANE proteins direct basal body recruitment of intraflagellar transport machinery.}, journal = {Nat Genet}, volume = {48}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 06}, pages = {648-56}, abstract = {

Cilia use microtubule-based intraflagellar transport (IFT) to organize intercellular signaling. Ciliopathies are a spectrum of human diseases resulting from defects in cilia structure or function. The mechanisms regulating the assembly of ciliary multiprotein complexes and the transport of these complexes to the base of cilia remain largely unknown. Combining proteomics, in vivo imaging and genetic analysis of proteins linked to planar cell polarity (Inturned, Fuzzy and Wdpcp), we identified and characterized a new genetic module, which we term CPLANE (ciliogenesis and planar polarity effector), and an extensive associated protein network. CPLANE proteins physically and functionally interact with the poorly understood ciliopathy-associated protein Jbts17 at basal bodies, where they act to recruit a specific subset of IFT-A proteins. In the absence of CPLANE, defective IFT-A particles enter the axoneme and IFT-B trafficking is severely perturbed. Accordingly, mutation of CPLANE genes elicits specific ciliopathy phenotypes in mouse models and is associated with ciliopathies in human patients.

}, keywords = {Animals, Ciliopathies, Flagella, Humans, Mice, Mutation, Phenotype, Protein Binding, Protein Transport, Proteins}, issn = {1546-1718}, doi = {10.1038/ng.3558}, author = {Toriyama, Michinori and Lee, Chanjae and Taylor, S Paige and Duran, Ivan and Cohn, Daniel H and Bruel, Ange-Line and Tabler, Jacqueline M and Drew, Kevin and Kelly, Marcus R and Kim, Sukyoung and Park, Tae Joo and Braun, Daniela A and Pierquin, Ghislaine and Biver, Armand and Wagner, Kerstin and Malfroot, Anne and Panigrahi, Inusha and Franco, Brunella and Al-Lami, Hadeel Adel and Yeung, Yvonne and Choi, Yeon Ja and Duffourd, Yannis and Faivre, Laurence and Rivi{\`e}re, Jean-Baptiste and Chen, Jiang and Liu, Karen J and Marcotte, Edward M and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm and Thauvin-Robinet, Christel and Krakow, Deborah and Jackson, Peter K and Wallingford, John B} } @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 {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 {64, title = {Genetic Candidate Variants in Two Multigenerational Families with Childhood Apraxia of Speech.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {11}, year = {2016}, month = {2016}, pages = {e0153864}, abstract = {

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a severe and socially debilitating form of speech sound disorder with suspected genetic involvement, but the genetic etiology is not yet well understood. Very few known or putative causal genes have been identified to date, e.g., FOXP2 and BCL11A. Building a knowledge base of the genetic etiology of CAS will make it possible to identify infants at genetic risk and motivate the development of effective very early intervention programs. We investigated the genetic etiology of CAS in two large multigenerational families with familial CAS. Complementary genomic methods included Markov chain Monte Carlo linkage analysis, copy-number analysis, identity-by-descent sharing, and exome sequencing with variant filtering. No overlaps in regions with positive evidence of linkage between the two families were found. In one family, linkage analysis detected two chromosomal regions of interest, 5p15.1-p14.1, and 17p13.1-q11.1, inherited separately from the two founders. Single-point linkage analysis of selected variants identified CDH18 as a primary gene of interest and additionally, MYO10, NIPBL, GLP2R, NCOR1, FLCN, SMCR8, NEK8, and ANKRD12, possibly with additive effects. Linkage analysis in the second family detected five regions with LOD scores approaching the highest values possible in the family. A gene of interest was C4orf21 (ZGRF1) on 4q25-q28.2. Evidence for previously described causal copy-number variations and validated or suspected genes was not found. Results are consistent with a heterogeneous CAS etiology, as is expected in many neurogenic disorders. Future studies will investigate genome variants in these and other families with CAS.

}, keywords = {Apraxias, DNA Copy Number Variations, Exome, Female, Genetic Linkage, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genotype, Humans, Lod Score, Male, Pedigree, Risk, Speech}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0153864}, author = {Peter, Beate and Wijsman, Ellen M and Nato, Alejandro Q and Matsushita, Mark M and Chapman, Kathy L and Stanaway, Ian B and Wolff, John and Oda, Kaori and Gabo, Virginia B and Raskind, Wendy H} } @article {65, title = {Germline De Novo Mutations in GNB1 Cause Severe Neurodevelopmental Disability, Hypotonia, and Seizures.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {98}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 05 05}, pages = {1001-1010}, abstract = {

Whole-exome sequencing of 13 individuals with developmental delay commonly accompanied by abnormal muscle tone and seizures identified de novo missense mutations enriched within a sub-region of GNB1, a gene encoding the guanine nucleotide-binding protein~subunit beta-1, Gβ. These 13 individuals were identified among a base of 5,855 individuals recruited for various undiagnosed genetic disorders. The probability of observing 13 or more de novo mutations by chance among 5,855 individuals is very low (p~=~7.1~{\texttimes} 10(-21)), implicating GNB1 as a genome-wide-significant disease-associated gene. The majority of these 13 mutations affect known Gβ binding sites, which suggests that a likely disease mechanism is through the disruption of the protein interface required for Gα-Gβγ interaction (resulting in a constitutively active Gβγ) or through the disruption of residues relevant for interaction between Gβγ and certain downstream effectors (resulting in reduced interaction with the effectors). Strikingly, 8 of the 13 individuals recruited here for a neurodevelopmental disorder have a germline de novo GNB1 mutation that overlaps a set of five recurrent somatic tumor mutations for which recent functional studies demonstrated a gain-of-function effect due to constitutive activation of G protein downstream signaling cascades for some of the affected residues.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Developmental Disabilities, Exome, Female, Germ-Line Mutation, GTP-Binding Protein beta Subunits, Humans, Infant, Intellectual Disability, Male, Muscle Hypotonia, Phenotype, Protein Conformation, Seizures, Signal Transduction, Young Adult}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.03.011}, author = {Petrovski, Slav{\'e} and K{\"u}ry, S{\'e}bastien and Myers, Candace T and Anyane-Yeboa, Kwame and Cogn{\'e}, Benjamin and Bialer, Martin and Xia, Fan and Hemati, Parisa and Riviello, James and Mehaffey, Michele and Besnard, Thomas and Becraft, Emily and Wadley, Alexandrea and Politi, Anya Revah and Colombo, Sophie and Zhu, Xiaolin and Ren, Zhong and Andrews, Ian and Dudding-Byth, Tracy and Schneider, Amy L and Wallace, Geoffrey and Rosen, Aaron B I and Schelley, Susan and Enns, Gregory M and Corre, Pierre and Dalton, Joline and Mercier, Sandra and Latypova, X{\'e}nia and Schmitt, S{\'e}bastien and Guzman, Edwin and Moore, Christine and Bier, Louise and Heinzen, Erin L and Karachunski, Peter and Shur, Natasha and Grebe, Theresa and Basinger, Alice and Nguyen, Joanne M and B{\'e}zieau, St{\'e}phane and Wierenga, Klaas and Bernstein, Jonathan A and Scheffer, Ingrid E and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Mefford, Heather C and Isidor, Bertrand and Goldstein, David B} } @article {117, title = {Identification and clinical characterization of Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome alleles in the Pakistani population.}, journal = {Pigment Cell Melanoma Res}, volume = {29}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Mar}, pages = {231-5}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Alleles, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Hermanski-Pudlak Syndrome, Humans, Infant, Male, Membrane Proteins, Middle Aged, Pakistan, Pedigree}, issn = {1755-148X}, doi = {10.1111/pcmr.12438}, author = {Yousaf, Sairah and Shahzad, Mohsin and Kausar, Tasleem and Sheikh, Shakeel A and Tariq, Nabeela and Shabbir, Asra S and Ali, Muhammad and Waryah, Ali M and Shaikh, Rehan S and Riazuddin, Saima and Ahmed, Zubair M} } @article {343, title = {An inactivating mutation in intestinal cell kinase, ICK, impairs hedgehog signalling and causes short rib-polydactyly syndrome.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {25}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 09 15}, pages = {3998-4011}, abstract = {

The short rib polydactyly syndromes (SRPS) are a group of recessively inherited, perinatal-lethal skeletal disorders primarily characterized by short ribs, shortened long bones, varying types of polydactyly and concomitant visceral abnormalities. Mutations in several genes affecting cilia function cause SRPS, revealing a role for cilia function in skeletal development. To identify additional SRPS genes and discover novel ciliary molecules required for normal skeletogenesis, we performed exome sequencing in a cohort of patients and identified homozygosity for a missense mutation, p.E80K, in Intestinal Cell Kinase, ICK, in one SRPS family. The p.E80K mutation abolished serine/threonine kinase activity, resulting in altered ICK subcellular and ciliary localization, increased cilia length, aberrant cartilage growth plate structure, defective Hedgehog and altered ERK signalling. These data identify ICK as an SRPS-associated gene and reveal that abnormalities in signalling pathways contribute to defective skeletogenesis.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Cilia, Exome, Female, Hedgehog Proteins, Humans, Infant, MAP Kinase Signaling System, Pedigree, Pregnancy, Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Short Rib-Polydactyly Syndrome, Signal Transduction, Skeleton}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddw240}, author = {Paige Taylor, S and Kunova Bosakova, Michaela and Varecha, Miroslav and Balek, Lukas and Barta, Tomas and Trantirek, Lukas and Jelinkova, Iva and Duran, Ivan and Vesela, Iva and Forlenza, Kimberly N and Martin, Jorge H and Hampl, Ales and Bamshad, Michael and Nickerson, Deborah and Jaworski, Margie L and Song, Jieun and Ko, Hyuk Wan and Cohn, Daniel H and Krakow, Deborah and Krejci, Pavel} } @article {87, title = {LOX Mutations Predispose to Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Dissections.}, journal = {Circ Res}, volume = {118}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Mar 18}, pages = {928-34}, abstract = {

RATIONALE: Mutations in several genes have been identified that are responsible for 25\% of families with familial thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. However, the causative gene remains unknown in 75\% of families.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the causative mutation in families with autosomal dominant inheritance of thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Exome sequencing was used to identify the mutation responsible for a large family with thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. A heterozygous rare variant, c.839G>T (p.Ser280Arg), was identified in LOX, encoding a lysyl oxidase, that segregated with disease in the family. Sanger and exome sequencing was used to investigate mutations in LOX in an additional 410 probands from unrelated families. Additional LOX rare variants that segregated with disease in families were identified, including c.125G>A (p.Trp42*), c.604G>T (p.Gly202*), c.743C>T (p.Thr248Ile), c.800A>C (p.Gln267Pro), and c.1044T>A (p.Ser348Arg). The altered amino acids cause haploinsufficiency for LOX or are located at a highly conserved LOX catalytic domain, which is relatively invariant in the population. Expression of the LOX variants p.Ser280Arg and p.Ser348Arg resulted in significantly lower lysyl oxidase activity when compared with the wild-type protein. Individuals with LOX variants had fusiform enlargement of the root and ascending thoracic aorta, leading to ascending aortic dissections.

CONCLUSIONS: These data, along with previous studies showing that the deficiency of LOX in mice or inhibition of lysyl oxidases in turkeys and rats causes aortic dissections, support the conclusion that rare genetic variants in LOX predispose to thoracic aortic disease.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Amino Acid Sequence, Aneurysm, Dissecting, Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic, Female, Genetic Variation, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Pedigree, Protein-Lysine 6-Oxidase}, issn = {1524-4571}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.115.307130}, author = {Guo, Dong-Chuan and Regalado, Ellen S and Gong, Limin and Duan, Xueyan and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Arnaud, Pauline and Ren, Zhao and Cai, Bo and Hostetler, Ellen M and Moran, Rocio and Liang, David and Estrera, Anthony and Safi, Hazim J and Leal, Suzanne M and Bamshad, Michael J and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Jondeau, Guillaume and Boileau, Catherine and Milewicz, Dianna M} } @article {342, title = {MECR Mutations Cause Childhood-Onset Dystonia and Optic Atrophy, a Mitochondrial Fatty Acid Synthesis Disorder.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {99}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Dec 01}, pages = {1229-1244}, abstract = {

Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mtFAS) is an evolutionarily conserved pathway essential for the function of the respiratory chain and several mitochondrial enzyme complexes. We report here a unique neurometabolic human disorder caused by defective mtFAS. Seven individuals from five unrelated families presented with childhood-onset dystonia, optic atrophy, and basal ganglia signal abnormalities on MRI. All affected individuals were found to harbor recessive mutations in MECR encoding the mitochondrial trans-2-enoyl-coenzyme A-reductase involved in human mtFAS. All six mutations are extremely rare in the general population, segregate with the disease in the families, and are predicted to be deleterious. The nonsense c.855T>G (p.Tyr285), c.247_250del (p.Asn83Hisfs4), and splice site c.830+2_830+3insT mutations lead to C-terminal truncation variants of MECR. The missense c.695G>A (p.Gly232Glu), c.854A>G (p.Tyr285Cys), and c.772C>T (p.Arg258Trp) mutations involve conserved amino acid residues, are located within the cofactor binding domain, and are predicted by structural analysis to have a destabilizing effect. Yeast modeling and complementation studies validated the pathogenicity of the MECR mutations. Fibroblast cell lines from affected individuals displayed reduced levels of both MECR and lipoylated proteins as well as defective respiration. These results suggest that mutations in MECR cause a distinct human disorder of the mtFAS pathway. The observation of decreased lipoylation raises the possibility of a potential therapeutic strategy.

}, keywords = {Basal Ganglia, Cells, Cultured, Child, Child, Preschool, Dystonic Disorders, Fatty Acids, Female, Fibroblasts, Genetic Complementation Test, Humans, Infant, Male, Mitochondria, Mitochondrial Diseases, Models, Molecular, Mutation, Mutation, Missense, Optic Atrophy, Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors, Pedigree, RNA Splice Sites, Saccharomyces cerevisiae}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.09.021}, author = {Heimer, Gali and Ker{\"a}t{\"a}r, Juha M and Riley, Lisa G and Balasubramaniam, Shanti and Eyal, Eran and Pietik{\"a}inen, Laura P and Hiltunen, J Kalervo and Marek-Yagel, Dina and Hamada, Jeffrey and Gregory, Allison and Rogers, Caleb and Hogarth, Penelope and Nance, Martha A and Shalva, Nechama and Veber, Alvit and Tzadok, Michal and Nissenkorn, Andreea and Tonduti, Davide and Renaldo, Florence and Kraoua, Ichraf and Panteghini, Celeste and Valletta, Lorella and Garavaglia, Barbara and Cowley, Mark J and Gayevskiy, Velimir and Roscioli, Tony and Silberstein, Jonathon M and Hoffmann, Chen and Raas-Rothschild, Annick and Tiranti, Valeria and Anikster, Yair and Christodoulou, John and Kastaniotis, Alexander J and Ben-Zeev, Bruria and Hayflick, Susan J} } @article {83, title = {Mitral regurgitation as a phenotypic manifestation of nonphotosensitive trichothiodystrophy due to a splice variant in MPLKIP.}, journal = {BMC Med Genet}, volume = {17}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Feb 16}, pages = {13}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Nonphotosensitive trichothiodystrophy (TTDN) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of neuroectodermal origin. The condition is marked by hair abnormalities, intellectual impairment, nail dystrophies and susceptibility to infections but with no UV sensitivity.

METHODS: We identified three consanguineous Pakistani families with varied TTDN features and used homozygosity mapping, linkage analysis, and Sanger and exome sequencing in order to identify pathogenic variants. Haplotype analysis was performed and haplotype age estimated. A splicing assay was used to validate the effect of the MPLKIP splice variant on expression.

RESULTS: Affected individuals from all families exhibit several TTDN features along with a heart-specific feature, i.e. mitral regurgitation. Exome sequencing in the probands from families ED168 and ED241 identified a homozygous splice mutation c.339 + 1G > A within MPLKIP. The same splice variant co-segregates with TTDN in a third family ED210. The MPLKIP splice variant was not found in public databases, e.g. the Exome Aggregation Consortium, and in unrelated Pakistani controls. Functional analysis of the splice variant confirmed intron retention, which leads to protein truncation and loss of a phosphorylation site. Haplotype analysis identified a 585.1-kb haplotype which includes the MPLKIP variant, supporting the existence of a founder haplotype that is estimated to be 25,900 years old.

CONCLUSION: This study extends the allelic and phenotypic spectra of MPLKIP-related TTDN, to include a splice variant that causes cardiomyopathy as part of the TTDN phenotype.

}, keywords = {Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing, Adolescent, Adult, Alleles, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Child, Cloning, Molecular, Exome, Female, Genetic Linkage, Haplotypes, HEK293 Cells, Homozygote, Humans, Introns, Male, Mitral Valve Insufficiency, Pakistan, Pedigree, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, RNA Splicing, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Trichothiodystrophy Syndromes, Young Adult}, issn = {1471-2350}, doi = {10.1186/s12881-016-0275-5}, author = {Shah, Khadim and Ali, Raja Hussain and Ansar, Muhammad and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Chishti, Muhammad Salman and Abbe, Izoduwa and Li, Biao and Smith, Joshua D and Nickerson, Deborah A and Shendure, Jay and Coucke, Paul J and Steyaert, Wouter and Bamshad, Michael J and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Leal, Suzanne M and Ahmad, Wasim} } @article {74, title = {Mosaic Activating Mutations in FGFR1 Cause Encephalocraniocutaneous Lipomatosis.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {98}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Mar 03}, pages = {579-587}, abstract = {

Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis (ECCL) is a sporadic condition characterized by ocular, cutaneous, and central nervous system anomalies. Key clinical features include a well-demarcated hairless fatty nevus on the scalp, benign ocular tumors, and central nervous system lipomas. Seizures, spasticity, and intellectual disability can be present, although affected individuals without seizures and with normal intellect have also been reported. Given the patchy and asymmetric nature of the malformations, ECCL has been hypothesized to be due to a post-zygotic, mosaic mutation. Despite phenotypic overlap with several other disorders associated with mutations in the RAS-MAPK and PI3K-AKT pathways, the molecular etiology of ECCL remains unknown. Using exome sequencing of DNA from multiple affected tissues from five unrelated individuals with ECCL, we identified two mosaic mutations, c.1638C>A (p.Asn546Lys) and c.1966A>G (p.Lys656Glu) within the tyrosine kinase domain of FGFR1, in two affected individuals each. These two residues are the most commonly mutated residues in FGFR1 in human cancers and are associated primarily with CNS tumors. Targeted resequencing of FGFR1 in multiple tissues from an independent cohort of individuals with ECCL identified one additional individual with a c.1638C>A (p.Asn546Lys) mutation in FGFR1. Functional studies of ECCL fibroblast cell lines show increased levels of phosphorylated FGFRs and phosphorylated FRS2, a direct substrate of FGFR1, as well as constitutive activation of RAS-MAPK signaling. In addition to identifying the molecular etiology of ECCL, our results support the emerging overlap between mosaic developmental disorders and tumorigenesis.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Cell Line, Tumor, Central Nervous System Neoplasms, Child, Preschool, Exome, Eye, Eye Diseases, Female, Humans, Infant, Lipomatosis, Male, Mutation, Mutation, Missense, Neurocutaneous Syndromes, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1, Seizures, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.02.006}, author = {Bennett, James T and Tan, Tiong Yang and Alcantara, Diana and T{\'e}trault, Martine and Timms, Andrew E and Jensen, Dana and Collins, Sarah and Nowaczyk, Malgorzata J M and Lindhurst, Marjorie J and Christensen, Katherine M and Braddock, Stephen R and Brandling-Bennett, Heather and Hennekam, Raoul C M and Chung, Brian and Lehman, Anna and Su, John and Ng, SuYuen and Amor, David J and Majewski, Jacek and Biesecker, Les G and Boycott, Kym M and Dobyns, William B and O{\textquoteright}Driscoll, Mark and Moog, Ute and McDonell, Laura M} } @article {34, title = {Mutations in DCDC2 (doublecortin domain containing protein 2) in neonatal sclerosing cholangitis.}, journal = {J Hepatol}, volume = {65}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Dec}, pages = {1179-1187}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND \& AIMS: Neonatal sclerosing cholangitis (NSC) is a severe neonatal-onset cholangiopathy commonly leading to liver transplantation (LT) for end-stage liver disease in childhood. Liver biopsy findings histopathologically resemble those in biliary atresia (BA); however, in NSC extrahepatic bile ducts are patent, whilst in BA their lumina are obliterated. NSC is commonly seen in consanguineous kindreds, suggesting autosomal recessive inheritance.

METHODS: From 29 NSC patients (24 families) identified, DNA was available in 24 (21 families). Thirteen (7 male) patients (12 families) of consanguineous parentage were selected for whole exome sequencing. Sequence variants were filtered for homozygosity, pathogenicity, minor allele frequency, quality score, and encoded protein expression pattern.

RESULTS: Four of 13 patients were homozygous and two were compound heterozygous for mutations in the doublecortin domain containing 2 gene (DCDC2), which encodes DCDC2 protein and is expressed in cholangiocyte cilia. Another 11 patients were sequenced: one (with one sibling pair) was compound heterozygous for DCDC2 mutations. All mutations were protein-truncating. In available liver tissue from patients with DCDC2 mutations, immunostaining for human DCDC2 and the ciliary protein acetylated alpha-tubulin (ACALT) showed no expression (n=6) and transmission electron microscopy found that cholangiocytes lacked primary cilia (n=5). DCDC2 and ACALT were expressed in NSC patients without DCDC2 mutations (n=22). Of the patients carrying DCDC2 mutations, one died awaiting LT; five came to LT, of whom one died 2years later. The other 4 are well.

CONCLUSION: Among 24 NSC patients with available DNA, 7 had mutations in DCDC2 (6 of 19 families). NSC patients in substantial proportion harbour mutations in DCDC2. Their disease represents a novel liver-based ciliopathy.

LAY SUMMARY: Neonatal sclerosing cholangitis (NSC) is a rare genetic form of liver disease presenting in infancy. Through next generation sequencing we identified mutations in the gene encoding for doublecortin domain containing 2 (DCDC2) protein in a group of NSC children. DCDC2 is a signalling and structural protein found in primary cilia of cholangiocytes. Cholangiocytes are the cells forming the biliary system which is the draining system of the liver.

}, keywords = {Cholangitis, Sclerosing, Female, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Male, Microtubule-Associated Proteins, Mutation}, issn = {1600-0641}, doi = {10.1016/j.jhep.2016.07.017}, author = {Grammatikopoulos, Tassos and Sambrotta, Melissa and Strautnieks, Sandra and Foskett, Pierre and Knisely, A S and Wagner, Bart and Deheragoda, Maesha and Starling, Chris and Mieli-Vergani, Giorgina and Smith, Joshua and Bull, Laura and Thompson, Richard J} } @article {101, title = {A novel missense variant in the PNPLA1 gene underlies congenital ichthyosis in three consanguineous families.}, journal = {J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol}, volume = {30}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Dec}, pages = {e210-e213}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Consanguinity, Female, Genes, Recessive, Humans, Ichthyosiform Erythroderma, Congenital, Lipase, Male, Mutation, Missense, Pakistan, Pedigree, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid}, issn = {1468-3083}, doi = {10.1111/jdv.13540}, author = {Ahmad, F and Ansar, M and Mehmood, S and Izoduwa, A and Lee, K and Nasir, A and Abrar, M and Mehmood, S and Ullah, A and Aziz, A and Smith, J D and Shendure, J and Bamshad, M J and Nicekrson, D A and Santos-Cortez, R L P and Leal, S M and Ahmad, W} } @article {43, title = {PADRE: Pedigree-Aware Distant-Relationship Estimation.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {99}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Jul 07}, pages = {154-62}, abstract = {

Accurate estimation of shared ancestry is an important component of many genetic studies; current prediction tools accurately estimate pairwise genetic relationships up to the ninth degree. Pedigree-aware distant-relationship estimation (PADRE) combines relationship likelihoods generated by estimation of recent shared ancestry (ERSA) with likelihoods from family networks reconstructed by pedigree reconstruction and identification of a maximum unrelated set (PRIMUS), improving the power to detect distant relationships between pedigrees. Using PADRE, we estimated relationships from simulated pedigrees and three extended pedigrees, correctly predicting 20\% more fourth- through ninth-degree simulated relationships than when using ERSA alone. By leveraging pedigree information, PADRE can even identify genealogical relationships between individuals who are genetically unrelated. For example, although 95\% of 13(th)-degree relatives are genetically unrelated, in simulations, PADRE correctly predicted 50\% of 13(th)-degree relationships to within one degree of relatedness. The improvement in prediction accuracy was consistent between simulated and actual pedigrees. We also applied PADRE to the HapMap3 CEU samples and report new cryptic relationships and validation of previously described relationships between families. PADRE greatly expands the range of relationships that can be estimated by using genetic data in pedigrees.

}, keywords = {Algorithms, Female, Haplotypes, Humans, Male, Models, Genetic, Pedigree, Reproducibility of Results}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.05.020}, author = {Staples, Jeffrey and Witherspoon, David J and Jorde, Lynn B and Nickerson, Deborah A and Below, Jennifer E and Huff, Chad D} } @article {111, title = {Pathogenic FBN1 variants in familial thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.}, journal = {Clin Genet}, volume = {89}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 06}, pages = {719-23}, abstract = {

Marfan syndrome (MFS) due to mutations in FBN1 is a known cause of thoracic aortic aneurysms and acute aortic dissections (TAAD) associated with pleiotropic manifestations. Genetic predisposition to TAAD can also be inherited in families in the absence of syndromic features, termed familial TAAD (FTAAD), and several causative genes have been identified to date. FBN1 mutations can also be identified in FTAAD families, but the frequency of these mutations has not been established. We performed exome sequencing of 183 FTAAD families and identified pathogenic FBN1 variants in five (2.7\%) of these families. We also identified eight additional FBN1 rare variants that could not be unequivocally classified as disease-causing in six families. FBN1 sequencing should be considered in individuals with FTAAD even without significant systemic features of MFS.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Aneurysm, Dissecting, Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic, Exome, Family Health, Female, Fibrillin-1, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Male, Marfan Syndrome, Middle Aged, Mutation, Pedigree, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1399-0004}, doi = {10.1111/cge.12702}, author = {Regalado, E S and Guo, D C and Santos-Cortez, R L P and Hostetler, E and Bensend, T A and Pannu, H and Estrera, A and Safi, H and Mitchell, A L and Evans, J P and Leal, S M and Bamshad, M and Shendure, J and Nickerson, D A and Milewicz, D M} } @article {70, title = {Recessive Inactivating Mutations in TBCK, Encoding a Rab GTPase-Activating Protein, Cause Severe Infantile Syndromic Encephalopathy.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {98}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Apr 07}, pages = {772-81}, abstract = {

Infantile encephalopathies are a group of clinically and biologically heterogeneous disorders for which the genetic basis remains largely unknown. Here, we report a syndromic neonatal encephalopathy characterized by profound developmental disability, severe hypotonia, seizures, diminished respiratory drive requiring mechanical ventilation, brain atrophy, dysgenesis of the corpus callosum, cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, and facial dysmorphism. Biallelic inactivating mutations in TBCK (TBC1-domain-containing kinase) were independently identified by whole-exome sequencing as the cause of this condition in four unrelated families. Matching these families was facilitated by the sharing of phenotypic profiles and WES data in a recently released web-based tool (Geno2MP) that links phenotypic information to rare variants in families with Mendelian traits. TBCK is a putative GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for small GTPases of the Rab family and has been shown to control cell growth and proliferation, actin-cytoskeleton dynamics, and mTOR signaling. Two of the three mutations (c.376C>T [p.Arg126(*)] and c.1363A>T [p.Lys455(*)]) are predicted to truncate the protein, and loss of the major TBCK isoform was confirmed in primary fibroblasts from one affected individual. The third mutation, c.1532G>A (p.Arg511His), alters a conserved residue within the TBC1 domain. Structural analysis implicated Arg511 as a required residue for Rab-GAP function, and in~silico homology modeling predicted impaired GAP function in the corresponding mutant. These results suggest that loss of Rab-GAP activity is the underlying mechanism of disease. In contrast to other disorders caused by dysregulated mTOR signaling associated with focal or global brain overgrowth, impaired TBCK function results in progressive loss of brain volume.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Alleles, Amino Acid Sequence, Brain Diseases, Child, Child, Preschool, Corpus Callosum, Female, GTPase-Activating Proteins, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Pedigree, Protein Conformation, Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases, Signal Transduction, TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.01.016}, author = {Chong, Jessica X and Caputo, Viviana and Phelps, Ian G and Stella, Lorenzo and Worgan, Lisa and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Nguyen, Alina and Leuzzi, Vincenzo and Webster, Richard and Pizzuti, Antonio and Marvin, Colby T and Ishak, Gisele E and Ardern-Holmes, Simone and Richmond, Zara and Bamshad, Michael J and Ortiz-Gonzalez, Xilma R and Tartaglia, Marco and Chopra, Maya and Doherty, Dan} } @article {21, title = {Recurrent De Novo and Biallelic Variation of ATAD3A, Encoding a Mitochondrial Membrane Protein, Results in Distinct Neurological Syndromes.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {99}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Oct 06}, pages = {831-845}, abstract = {

ATPase family AAA-domain containing protein 3A (ATAD3A) is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial membrane protein implicated in mitochondrial dynamics, nucleoid organization, protein translation, cell growth, and cholesterol metabolism. We identified a recurrent de novo ATAD3A c.1582C>T (p.Arg528Trp) variant by whole-exome sequencing (WES) in five unrelated individuals with a core phenotype of global developmental delay, hypotonia, optic atrophy, axonal neuropathy, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We also describe two families with biallelic variants in ATAD3A, including a homozygous variant in two siblings, and biallelic ATAD3A deletions mediated by nonallelic homologous recombination (NAHR) between ATAD3A and gene family members ATAD3B and ATAD3C. Tissue-specific overexpression of bor, the Drosophila mutation homologous to the human c.1582C>T (p.Arg528Trp) variant, resulted in a dramatic decrease in mitochondrial content, aberrant mitochondrial morphology, and increased autophagy. Homozygous null bor larvae showed a significant decrease of mitochondria, while overexpression of bor resulted in larger, elongated mitochondria. Finally, fibroblasts of an affected individual exhibited increased mitophagy. We conclude that the p.Arg528Trp variant functions through a dominant-negative mechanism that results in small mitochondria that trigger mitophagy, resulting in a reduction in mitochondrial content. ATAD3A variation represents an additional link between mitochondrial dynamics and recognizable neurological syndromes, as seen with MFN2, OPA1, DNM1L, and STAT2 mutations.

}, keywords = {Adenosine Triphosphatases, Adult, Alleles, Animals, ATPases Associated with Diverse Cellular Activities, Axons, Cardiomyopathies, Child, Child, Preschool, Developmental Disabilities, DNA Copy Number Variations, Drosophila melanogaster, Female, Fibroblasts, Homozygote, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Membrane Proteins, Mitochondria, Mitochondrial Proteins, Muscle Hypotonia, Muscles, Mutation, Nervous System Diseases, Neurons, Optic Atrophy, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Syndrome, Young Adult}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.08.007}, author = {Harel, Tamar and Yoon, Wan Hee and Garone, Caterina and Gu, Shen and Coban-Akdemir, Zeynep and Eldomery, Mohammad K and Posey, Jennifer E and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Rosenfeld, Jill A and Cho, Megan T and Fox, Stephanie and Withers, Marjorie and Brooks, Stephanie M and Chiang, Theodore and Duraine, Lita and Erdin, Serkan and Yuan, Bo and Shao, Yunru and Moussallem, Elie and Lamperti, Costanza and Donati, Maria A and Smith, Joshua D and McLaughlin, Heather M and Eng, Christine M and Walkiewicz, Magdalena and Xia, Fan and Pippucci, Tommaso and Magini, Pamela and Seri, Marco and Zeviani, Massimo and Hirano, Michio and Hunter, Jill V and Srour, Myriam and Zanigni, Stefano and Lewis, Richard Alan and Muzny, Donna M and Lotze, Timothy E and Boerwinkle, Eric and Gibbs, Richard A and Hickey, Scott E and Graham, Brett H and Yang, Yaping and Buhas, Daniela and Martin, Donna M and Potocki, Lorraine and Graziano, Claudio and Bellen, Hugo J and Lupski, James R} } @article {53, title = {Using Whole Exome Sequencing to Identify Candidate Genes With Rare Variants In Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and Palate.}, journal = {Genet Epidemiol}, volume = {40}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 07}, pages = {432-41}, abstract = {

Studies suggest that nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP) is polygenic with variable penetrance, presenting a challenge in identifying all causal genetic variants. Despite relatively high prevalence of NSCLP among Amerindian populations, no large whole exome sequencing (WES) studies have been completed in this population. Our goal was to identify candidate genes with rare genetic variants for NSCLP in a Honduran population using WES. WES was performed on two to four members of 27 multiplex Honduran families. Genetic variants with a minor allele frequency > 1\% in reference databases were removed. Heterozygous variants consistent with dominant disease with incomplete penetrance were ascertained, and variants with predicted functional consequence were prioritized for analysis. Pedigree-specific P-values were calculated as the probability of all affected members in the pedigree being carriers, given that at least one is a carrier. Preliminary results identified 3,727 heterozygous rare variants; 1,282 were predicted to be functionally consequential. Twenty-three genes had variants of interest in >=3 families, where some genes had different variants in each family, giving a total of 50 variants. Variant validation via Sanger sequencing of the families and unrelated unaffected controls excluded variants that were sequencing errors or common variants not in databases, leaving four genes with candidate variants in >=3 families. Of these, candidate variants in two genes consistently segregate with NSCLP as a dominant variant with incomplete penetrance: ACSS2 and PHYH. Rare variants found at the same gene in all affected individuals in several families are likely to be directly related to NSCLP.

}, keywords = {Acetate-CoA Ligase, Alleles, Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate, Female, Gene Frequency, Genotype, Heterozygote, Hexokinase, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Male, Mixed Function Oxygenases, Pedigree, Penetrance, Sequence Analysis, DNA, von Willebrand Factor}, issn = {1098-2272}, doi = {10.1002/gepi.21972}, author = {Aylward, Alana and Cai, Yi and Lee, Andrew and Blue, Elizabeth and Rabinowitz, Daniel and Haddad, Joseph} } @article {164, title = {Autosomal-Dominant Multiple Pterygium Syndrome Is Caused by Mutations in MYH3.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {96}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 May 07}, pages = {841-9}, abstract = {

Multiple pterygium syndrome (MPS) is a phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous group of rare Mendelian conditions characterized by multiple pterygia, scoliosis, and congenital contractures of the limbs. MPS typically segregates as an autosomal-recessive disorder, but rare instances of autosomal-dominant transmission have been reported. Whereas several mutations causing recessive MPS have been identified, the genetic basis of dominant MPS remains unknown. We identified four families affected by dominantly transmitted MPS characterized by pterygia, camptodactyly of the hands, vertebral fusions, and scoliosis. Exome sequencing identified predicted protein-altering mutations in embryonic myosin heavy chain (MYH3) in three families. MYH3 mutations underlie distal arthrogryposis types 1, 2A, and 2B, but all mutations reported to date occur in the head and neck domains. In contrast, two of the mutations found to cause MPS in this study occurred in the tail domain. The phenotypic overlap among persons with MPS, coupled with physical findings distinct from other conditions caused by mutations in MYH3, suggests that the developmental mechanism underlying MPS differs from that of other conditions and/or that certain functions of embryonic myosin might be perturbed by disruption of specific residues and/or domains. Moreover, the vertebral fusions in persons with MPS, coupled with evidence of MYH3 expression in bone, suggest that embryonic myosin plays a role in skeletal development.

}, keywords = {Arthrogryposis, Cytoskeletal Proteins, Exome, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Mutation, Myosins, Osteogenesis}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.04.004}, author = {Chong, Jessica X and Burrage, Lindsay C and Beck, Anita E and Marvin, Colby T and McMillin, Margaret J and Shively, Kathryn M and Harrell, Tanya M and Buckingham, Kati J and Bacino, Carlos A and Jain, Mahim and Alanay, Yasemin and Berry, Susan A and Carey, John C and Gibbs, Richard A and Lee, Brendan H and Krakow, Deborah and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {204, title = {Challenges and solutions for gene identification in the presence of familial locus heterogeneity.}, journal = {Eur J Hum Genet}, volume = {23}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Sep}, pages = {1207-15}, abstract = {

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of exomes and genomes has accelerated the identification of genes involved in Mendelian phenotypes. However, many NGS studies fall short of identifying causal variants, with estimates for success rates as low as 25\% for uncovering the pathological variant underlying disease etiology. An important reason for such failures is familial locus heterogeneity, where within a single pedigree causal variants in two or more genes underlie Mendelian trait etiology. As examples of intra- and inter-sibship familial locus heterogeneity, we present 10 consanguineous Pakistani families segregating hearing impairment due to homozygous variants in two different hearing impairment genes and a European-American pedigree in which hearing impairment is caused by four variants in three different genes. We have identified 41 additional pedigrees with syndromic and nonsyndromic hearing impairment for which a single previously reported hearing impairment gene has been identified but only segregates with the phenotype in a subset of affected pedigree members. We estimate that locus heterogeneity occurs in 15.3\% (95\% confidence interval: 11.9\%, 19.9\%) of the families in our collection. We demonstrate novel approaches to apply linkage analysis and homozygosity mapping (for autosomal recessive consanguineous pedigrees), which can be used to detect locus heterogeneity using either NGS or SNP array data. Results from linkage analysis and homozygosity mapping can also be used to group sibships or individuals most likely to be segregating the same causal variants and thereby increase the success rate of gene identification.

}, keywords = {Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Calcium-Binding Proteins, Chromosome Mapping, Connexin 26, Connexins, Consanguinity, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genes, Recessive, Genetic Heterogeneity, Genetic Linkage, Genetic Loci, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome, Human, Genotype, Hearing Loss, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Homozygote, Humans, Male, Membrane Transport Proteins, Mutation, Pedigree, Phenotype, Sulfate Transporters}, issn = {1476-5438}, doi = {10.1038/ejhg.2014.266}, author = {Rehman, Atteeq U and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Drummond, Meghan C and Shahzad, Mohsin and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Morell, Robert J and Ansar, Muhammad and Jan, Abid and Wang, Xin and Aziz, Abdul and Riazuddin, Saima and Smith, Joshua D and Wang, Gao T and Ahmed, Zubair M and Gul, Khitab and Shearer, A Eliot and Smith, Richard J H and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Hinnant, John and Khan, Shaheen N and Fisher, Rachel A and Ahmad, Wasim and Friderici, Karen H and Riazuddin, Sheikh and Friedman, Thomas B and Wilch, Ellen S and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {194, title = {De novo mutations in NALCN cause a syndrome characterized by congenital contractures of the limbs and face, hypotonia, and developmental delay.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {96}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Mar 05}, pages = {462-73}, abstract = {

Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, or distal arthrogryposis type 2A (DA2A), is an autosomal-dominant condition caused by mutations in MYH3 and characterized by multiple congenital contractures of the face and limbs and normal cognitive development. We identified a subset of five individuals who had been putatively diagnosed with "DA2A with severe neurological abnormalities" and for whom congenital contractures of the limbs and face, hypotonia, and global developmental delay had resulted in early death in three cases; this is a unique condition that we now refer to as CLIFAHDD syndrome. Exome sequencing identified missense mutations in the sodium leak channel, non-selective (NALCN) in four families affected by CLIFAHDD syndrome. We used molecular-inversion probes to screen for NALCN in a cohort of 202 distal arthrogryposis (DA)-affected individuals as well as concurrent exome sequencing of six other DA-affected individuals, thus revealing NALCN mutations in ten additional families with "atypical" forms of DA. All 14 mutations were missense variants predicted to alter amino acid residues in or near the S5 and S6 pore-forming segments of NALCN, highlighting the functional importance of these segments. In vitro functional studies demonstrated that NALCN alterations nearly abolished the expression of wild-type NALCN, suggesting that alterations that cause CLIFAHDD syndrome have a dominant-negative effect. In contrast, homozygosity for mutations in other regions of NALCN has been reported in three families affected by an autosomal-recessive condition characterized mainly by hypotonia and severe intellectual disability. Accordingly, mutations in NALCN can cause either a recessive or dominant condition characterized by varied though overlapping phenotypic features, perhaps based on the type of mutation and affected protein domain(s).

}, keywords = {Arthrogryposis, Contracture, Craniofacial Dysostosis, Cytoskeletal Proteins, Exome, Extremities, Face, Female, Gene Frequency, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Homozygote, Humans, Infant, Male, Muscle Hypotonia, Mutation, Missense, Sodium Channels}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.01.003}, author = {Chong, Jessica X and McMillin, Margaret J and Shively, Kathryn M and Beck, Anita E and Marvin, Colby T and Armenteros, Jose R and Buckingham, Kati J and Nkinsi, Naomi T and Boyle, Evan A and Berry, Margaret N and Bocian, Maureen and Foulds, Nicola and Uzielli, Maria Luisa Giovannucci and Haldeman-Englert, Chad and Hennekam, Raoul C M and Kaplan, Paige and Kline, Antonie D and Mercer, Catherine L and Nowaczyk, Malgorzata J M and Klein Wassink-Ruiter, Jolien S and McPherson, Elizabeth W and Moreno, Regina A and Scheuerle, Angela E and Shashi, Vandana and Stevens, Cathy A and Carey, John C and Monteil, Arnaud and Lory, Philippe and Tabor, Holly K and Smith, Joshua D and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {134, title = {Expanding the Molecular and Clinical Phenotype of SSR4-CDG.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {36}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Nov}, pages = {1048-51}, abstract = {

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of mostly autosomal recessive disorders primarily characterized by neurological abnormalities. Recently, we described a single CDG patient with a de novo mutation in the X-linked gene, Signal Sequence Receptor 4 (SSR4). We performed whole-exome sequencing to identify causal variants in several affected individuals who had either an undifferentiated neurological disorder or unsolved CDG of unknown etiology based on abnormal transferrin glycosylation. We now report eight affected males with either de novo (4) or inherited (4) loss of function mutations in SSR4. Western blot analysis revealed that the mutations caused a complete loss of SSR4 protein. In nearly all cases, the abnormal glycosylation of serum transferrin was only slightly above the accepted normal cutoff range.

}, keywords = {Calcium-Binding Proteins, Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, DNA Mutational Analysis, Exome, Gene Order, Genes, X-Linked, Genetic Loci, Humans, Male, Membrane Glycoproteins, Mutation, Phenotype, Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear, Receptors, Peptide}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.22856}, author = {Ng, Bobby G and Raymond, Kimiyo and Kircher, Martin and Buckingham, Kati J and Wood, Tim and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Wong, Jonathan T S and Monteiro, Fabiola Paoli and Graham, Brett H and Jackson, Sheryl and Sparkes, Rebecca and Scheuerle, Angela E and Cathey, Sara and Kok, Fernando and Gibson, James B and Freeze, Hudson H} } @article {142, title = {Identification and functional characterization of natural human melanocortin 1 receptor mutant alleles in Pakistani population.}, journal = {Pigment Cell Melanoma Res}, volume = {28}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Nov}, pages = {730-5}, abstract = {

Melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), a Gs protein-coupled receptor of the melanocyte{\textquoteright}s plasma membrane, is a major determinant of skin pigmentation and phototype. Upon activation by α-melanocyte stimulating hormone, MC1R triggers the cAMP cascade to stimulate eumelanogenesis. We used whole-exome sequencing to identify causative alleles in Pakistani families with skin and hair hypopigmentation. Six MC1R mutations segregated with the phenotype in seven families, including a p.Val174del in-frame deletion and a p.Tyr298* nonsense mutation, that were analyzed for function in heterologous HEK293 cells. p.Tyr298* MC1R showed no agonist-induced signaling to the cAMP or ERK pathways, nor detectable agonist binding. Conversely, signaling was comparable for p.Val174del and wild-type in HEK cells overexpressing the proteins, but binding analysis suggested impaired cell surface expression. Flow cytometry and confocal imaging studies revealed reduced plasma membrane expression of p.Val174del and p.Tyr298*. Therefore, p.Tyr298* was a total loss-of-function (LOF) allele, while p.Val174del displayed a partial LOF attribute.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Family, Female, Humans, Hypopigmentation, Male, Mutation, Pakistan, Pedigree, Phenotype, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 1}, issn = {1755-148X}, doi = {10.1111/pcmr.12400}, author = {Shahzad, Mohsin and Sires Campos, Julia and Tariq, Nabeela and Herraiz Serrano, Cecilia and Yousaf, Rizwan and Jim{\'e}nez-Cervantes, Celia and Yousaf, Sairah and Waryah, Yar M and Dad, Haseeb A and Blue, Elizabeth M and Sobreira, Nara and L{\'o}pez-Gir{\'a}ldez, Francesc and Kausar, Tasleem and Ali, Muhammad and Waryah, Ali M and Riazuddin, Saima and Shaikh, Rehan S and Garc{\'\i}a-Borr{\'o}n, Jos{\'e} C and Ahmed, Zubair M} } @article {155, title = {Joubert syndrome: a model for untangling recessive disorders with extreme genetic heterogeneity.}, journal = {J Med Genet}, volume = {52}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Aug}, pages = {514-22}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Joubert syndrome (JS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by hypotonia, ataxia, cognitive impairment, abnormal eye movements, respiratory control disturbances and a distinctive mid-hindbrain malformation. JS demonstrates substantial phenotypic variability and genetic heterogeneity. This study provides a comprehensive view of the current genetic basis, phenotypic range and gene-phenotype associations in JS.

METHODS: We sequenced 27 JS-associated genes in 440 affected individuals (375 families) from a cohort of 532 individuals (440 families) with JS, using molecular inversion probe-based targeted capture and next-generation sequencing. Variant pathogenicity was defined using the Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion algorithm with an optimised score cut-off.

RESULTS: We identified presumed causal variants in 62\% of pedigrees, including the first B9D2 mutations associated with JS. 253 different mutations in 23 genes highlight the extreme genetic heterogeneity of JS. Phenotypic analysis revealed that only 34\% of individuals have a {\textquoteright}pure JS{\textquoteright} phenotype. Retinal disease is present in 30\% of individuals, renal disease in 25\%, coloboma in 17\%, polydactyly in 15\%, liver fibrosis in 14\% and encephalocele in 8\%. Loss of CEP290 function is associated with retinal dystrophy, while loss of TMEM67 function is associated with liver fibrosis and coloboma, but we observe no clear-cut distinction between JS subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS: This work illustrates how combining advanced sequencing techniques with phenotypic data addresses extreme genetic heterogeneity to provide diagnostic and carrier testing, guide medical monitoring for progressive complications, facilitate interpretation of genome-wide sequencing results in individuals with a variety of phenotypes and enable gene-specific treatments in the future.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Cerebellum, Cohort Studies, DNA Mutational Analysis, Eye Abnormalities, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Heterogeneity, Humans, Kidney Diseases, Cystic, Models, Theoretical, Pedigree, Retina, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1468-6244}, doi = {10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103087}, author = {Bachmann-Gagescu, R and Dempsey, J C and Phelps, I G and O{\textquoteright}Roak, B J and Knutzen, D M and Rue, T C and Ishak, G E and Isabella, C R and Gorden, N and Adkins, J and Boyle, E A and de Lacy, N and O{\textquoteright}Day, D and Alswaid, A and Ramadevi A, Radha and Lingappa, L and Louren{\c c}o, C and Martorell, L and Garcia-Cazorla, {\`A} and Ozy{\"u}rek, H and Halilo{\u g}lu, G and Tuysuz, B and Top{\c c}u, M and Chance, P and Parisi, M A and Glass, I A and Shendure, J and Doherty, D} } @article {154, title = {KIAA0586 is Mutated in Joubert Syndrome.}, journal = {Hum Mutat}, volume = {36}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Sep}, pages = {831-5}, abstract = {

Joubert syndrome (JS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive mid-hindbrain malformation. JS is part of a group of disorders called ciliopathies based on their overlapping phenotypes and common underlying pathophysiology linked to primary cilium dysfunction. Biallelic mutations in one of 28 genes, all encoding proteins localizing to the primary cilium or basal body, can cause JS. Despite this large number of genes, the genetic cause can currently be determined in about 62\% of individuals with JS. To identify novel JS genes, we performed whole exome sequencing on 35 individuals with JS and found biallelic rare deleterious variants (RDVs) in KIAA0586, encoding a centrosomal protein required for ciliogenesis, in one individual. Targeted next-generation sequencing in a large JS cohort identified biallelic RDVs in eight additional families for an estimated prevalence of 2.5\% (9/366 JS families). All affected individuals displayed JS phenotypes toward the mild end of the spectrum.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Adolescent, Adult, Alternative Splicing, Brain, Cell Cycle Proteins, Cerebellum, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA Mutational Analysis, Eye Abnormalities, Gene Order, Genetic Association Studies, Humans, Kidney Diseases, Cystic, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Mutation, Phenotype, Retina, Young Adult}, issn = {1098-1004}, doi = {10.1002/humu.22821}, author = {Bachmann-Gagescu, Ruxandra and Phelps, Ian G and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Sharma, Vivek A and Ishak, Gisele E and Boyle, Evan A and Wilson, Meredith and Marques Louren{\c c}o, Charles and Arslan, Mutluay and Shendure, Jay and Doherty, Dan} } @article {157, title = {Mutation of ATF6 causes autosomal recessive achromatopsia.}, journal = {Hum Genet}, volume = {134}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Sep}, pages = {941-50}, abstract = {

Achromatopsia (ACHM) is an early-onset retinal dystrophy characterized by photophobia, nystagmus, color blindness and severely reduced visual acuity. Currently mutations in five genes CNGA3, CNGB3, GNAT2, PDE6C and PDE6H have been implicated in ACHM. We performed homozygosity mapping and linkage analysis in a consanguineous Pakistani ACHM family and mapped the locus to a 15.12-Mb region on chromosome 1q23.1-q24.3 with a maximum LOD score of 3.6. A DNA sample from an affected family member underwent exome sequencing. Within the ATF6 gene, a single-base insertion variant c.355_356dupG (p.Glu119Glyfs*8) was identified, which completely segregates with the ACHM phenotype within the family. The frameshift variant was absent in public variant databases, in 130 exomes from unrelated Pakistani individuals, and in 235 ethnically matched controls. The variant is predicted to result in a truncated protein that lacks the DNA binding and transmembrane domains and therefore affects the function of ATF6 as a transcription factor that initiates the unfolded protein response during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Immunolabeling with anti-ATF6 antibodies showed localization throughout the mouse neuronal retina, including retinal pigment epithelium, photoreceptor cells, inner nuclear layer, inner and outer plexiform layers, with a more prominent signal in retinal ganglion cells. In contrast to cytoplasmic expression of wild-type protein, in heterologous cells ATF6 protein with the p.Glu119Glyfs*8 variant is mainly confined to the nucleus. Our results imply that response to ER stress as mediated by the ATF6 pathway is essential for color vision in humans.

}, keywords = {Activating Transcription Factor 6, Adolescent, Animals, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Color Vision Defects, Consanguinity, DNA Mutational Analysis, Exome, Female, Frameshift Mutation, Genotyping Techniques, Homozygote, Humans, Limit of Detection, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Pakistan, Pedigree, Phenotype, Retina, Signal Transduction}, issn = {1432-1203}, doi = {10.1007/s00439-015-1571-4}, author = {Ansar, Muhammad and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Saqib, Muhammad Arif Nadeem and Zulfiqar, Fareeha and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Ashraf, Naeem Mahmood and Ullah, Ehsan and Wang, Xin and Sajid, Sundus and Khan, Falak Sher and Amin-ud-Din, Muhammad and Smith, Joshua D and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Hameed, Abdul and Riazuddin, Saima and Ahmed, Zubair M and Ahmad, Wasim and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {152, title = {Rare A2ML1 variants confer susceptibility to otitis media.}, journal = {Nat Genet}, volume = {47}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Aug}, pages = {917-20}, abstract = {

A duplication variant within the middle ear-specific gene A2ML1 cosegregates with otitis media in an indigenous Filipino pedigree (LOD score = 7.5 at reduced penetrance) and lies within a founder haplotype that is also shared by 3 otitis-prone European-American and Hispanic-American children but is absent in non-otitis-prone children and >62,000 next-generation sequences. We identified seven additional A2ML1 variants in six otitis-prone children. Collectively, our studies support a role for A2ML1 in the pathophysiology of otitis media.

}, keywords = {alpha-Macroglobulins, Animals, Base Sequence, Child, Cochlea, Exome, Family Health, Female, Gene Duplication, Gene Frequency, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genotype, Haplotypes, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Models, Molecular, Otitis Media, Pedigree, Principal Component Analysis, Protein Conformation, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1546-1718}, doi = {10.1038/ng.3347}, author = {Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Chiong, Charlotte M and Reyes-Quintos, Ma Rina T and Tantoco, Ma Leah C and Wang, Xin and Acharya, Anushree and Abbe, Izoduwa and Giese, Arnaud P and Smith, Joshua D and Allen, E Kaitlynn and Li, Biao and Cutiongco-de la Paz, Eva Maria and Garcia, Marieflor Cristy and Llanes, Erasmo Gonzalo D V and Labra, Patrick John and Gloria-Cruz, Teresa Luisa I and Chan, Abner L and Wang, Gao T and Daly, Kathleen A and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Nickerson, Deborah A and Patel, Janak A and Riazuddin, Saima and Sale, Michele M and Chonmaitree, Tasnee and Ahmed, Zubair M and Abes, Generoso T and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {162, title = {A second locus for Schneckenbecken dysplasia identified by a mutation in the gene encoding inositol polyphosphate phosphatase-like 1 (INPPL1).}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {167A}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Oct}, pages = {2470-3}, keywords = {Exome, Gene Expression, Genetic Loci, Gestational Age, Homozygote, Humans, Hydrops Fetalis, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mutation, Osteochondrodysplasias, Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Trisphosphate 5-Phosphatases, Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases, Stillbirth}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.37173}, author = {Lee, Hane and Nevarez, Lisette and Lachman, Ralph S and Wilcox, William R and Krakow, Deborah and Cohn, Daniel H} } @article {148, title = {An siRNA-based functional genomics screen for the~identification of regulators of ciliogenesis and ciliopathy~genes.}, journal = {Nat Cell Biol}, volume = {17}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Aug}, pages = {1074-1087}, abstract = {

Defects in primary cilium biogenesis underlie the ciliopathies, a growing group of genetic disorders. We describe a whole-genome siRNA-based reverse genetics screen for defects in biogenesis and/or maintenance of the primary cilium, obtaining a global resource. We identify 112 candidate ciliogenesis and ciliopathy genes, including 44 components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, 12 G-protein-coupled receptors, and 3 pre-mRNA processing factors (PRPF6, PRPF8 and PRPF31) mutated in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. The PRPFs localize to the connecting cilium, and PRPF8- and PRPF31-mutated cells have ciliary defects. Combining the screen with exome sequencing data identified recessive mutations in PIBF1, also known as CEP90, and C21orf2, also known as LRRC76, as causes of the ciliopathies Joubert and Jeune syndromes. Biochemical approaches place C21orf2 within key ciliopathy-associated protein modules, offering an explanation for the skeletal and retinal involvement observed in individuals with C21orf2 variants. Our global, unbiased approaches provide insights into ciliogenesis complexity and identify roles for unanticipated pathways in human genetic disease.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Animals, Caenorhabditis elegans, Cerebellar Diseases, Cerebellum, Cilia, Ciliary Motility Disorders, Databases, Genetic, Ellis-Van Creveld Syndrome, Eye Abnormalities, Genetic Markers, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetic Testing, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genomics, HEK293 Cells, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Kidney Diseases, Cystic, Membrane Proteins, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Mutation, Phenotype, Photoreceptor Cells, Pregnancy Proteins, Proteins, Reproducibility of Results, Retina, RNA Interference, Suppressor Factors, Immunologic, Transfection, Zebrafish}, issn = {1476-4679}, doi = {10.1038/ncb3201}, author = {Wheway, Gabrielle and Schmidts, Miriam and Mans, Dorus A and Szymanska, Katarzyna and Nguyen, Thanh-Minh T and Racher, Hilary and Phelps, Ian G and Toedt, Grischa and Kennedy, Julie and Wunderlich, Kirsten A and Sorusch, Nasrin and Abdelhamed, Zakia A and Natarajan, Subaashini and Herridge, Warren and van Reeuwijk, Jeroen and Horn, Nicola and Boldt, Karsten and Parry, David A and Letteboer, Stef J F and Roosing, Susanne and Adams, Matthew and Bell, Sandra M and Bond, Jacquelyn and Higgins, Julie and Morrison, Ewan E and Tomlinson, Darren C and Slaats, Gisela G and van Dam, Teunis J P and Huang, Lijia and Kessler, Kristin and Giessl, Andreas and Logan, Clare V and Boyle, Evan A and Shendure, Jay and Anazi, Shamsa and Aldahmesh, Mohammed and Al Hazzaa, Selwa and Hegele, Robert A and Ober, Carole and Frosk, Patrick and Mhanni, Aizeddin A and Chodirker, Bernard N and Chudley, Albert E and Lamont, Ryan and Bernier, Francois P and Beaulieu, Chandree L and Gordon, Paul and Pon, Richard T and Donahue, Clem and Barkovich, A James and Wolf, Louis and Toomes, Carmel and Thiel, Christian T and Boycott, Kym M and McKibbin, Martin and Inglehearn, Chris F and Stewart, Fiona and Omran, Heymut and Huynen, Martijn A and Sergouniotis, Panagiotis I and Alkuraya, Fowzan S and Parboosingh, Jillian S and Innes, A Micheil and Willoughby, Colin E and Giles, Rachel H and Webster, Andrew R and Ueffing, Marius and Blacque, Oliver and Gleeson, Joseph G and Wolfrum, Uwe and Beales, Philip L and Gibson, Toby and Doherty, Dan and Mitchison, Hannah M and Roepman, Ronald and Johnson, Colin A} } @article {172, title = {Whole exome sequencing identifies de novo heterozygous CAV1 mutations associated with a novel neonatal onset lipodystrophy syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {167A}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Aug}, pages = {1796-806}, abstract = {

Despite remarkable progress in identifying causal genes for many types of genetic lipodystrophies in the last decade, the molecular basis of many extremely rare lipodystrophy patients with distinctive phenotypes remains unclear. We conducted whole exome sequencing of the parents and probands from six pedigrees with neonatal onset of generalized loss of subcutaneous fat with additional distinctive phenotypic features and report de novo heterozygous null mutations, c.424C>T (p.Q142*) and c.479_480delTT (p.F160*), in CAV1 in a 7-year-old male and a 3-year-old female of European origin, respectively. Both the patients had generalized fat loss, thin mottled skin and progeroid features at birth. The male patient had cataracts requiring extraction at age 30 months and the female patient had pulmonary arterial hypertension. Dermal fibroblasts of the female patient revealed negligible CAV1 immunofluorescence staining compared to control but there were no differences in the number and morphology of caveolae upon electron microscopy examination. Based upon the similarities in the clinical features of these two patients, previous reports of CAV1 mutations in patients with lipodystrophies and pulmonary hypertension, and similar features seen in CAV1 null mice, we conclude that these variants are the most likely cause of one subtype of neonatal onset generalized lipodystrophy syndrome.

}, keywords = {Caveolin 1, Cells, Cultured, Exome, Female, Heterozygote, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Lipodystrophy, Male, Mutation, Pedigree}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.37115}, author = {Garg, Abhimanyu and Kircher, Martin and Del Campo, Miguel and Amato, R Stephen and Agarwal, Anil K} } @article {267, title = {Adenylate cyclase 1 (ADCY1) mutations cause recessive hearing impairment in humans and defects in hair cell function and hearing in zebrafish.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {23}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Jun 15}, pages = {3289-98}, abstract = {

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) production, which is important for mechanotransduction within the inner ear, is catalyzed by adenylate cyclases (AC). However, knowledge of the role of ACs in hearing is limited. Previously, a novel autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing impairment locus DFNB44 was mapped to chromosome 7p14.1-q11.22 in a consanguineous family from Pakistan. Through whole-exome sequencing of DNA samples from hearing-impaired family members, a nonsense mutation c.3112C>T (p.Arg1038*) within adenylate cyclase 1 (ADCY1) was identified. This stop-gained mutation segregated with hearing impairment within the family and was not identified in ethnically matched controls or within variant databases. This mutation is predicted to cause the loss of 82 amino acids from the carboxyl tail, including highly conserved residues within the catalytic domain, plus a calmodulin-stimulation defect, both of which are expected to decrease enzymatic efficiency. Individuals who are homozygous for this mutation had symmetric, mild-to-moderate mixed hearing impairment. Zebrafish adcy1b morphants had no FM1-43 dye uptake and lacked startle response, indicating hair cell dysfunction and gross hearing impairment. In the mouse, Adcy1 expression was observed throughout inner ear development and maturation. ADCY1 was localized to the cytoplasm of supporting cells and hair cells of the cochlea and vestibule and also to cochlear hair cell nuclei and stereocilia. Ex vivo studies in COS-7 cells suggest that the carboxyl tail of ADCY1 is essential for localization to actin-based microvilli. These results demonstrate that ADCY1 has an evolutionarily conserved role in hearing and that cAMP signaling is important to hair cell function within the inner ear.

}, keywords = {Adenylyl Cyclases, Animals, Cercopithecus aethiops, Codon, Nonsense, COS Cells, Cyclic AMP, Cytoplasm, Ear, Inner, Female, Hair Cells, Auditory, Hearing Loss, Humans, Labyrinth Supporting Cells, Male, Mice, Zebrafish}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddu042}, author = {Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Giese, Arnaud P and Ansar, Muhammad and Amin-ud-Din, Muhammad and Rehn, Kira and Wang, Xin and Aziz, Abdul and Chiu, Ilene and Hussain Ali, Raja and Smith, Joshua D and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael and Nickerson, Deborah A and Ahmed, Zubair M and Ahmad, Wasim and Riazuddin, Saima and Leal, Suzanne M} } @article {273, title = {Loss-of-function HDAC8 mutations cause a phenotypic spectrum of Cornelia de Lange syndrome-like features, ocular hypertelorism, large fontanelle and X-linked inheritance.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {23}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Jun 01}, pages = {2888-900}, abstract = {

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a multisystem genetic disorder with distinct facies, growth failure, intellectual disability, distal limb anomalies, gastrointestinal and neurological disease. Mutations in NIPBL, encoding a cohesin regulatory protein, account for >80\% of cases with typical facies. Mutations in the core cohesin complex proteins, encoded by the SMC1A, SMC3 and RAD21 genes, together account for \~{}5\% of subjects, often with atypical CdLS features. Recently, we identified mutations in the X-linked gene HDAC8 as the cause of a small number of CdLS cases. Here, we report a cohort of 38 individuals with an emerging spectrum of features caused by HDAC8 mutations. For several individuals, the diagnosis of CdLS was not considered prior to genomic testing. Most mutations identified are missense and de novo. Many cases are heterozygous females, each with marked skewing of X-inactivation in peripheral blood DNA. We also identified eight hemizygous males who are more severely affected. The craniofacial appearance caused by HDAC8 mutations overlaps that of typical CdLS but often displays delayed anterior fontanelle closure, ocular hypertelorism, hooding of the eyelids, a broader nose and dental anomalies, which may be useful discriminating features. HDAC8 encodes the lysine deacetylase for the cohesin subunit SMC3 and analysis of the functional consequences of the missense mutations indicates that all cause a loss of enzymatic function. These data demonstrate that loss-of-function mutations in HDAC8 cause a range of overlapping human developmental phenotypes, including a phenotypically distinct subgroup of CdLS.

}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Cranial Fontanelles, De Lange Syndrome, Eye Abnormalities, Female, Genes, X-Linked, Histone Deacetylases, Humans, Hypertelorism, Infant, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Missense, Phenotype, Repressor Proteins, Sequence Alignment}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddu002}, author = {Kaiser, Frank J and Ansari, Morad and Braunholz, Diana and Concepci{\'o}n Gil-Rodr{\'\i}guez, Mar{\'\i}a and Decroos, Christophe and Wilde, Jonathan J and Fincher, Christopher T and Kaur, Maninder and Bando, Masashige and Amor, David J and Atwal, Paldeep S and Bahlo, Melanie and Bowman, Christine M and Bradley, Jacquelyn J and Brunner, Han G and Clark, Dinah and Del Campo, Miguel and Di Donato, Nataliya and Diakumis, Peter and Dubbs, Holly and Dyment, David A and Eckhold, Juliane and Ernst, Sarah and Ferreira, Jose C and Francey, Lauren J and Gehlken, Ulrike and Guill{\'e}n-Navarro, Encarna and Gyftodimou, Yolanda and Hall, Bryan D and Hennekam, Raoul and Hudgins, Louanne and Hullings, Melanie and Hunter, Jennifer M and Yntema, Helger and Innes, A Micheil and Kline, Antonie D and Krumina, Zita and Lee, Hane and Leppig, Kathleen and Lynch, Sally Ann and Mallozzi, Mark B and Mannini, Linda and McKee, Shane and Mehta, Sarju G and Micule, Ieva and Mohammed, Shehla and Moran, Ellen and Mortier, Geert R and Moser, Joe-Ann S and Noon, Sarah E and Nozaki, Naohito and Nunes, Luis and Pappas, John G and Penney, Lynette S and P{\'e}rez-Ayt{\'e}s, Antonio and Petersen, Michael B and Puisac, Beatriz and Revencu, Nicole and Roeder, Elizabeth and Saitta, Sulagna and Scheuerle, Angela E and Schindeler, Karen L and Siu, Victoria M and Stark, Zornitza and Strom, Samuel P and Thiese, Heidi and Vater, Inga and Willems, Patrick and Williamson, Kathleen and Wilson, Louise C and Hakonarson, Hakon and Quintero-Rivera, Fabiola and Wierzba, Jolanta and Musio, Antonio and Gillessen-Kaesbach, Gabriele and Ramos, Feliciano J and Jackson, Laird G and Shirahige, Katsuhiko and Pi{\'e}, Juan and Christianson, David W and Krantz, Ian D and FitzPatrick, David R and Deardorff, Matthew A} } @article {228, title = {Mutations in LAMA1 cause cerebellar dysplasia and cysts with and without retinal dystrophy.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {95}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Aug 07}, pages = {227-34}, abstract = {

Cerebellar dysplasia with cysts (CDC) is an imaging finding typically seen in combination with cobblestone cortex and congenital muscular dystrophy in individuals with dystroglycanopathies. More recently, CDC was reported in seven children without neuromuscular involvement (Poretti-Boltshauser syndrome). Using a combination of homozygosity mapping and whole-exome sequencing, we identified biallelic mutations in LAMA1 as the cause of CDC in seven affected individuals (from five families) independent from those included in the phenotypic description of Poretti-Boltshauser syndrome. Most of these individuals also have high myopia, and some have retinal dystrophy and patchy increased T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2/FLAIR) signal in cortical white matter. In one additional family, we identified two siblings who have truncating LAMA1 mutations in combination with retinal dystrophy and mild cerebellar dysplasia without cysts, indicating that cysts are not an obligate feature associated with loss of LAMA1 function. This work expands the phenotypic spectrum associated with the lamininopathy disorders and highlights the tissue-specific roles played by different laminin-encoding genes.

}, keywords = {Adult, Alleles, Base Sequence, Cerebellar Cortex, Cerebellar Diseases, Child, Child, Preschool, Cysts, Exome, Female, Humans, Laminin, Male, Muscular Dystrophies, Retinal Dystrophies, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Young Adult}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.07.007}, author = {Aldinger, Kimberly A and Mosca, Stephen J and T{\'e}treault, Martine and Dempsey, Jennifer C and Ishak, Gisele E and Hartley, Taila and Phelps, Ian G and Lamont, Ryan E and O{\textquoteright}Day, Diana R and Basel, Donald and Gripp, Karen W and Baker, Laura and Stephan, Mark J and Bernier, Francois P and Boycott, Kym M and Majewski, Jacek and Parboosingh, Jillian S and Innes, A Micheil and Doherty, Dan} } @article {256, title = {Mutations in PIEZO2 cause Gordon syndrome, Marden-Walker syndrome, and distal arthrogryposis type 5.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {94}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 May 01}, pages = {734-44}, abstract = {

Gordon syndrome (GS), or distal arthrogryposis type 3, is a rare, autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by cleft palate and congenital contractures of the hands and feet. Exome sequencing of five GS-affected families identified mutations in piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 2 (PIEZO2) in each family. Sanger sequencing revealed PIEZO2 mutations in five of seven additional families studied (for a total of 10/12 [83\%] individuals), and nine families had an identical c.8057G>A (p.Arg2686His) mutation. The phenotype of GS overlaps with distal arthrogryposis type 5 (DA5) and Marden-Walker syndrome (MWS). Using molecular inversion probes for targeted sequencing to screen PIEZO2, we found mutations in 24/29 (82\%) DA5-affected families and one of two MWS-affected families. The presence of cleft palate was significantly associated with c.8057G>A (Fisher{\textquoteright}s exact test, adjusted p value < 0.0001). Collectively, although GS, DA5, and MWS have traditionally been considered separate disorders, our findings indicate that they are etiologically related and perhaps represent variable expressivity of the same condition.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Arachnodactyly, Arthrogryposis, Blepharophimosis, Child, Child, Preschool, Cleft Palate, Clubfoot, Connective Tissue Diseases, Contracture, Exome, Female, Hand Deformities, Congenital, Humans, Ion Channels, Male, Mutation, Ophthalmoplegia, Pedigree, Retinal Diseases}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.03.015}, author = {McMillin, Margaret J and Beck, Anita E and Chong, Jessica X and Shively, Kathryn M and Buckingham, Kati J and Gildersleeve, Heidi I S and Aracena, Mariana I and Aylsworth, Arthur S and Bitoun, Pierre and Carey, John C and Clericuzio, Carol L and Crow, Yanick J and Curry, Cynthia J and Devriendt, Koenraad and Everman, David B and Fryer, Alan and Gibson, Kate and Giovannucci Uzielli, Maria Luisa and Graham, John M and Hall, Judith G and Hecht, Jacqueline T and Heidenreich, Randall A and Hurst, Jane A and Irani, Sarosh and Krapels, Ingrid P C and Leroy, Jules G and Mowat, David and Plant, Gordon T and Robertson, Stephen P and Schorry, Elizabeth K and Scott, Richard H and Seaver, Laurie H and Sherr, Elliott and Splitt, Miranda and Stewart, Helen and Stumpel, Constance and Temel, Sehime G and Weaver, David D and Whiteford, Margo and Williams, Marc S and Tabor, Holly K and Smith, Joshua D and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {274, title = {Mutations in TBC1D24, a gene associated with epilepsy, also cause nonsyndromic deafness DFNB86.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {94}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Jan 02}, pages = {144-52}, abstract = {

Inherited deafness is clinically and genetically heterogeneous. We recently mapped DFNB86, a locus associated with nonsyndromic deafness, to chromosome 16p. In this study, whole-exome sequencing was performed with genomic DNA from affected individuals from three large consanguineous families in which markers linked to DFNB86 segregate with profound deafness. Analyses of these data revealed homozygous mutation c.208G>T (p.Asp70Tyr) or c.878G>C (p.Arg293Pro) in TBC1D24 as the underlying cause of deafness in the three families. Sanger sequence analysis of TBC1D24 in an additional large family in which deafness segregates with DFNB86 identified the c.208G>T (p.Asp70Tyr) substitution. These mutations affect TBC1D24 amino acid residues that are conserved in orthologs ranging from fruit fly to human. Neither variant was observed in databases of single-nucleotide variants or in 634 chromosomes from ethnically matched control subjects. TBC1D24 in the mouse inner ear was immunolocalized predominantly to spiral ganglion neurons, indicating that DFNB86 deafness might be an auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. Previously, six recessive mutations in TBC1D24 were reported to cause seizures (hearing loss was not reported) ranging in severity from epilepsy with otherwise normal development to epileptic encephalopathy resulting in childhood death. Two of our four families in which deafness segregates with mutant alleles of TBC1D24 were available for neurological examination. Cosegregation of epilepsy and deafness was not observed in these two families. Although the causal relationship between genotype and phenotype is not presently understood, our findings, combined with published data, indicate that recessive alleles of TBC1D24 can cause either epilepsy or nonsyndromic deafness.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Amino Acid Sequence, Carrier Proteins, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16, Consanguinity, Deafness, Epilepsy, Exome, Exons, Female, Genes, Recessive, Genetic Loci, Genome-Wide Association Study, Heterozygote, Homozygote, Humans, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Pakistan, Pedigree, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, RNA, Messenger, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.12.004}, author = {Rehman, Atteeq U and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Morell, Robert J and Drummond, Meghan C and Ito, Taku and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Khan, Asma A and Basra, Muhammad Asim R and Wasif, Naveed and Ayub, Muhammad and Ali, Rana A and Raza, Syed I and Nickerson, Deborah A and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael and Riazuddin, Saima and Billington, Neil and Khan, Shaheen N and Friedman, Penelope L and Griffith, Andrew J and Ahmad, Wasim and Riazuddin, Sheikh and Leal, Suzanne M and Friedman, Thomas B} } @article {260, title = {Mutations in TJP2 cause progressive cholestatic liver disease.}, journal = {Nat Genet}, volume = {46}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Apr}, pages = {326-8}, abstract = {

Elucidating genetic causes of cholestasis has proved to be important in understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of the liver. Here we show that protein-truncating mutations in the tight junction protein 2 gene (TJP2) cause failure of protein localization and disruption of tight-junction structure, leading to severe cholestatic liver disease. These findings contrast with those in the embryonic-lethal knockout mouse, highlighting differences in redundancy in junctional complexes between organs and species.

}, keywords = {Animals, Base Sequence, Cholestasis, Intrahepatic, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Immunoblotting, Immunohistochemistry, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Models, Biological, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Pedigree, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequence Alignment, Species Specificity, Tight Junctions, Zonula Occludens-2 Protein}, issn = {1546-1718}, doi = {10.1038/ng.2918}, author = {Sambrotta, Melissa and Strautnieks, Sandra and Papouli, Efterpi and Rushton, Peter and Clark, Barnaby E and Parry, David A and Logan, Clare V and Newbury, Lucy J and Kamath, Binita M and Ling, Simon and Grammatikopoulos, Tassos and Wagner, Bart E and Magee, John C and Sokol, Ronald J and Mieli-Vergani, Giorgina and Smith, Joshua D and Johnson, Colin A and McClean, Patricia and Simpson, Michael A and Knisely, A S and Bull, Laura N and Thompson, Richard J} } @article {283, title = {A new congenital disorder of glycosylation caused by a mutation in SSR4, the signal sequence receptor 4 protein of the TRAP complex.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {23}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Mar 15}, pages = {1602-5}, abstract = {

Nearly 50 congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are known, but many patients biochemically diagnosed with CDG do not have mutations in known genes. Here, we describe a 16-year-old male who was born with microcephaly, developed intellectual disability, gastroesophageal reflux and a seizure disorder. We identified a de novo variant in the X-linked SSR4 gene which encodes a protein of the heterotetrameric translocon-associated protein (TRAP) complex. The c.316delT causes a p.F106Sfs*53 in SSR4 and also reduces expression of other TRAP complex proteins. The glycosylation marker Glyc-ER-GFP was used to confirm the underglycosylation in fibroblasts from the patient. Overexpression of the wild-type SSR4 allele partially restores glycosylation of the marker and of the other members of the TRAP complex. This is the first evidence that the TRAP complex, which binds to the oligosaccharyltransferase complex, is directly involved in N-glycosylation.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Calcium-Binding Proteins, Cells, Cultured, Chromosomes, Human, X, Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, Glycosylation, Humans, Male, Membrane Glycoproteins, Point Mutation, Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear, Receptors, Peptide}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddt550}, author = {Losfeld, Marie Estelle and Ng, Bobby G and Kircher, Martin and Buckingham, Kati J and Turner, Emily H and Eroshkin, Alexey and Smith, Joshua D and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Freeze, Hudson H} } @article {239, title = {Opsismodysplasia resulting from an insertion mutation in the SH2 domain, which destabilizes INPPL1.}, journal = {Am J Med Genet A}, volume = {164A}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Sep}, pages = {2407-11}, keywords = {Adolescent, Amino Acid Sequence, Base Sequence, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutagenesis, Insertional, Mutation, Osteochondrodysplasias, Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Trisphosphate 5-Phosphatases, Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases, Protein Stability, Radiography, RNA Splice Sites, src Homology Domains}, issn = {1552-4833}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.a.36640}, author = {Li, Bing and Krakow, Deborah and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Chang, Yong and Lachman, Ralph S and Yilmaz, Alev and Kayserili, H{\"u}lya and Cohn, Daniel H} } @article {210, title = {PRIMUS: rapid reconstruction of pedigrees from genome-wide estimates of identity by descent.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {95}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Nov 06}, pages = {553-64}, abstract = {

Understanding and correctly utilizing relatedness among samples is essential for genetic analysis; however, managing sample records and pedigrees can often be error prone and incomplete. Data sets ascertained by random sampling often harbor cryptic relatedness that can be leveraged in genetic analyses for maximizing power. We have developed a method that uses genome-wide estimates of~pairwise identity by descent to identify families and quickly reconstruct and score all possible pedigrees that fit the genetic data by using up to third-degree relatives, and we have included it in the software package PRIMUS (Pedigree Reconstruction and Identification of the~Maximally Unrelated Set). Here, we validate its performance on simulated, clinical, and HapMap pedigrees. Among these samples, we demonstrate that PRIMUS can verify reported pedigree structures and identify cryptic relationships. Finally, we show that PRIMUS reconstructed pedigrees, all of which were previously unknown, for 203 families from a cohort collected in Starr County, TX (1,890 samples).

}, keywords = {Base Sequence, Computer Simulation, Exome, Gene Frequency, Genetics, Population, Humans, Molecular Sequence Data, Pedigree, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Software, Texas}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.10.005}, author = {Staples, Jeffrey and Qiao, Dandi and Cho, Michael H and Silverman, Edwin K and Nickerson, Deborah A and Below, Jennifer E} } @article {219, title = {RNF213 rare variants in an ethnically diverse population with Moyamoya disease.}, journal = {Stroke}, volume = {45}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Nov}, pages = {3200-7}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare, genetically heterogeneous cerebrovascular disease resulting from occlusion of the distal internal carotid arteries. A variant in the Ring Finger 213 gene (RNF213), altering arginine at position 4810 (p.R4810K), is associated with MMD in Asian populations. However, there are a lack of data on the role of RNF213 in patients with MMD of additional ethnicities and diasporic Asian populations. We investigate the contribution of RNF213 alterations to MMD in an ethnically diverse population based in the United States.

METHODS: We initially sequenced RNF213 exons 43, 44, and 45 (encoding the eponymous RING finger domain) and exon 60 (encoding p.R4810K) in 86 ethnically diverse patients with MMD. Comprehensive exome sequencing data from 24 additional patients with MMD was then analyzed to identify RNF213 variants globally. Segregation of variants with MMD and other vascular diseases was assessed in families.

RESULTS: RNF213 p.R4810K was identified in 56\% (9/16) of patients with MMD of Asian descent and not in 94 patients of non-Asian descent. 3.6\% (4/110) of patients had variants in the exons encoding the RING finger domain. Seven additional variants were identified in 29\% (7/24) of patients with MMD who underwent exome sequencing. Segregation analysis supported an association with MMD for 2 variants and a lack of association with disease for 1 variant.

CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that alterations in RNF213 predispose patients of diverse ethnicities to MMD, and that the p.R4810K variant predisposes individuals of Asian descent in the United States to MMD.

}, keywords = {Adenosine Triphosphatases, Adolescent, Adult, Child, Cohort Studies, Ethnic Groups, Female, Genetic Variation, Humans, Male, Moyamoya Disease, Population Surveillance, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases, Young Adult}, issn = {1524-4628}, doi = {10.1161/STROKEAHA.114.006244}, author = {Cecchi, Alana C and Guo, Dongchuan and Ren, Zhao and Flynn, Kelly and Santos-Cortez, Regie Lyn P and Leal, Suzanne M and Wang, Gao T and Regalado, Ellen S and Steinberg, Gary K and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Grotta, James C and Nickerson, Deborah A and Pannu, Hariyadarshi and Milewicz, Dianna M} } @article {276, title = {Whole exome sequencing identifies de novo mutations in GATA6 associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.}, journal = {J Med Genet}, volume = {51}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Mar}, pages = {197-202}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a common birth defect affecting 1 in 3000 births. It is characterised by herniation of abdominal viscera through an incompletely formed diaphragm. Although chromosomal anomalies and mutations in several genes have been implicated, the cause for most patients is unknown.

METHODS: We used whole exome sequencing in two families with CDH and congenital heart disease, and identified mutations in GATA6 in both.

RESULTS: In the first family, we identified a de novo missense mutation (c.1366C>T, p.R456C) in a sporadic CDH patient with tetralogy of Fallot. In the second, a nonsense mutation (c.712G>T, p.G238*) was identified in two siblings with CDH and a large ventricular septal defect. The G238* mutation was inherited from their mother, who was clinically affected with congenital absence of the pericardium, patent ductus arteriosus and intestinal malrotation. Deep sequencing of blood and saliva-derived DNA from the mother suggested somatic mosaicism as an explanation for her milder phenotype, with only approximately 15\% mutant alleles. To determine the frequency of GATA6 mutations in CDH, we sequenced the gene in 378 patients with CDH. We identified one additional de novo mutation (c.1071delG, p.V358Cfs34*).

CONCLUSIONS: Mutations in GATA6 have been previously associated with pancreatic agenesis and congenital heart disease. We conclude that, in addition to the heart and the pancreas, GATA6 is involved in development of two additional organs, the diaphragm and the pericardium. In addition, we have shown that de novo mutations can contribute to the development of CDH, a common birth defect.

}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, DNA Mutational Analysis, Exome, Female, GATA6 Transcription Factor, Hernia, Diaphragmatic, Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital, Humans, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Sequence Alignment, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1468-6244}, doi = {10.1136/jmedgenet-2013-101989}, author = {Yu, Lan and Bennett, James T and Wynn, Julia and Carvill, Gemma L and Cheung, Yee Him and Shen, Yufeng and Mychaliska, George B and Azarow, Kenneth S and Crombleholme, Timothy M and Chung, Dai H and Potoka, Douglas and Warner, Brad W and Bucher, Brian and Lim, Foong-Yen and Pietsch, John and Stolar, Charles and Aspelund, Gudrun and Arkovitz, Marc S and Mefford, Heather and Chung, Wendy K} } @article {305, title = {Mosaicism of the UDP-galactose transporter SLC35A2 causes a congenital disorder of glycosylation.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {92}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Apr 04}, pages = {632-6}, abstract = {

Biochemical analysis and whole-exome sequencing identified mutations in the Golgi-localized UDP-galactose transporter SLC35A2 that define an undiagnosed X-linked congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) in three unrelated families. Each mutation reduced UDP-galactose transport, leading to galactose-deficient glycoproteins. Two affected males were somatic mosaics, suggesting that a wild-type SLC35A2 allele may be required for survival. In infancy, the commonly used biomarker transferrin showed abnormal glycosylation, but its appearance became normal later in childhood, without any corresponding clinical improvement. This may indicate selection against cells carrying the mutant allele. To detect other individuals with such mutations, we suggest transferrin testing in infancy. Here, we report somatic mosaicism in CDG, and our work stresses the importance of combining both genetic and biochemical diagnoses.

}, keywords = {Biological Transport, Case-Control Studies, Child, Child, Preschool, Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, Exome, Female, Glycosylation, Humans, Male, Monosaccharide Transport Proteins, Mosaicism, Mutation, Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization, Transferrin, Uridine Diphosphate Galactose}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.03.012}, author = {Ng, Bobby G and Buckingham, Kati J and Raymond, Kimiyo and Kircher, Martin and Turner, Emily H and He, Miao and Smith, Joshua D and Eroshkin, Alexey and Szybowska, Marta and Losfeld, Marie E and Chong, Jessica X and Kozenko, Mariya and Li, Chumei and Patterson, Marc C and Gilbert, Rodney D and Nickerson, Deborah A and Shendure, Jay and Bamshad, Michael J and Freeze, Hudson H} } @article {314, title = {Mutations in ECEL1 cause distal arthrogryposis type 5D.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {92}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Jan 10}, pages = {150-6}, abstract = {

Distal arthrogryposis (DA) syndromes are the most common of the heritable congenital-contracture disorders, and ~50\% of cases are caused by mutations in genes that encode contractile proteins of skeletal myofibers. DA type 5D (DA5D) is a rare, autosomal-recessive DA previously defined by us and is characterized by congenital contractures of the hands and feet, along with distinctive facial features, including ptosis. We used linkage analysis and whole-genome sequencing of a multiplex consanguineous family to identify in endothelin-converting enzyme-like 1 (ECEL1) mutations that result in DA5D. Evaluation of a total of seven families affected by DA5D revealed in five families ECEL1 mutations that explain ~70\% of cases overall. ECEL1 encodes a neuronal endopeptidase and is expressed in the brain and peripheral nerves. Mice deficient in Ecel1 exhibit perturbed terminal branching of motor neurons to the endplate of skeletal muscles, resulting in poor formation of the neuromuscular junction. Our results distinguish a second developmental pathway that causes congenital-contracture syndromes.

}, keywords = {Arthrogryposis, Consanguinity, Female, Genetic Linkage, Humans, Male, Metalloendopeptidases, Mutation, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.11.014}, author = {McMillin, Margaret J and Below, Jennifer E and Shively, Kathryn M and Beck, Anita E and Gildersleeve, Heidi I and Pinner, Jason and Gogola, Gloria R and Hecht, Jacqueline T and Grange, Dorothy K and Harris, David J and Earl, Dawn L and Jagadeesh, Sujatha and Mehta, Sarju G and Robertson, Stephen P and Swanson, James M and Faustman, Elaine M and Mefford, Heather C and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {307, title = {Mutations in KCTD1 cause scalp-ear-nipple syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {92}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Apr 04}, pages = {621-6}, abstract = {

Scalp-ear-nipple (SEN) syndrome is a rare, autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by cutis aplasia of the scalp; minor anomalies of the external ears, digits, and nails; and malformations of the breast. We used linkage analysis and exome sequencing of a multiplex family affected by SEN syndrome to identify potassium-channel tetramerization-domain-containing 1 (KCTD1) mutations that cause SEN syndrome. Evaluation of a total of ten families affected by SEN syndrome revealed KCTD1 missense mutations in each family tested. All of the mutations occurred in a KCTD1 region encoding a highly conserved bric-a-brac, tram track, and broad complex (BTB) domain that is required for transcriptional repressor activity. KCTD1 inhibits the transactivation of the transcription factor AP-2α (TFAP2A) via its BTB domain, and mutations in TFAP2A cause cutis aplasia in individuals with branchiooculofacial syndrome (BOFS), suggesting a potential overlap in the pathogenesis of SEN syndrome and BOFS. The identification of KCTD1 mutations in SEN syndrome reveals a role for this BTB-domain-containing transcriptional repressor during ectodermal development.

}, keywords = {Abnormalities, Multiple, Amino Acid Sequence, Branchio-Oto-Renal Syndrome, Ear, External, Ectodermal Dysplasia, Exome, Female, Humans, Hypospadias, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Muscle Hypotonia, Mutation, Missense, Nipples, Pedigree, Phenotype, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Repressor Proteins, Scalp, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.03.002}, author = {Marneros, Alexander G and Beck, Anita E and Turner, Emily H and McMillin, Margaret J and Edwards, Matthew J and Field, Michael and de Macena Sobreira, Nara Lygia and Perez, Ana Beatriz A and Fortes, Jose A R and Lampe, Anne K and Giovannucci Uzielli, Maria Luisa and Gordon, Christopher T and Plessis, Ghislaine and Le Merrer, Martine and Amiel, Jeanne and Reichenberger, Ernst and Shively, Kathryn M and Cerrato, Felecia and Labow, Brian I and Tabor, Holly K and Smith, Joshua D and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {308, title = {Perrault syndrome is caused by recessive mutations in CLPP, encoding a mitochondrial ATP-dependent chambered protease.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {92}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Apr 04}, pages = {605-13}, abstract = {

Perrault syndrome is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous autosomal-recessive condition characterized by sensorineural hearing loss and ovarian failure. By a combination of linkage analysis, homozygosity mapping, and exome sequencing in three families, we identified mutations in CLPP as the likely cause of this phenotype. In each family, affected individuals were homozygous for a different pathogenic CLPP allele: c.433A>C (p.Thr145Pro), c.440G>C (p.Cys147Ser), or an experimentally demonstrated splice-donor-site mutation, c.270+4A>G. CLPP, a component of a mitochondrial ATP-dependent proteolytic complex, is a highly conserved endopeptidase encoded by CLPP and forms an element of the evolutionarily ancient mitochondrial unfolded-protein response (UPR(mt)) stress signaling pathway. Crystal-structure modeling suggests that both substitutions would alter the structure of the CLPP barrel chamber that captures unfolded proteins and exposes them to proteolysis. Together with the previous identification of mutations in HARS2, encoding mitochondrial histidyl-tRNA synthetase, mutations in CLPP expose dysfunction of mitochondrial protein homeostasis as a cause of Perrault syndrome.

}, keywords = {Adenosine Triphosphate, Adolescent, Adult, ATP-Dependent Proteases, Endopeptidase Clp, Exome, Female, Genes, Recessive, Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XX, Hearing Loss, Sensorineural, Homozygote, Humans, In Situ Hybridization, Male, Mitochondria, Mutation, Pedigree, Phenotype, Young Adult}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.02.013}, author = {Jenkinson, Emma M and Rehman, Atteeq U and Walsh, Tom and Clayton-Smith, Jill and Lee, Kwanghyuk and Morell, Robert J and Drummond, Meghan C and Khan, Shaheen N and Naeem, Muhammad Asif and Rauf, Bushra and Billington, Neil and Schultz, Julie M and Urquhart, Jill E and Lee, Ming K and Berry, Andrew and Hanley, Neil A and Mehta, Sarju and Cilliers, Deirdre and Clayton, Peter E and Kingston, Helen and Smith, Miriam J and Warner, Thomas T and Black, Graeme C and Trump, Dorothy and Davis, Julian R E and Ahmad, Wasim and Leal, Suzanne M and Riazuddin, Sheikh and King, Mary-Claire and Friedman, Thomas B and Newman, William G} } @article {313, title = {Whole-genome analysis reveals that mutations in inositol polyphosphate phosphatase-like 1 cause opsismodysplasia.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {92}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Jan 10}, pages = {137-43}, abstract = {

Opsismodysplasia is a rare, autosomal-recessive skeletal dysplasia characterized by short stature, characteristic facial features, and in some cases severe renal phosphate wasting. We used linkage analysis and whole-genome sequencing of a consanguineous trio to discover that mutations in inositol polyphosphate phosphatase-like 1 (INPPL1) cause opsismodysplasia with or without renal phosphate wasting. Evaluation of 12 families with opsismodysplasia revealed that INPPL1 mutations explain ~60\% of cases overall, including both of the families in our cohort with more than one affected child and 50\% of the simplex cases.

}, keywords = {Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Genome, Human, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mutation, Osteochondrodysplasias, Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Trisphosphate 5-Phosphatases, Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.11.011}, author = {Below, Jennifer E and Earl, Dawn L and Shively, Kathryn M and McMillin, Margaret J and Smith, Joshua D and Turner, Emily H and Stephan, Mark J and Al-Gazali, Lihadh I and Hertecant, Jozef L and Chitayat, David and Unger, Sheila and Cohn, Daniel H and Krakow, Deborah and Swanson, James M and Faustman, Elaine M and Shendure, Jay and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} }