@article {988, title = {Increased Burden of Rare Sequence Variants in GnRH-Associated Genes in Women With Hypothalamic Amenorrhea.}, journal = {J Clin Endocrinol Metab}, volume = {106}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Mar 08}, pages = {e1441-e1452}, abstract = {

CONTEXT: Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) is a common, acquired form of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism that occurs in the setting of energy deficits and/or stress. Variability in individual susceptibility to these stressors, HA heritability, and previous identification of several rare sequence variants (RSVs) in genes associated with the rare disorder, isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH), in individuals with HA suggest a possible genetic contribution to HA susceptibility.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether the burden of RSVs in IHH-related genes is greater in women with HA than controls.

DESIGN: We compared patients with HA to control women.

SETTING: The study was conducted at secondary referral centers.

PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Women with HA (n = 106) and control women (ClinSeq study; n = 468).

INTERVENTIONS: We performed exome sequencing in all patients and controls.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The frequency of RSVs in 53 IHH-associated genes was determined using rare variant burden and association tests.

RESULTS: RSVs were overrepresented in women with HA compared with controls (P = .007). Seventy-eight heterozygous RSVs in 33 genes were identified in 58 women with HA (36.8\% of alleles) compared to 255 RSVs in 41 genes among 200 control women (27.2\%).

CONCLUSIONS: Women with HA are enriched for RSVs in genes that cause IHH, suggesting that variation in genes associated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal ontogeny and function may be a major determinant of individual susceptibility to developing HA in the face of diet, exercise, and/or stress.

}, issn = {1945-7197}, doi = {10.1210/clinem/dgaa609}, author = {Delaney, Angela and Burkholder, Adam B and Lavender, Christopher A and Plummer, Lacey and Mericq, Veronica and Merino, Paulina M and Quinton, Richard and Lewis, Katie L and Meader, Brooke N and Albano, Alessandro and Shaw, Natalie D and Welt, Corrine K and Martin, Kathryn A and Seminara, Stephanie B and Biesecker, Leslie G and Bailey-Wilson, Joan E and Hall, Janet E} } @article {406, title = {SMCHD1 mutations associated with a rare muscular dystrophy can also cause isolated arhinia and Bosma arhinia microphthalmia syndrome.}, journal = {Nat Genet}, volume = {49}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Feb}, pages = {238-248}, abstract = {

Arhinia, or absence of the nose, is a rare malformation of unknown etiology that is often accompanied by ocular and reproductive defects. Sequencing of 40 people with arhinia revealed that 84\% of probands harbor a missense mutation localized to a constrained region of SMCHD1 encompassing the ATPase domain. SMCHD1 mutations cause facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy type 2 (FSHD2) via a trans-acting loss-of-function epigenetic mechanism. We discovered shared mutations and comparable DNA hypomethylation patterning between these distinct disorders. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated alteration of smchd1 in zebrafish yielded arhinia-relevant phenotypes. Transcriptome and protein analyses in arhinia probands and controls showed no differences in SMCHD1 mRNA or protein abundance but revealed regulatory changes in genes and pathways associated with craniofacial patterning. Mutations in SMCHD1 thus contribute to distinct phenotypic spectra, from craniofacial malformation and reproductive disorders to muscular dystrophy, which we speculate to be consistent with oligogenic mechanisms resulting in pleiotropic outcomes.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Choanal Atresia, Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Infant, Male, Microphthalmos, Muscular Dystrophies, Mutation, Nose, Phenotype}, issn = {1546-1718}, doi = {10.1038/ng.3743}, author = {Shaw, Natalie D and Brand, Harrison and Kupchinsky, Zachary A and Bengani, Hemant and Plummer, Lacey and Jones, Takako I and Erdin, Serkan and Williamson, Kathleen A and Rainger, Joe and Stortchevoi, Alexei and Samocha, Kaitlin and Currall, Benjamin B and Dunican, Donncha S and Collins, Ryan L and Willer, Jason R and Lek, Angela and Lek, Monkol and Nassan, Malik and Pereira, Shahrin and Kammin, Tammy and Lucente, Diane and Silva, Alexandra and Seabra, Catarina M and Chiang, Colby and An, Yu and Ansari, Morad and Rainger, Jacqueline K and Joss, Shelagh and Smith, Jill Clayton and Lippincott, Margaret F and Singh, Sylvia S and Patel, Nirav and Jing, Jenny W and Law, Jennifer R and Ferraro, Nalton and Verloes, Alain and Rauch, Anita and Steindl, Katharina and Zweier, Markus and Scheer, Ianina and Sato, Daisuke and Okamoto, Nobuhiko and Jacobsen, Christina and Tryggestad, Jeanie and Chernausek, Steven and Schimmenti, Lisa A and Brasseur, Benjamin and Cesaretti, Claudia and Garc{\'\i}a-Ortiz, Jose E and Buitrago, Tatiana Pineda and Silva, Orlando Perez and Hoffman, Jodi D and M{\"u}hlbauer, Wolfgang and Ruprecht, Klaus W and Loeys, Bart L and Shino, Masato and Kaindl, Angela M and Cho, Chie-Hee and Morton, Cynthia C and Meehan, Richard R and van Heyningen, Veronica and Liao, Eric C and Balasubramanian, Ravikumar and Hall, Janet E and Seminara, Stephanie B and Macarthur, Daniel and Moore, Steven A and Yoshiura, Koh-Ichiro and Gusella, James F and Marsh, Joseph A and Graham, John M and Lin, Angela E and Katsanis, Nicholas and Jones, Peter L and Crowley, William F and Davis, Erica E and FitzPatrick, David R and Talkowski, Michael E} }