@article {912, title = {Phenotypic spectrum and transcriptomic profile associated with germline variants in TRAF7.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {22}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 07}, pages = {1215-1226}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: Somatic variants in tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 7 (TRAF7) cause meningioma, while germline variants have recently been identified in seven patients with developmental delay and cardiac, facial, and digital anomalies. We aimed to define the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with TRAF7 germline variants in a large series of patients, and to determine the molecular effects of the variants through transcriptomic analysis of patient fibroblasts.

METHODS: We performed exome, targeted capture, and Sanger sequencing of patients with undiagnosed developmental disorders, in multiple independent diagnostic or research centers. Phenotypic and mutational comparisons were facilitated through data exchange platforms. Whole-transcriptome sequencing was performed on RNA from patient- and control-derived fibroblasts.

RESULTS: We identified heterozygous missense variants in TRAF7 as the cause of a developmental delay-malformation syndrome in 45 patients. Major features include a recognizable facial gestalt (characterized in particular by blepharophimosis), short neck, pectus carinatum, digital deviations, and patent ductus arteriosus. Almost all variants occur in the WD40 repeats and most are recurrent. Several differentially expressed genes were identified in patient fibroblasts.

CONCLUSION: We provide the first large-scale analysis of the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with the TRAF7 developmental syndrome, and we shed light on its molecular etiology through transcriptome studies.

}, keywords = {Exome, Germ Cells, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Mutation, Missense, Phenotype, Transcriptome, Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/s41436-020-0792-7}, author = {Castilla-Vallmanya, Laura and Selmer, Kaja K and Dimartino, Cl{\'e}mantine and Rabionet, Raquel and Blanco-S{\'a}nchez, Bernardo and Yang, Sandra and Reijnders, Margot R F and van Essen, Antonie J and Oufadem, Myriam and Vigeland, Magnus D and Stadheim, Barbro and Houge, Gunnar and Cox, Helen and Kingston, Helen and Clayton-Smith, Jill and Innis, Jeffrey W and Iascone, Maria and Cereda, Anna and Gabbiadini, Sara and Chung, Wendy K and Sanders, Victoria and Charrow, Joel and Bryant, Emily and Millichap, John and Vitobello, Antonio and Thauvin, Christel and Mau-Them, Frederic Tran and Faivre, Laurence and Lesca, Gaetan and Labalme, Audrey and Rougeot, Christelle and Chatron, Nicolas and Sanlaville, Damien and Christensen, Katherine M and Kirby, Amelia and Lewandowski, Raymond and Gannaway, Rachel and Aly, MAH and Lehman, Anna and Clarke, Lorne and Graul-Neumann, Luitgard and Zweier, Christiane and Lessel, Davor and Lozic, Bernarda and Aukrust, Ingvild and Peretz, Ryan and Stratton, Robert and Smol, Thomas and Dieux-Co{\"e}slier, Anne and Meira, Joanna and Wohler, Elizabeth and Sobreira, Nara and Beaver, Erin M and Heeley, Jennifer and Briere, Lauren C and High, Frances A and Sweetser, David A and Walker, Melissa A and Keegan, Catherine E and Jayakar, Parul and Shinawi, Marwan and Kerstjens-Frederikse, Wilhelmina S and Earl, Dawn L and Siu, Victoria M and Reesor, Emma and Yao, Tony and Hegele, Robert A and Vaske, Olena M and Rego, Shannon and Shapiro, Kevin A and Wong, Brian and Gambello, Michael J and McDonald, Marie and Karlowicz, Danielle and Colombo, Roberto and Serretti, Alessandro and Pais, Lynn and O{\textquoteright}Donnell-Luria, Anne and Wray, Alison and Sadedin, Simon and Chong, Belinda and Tan, Tiong Y and Christodoulou, John and White, Susan M and Slavotinek, Anne and Barbouth, Deborah and Morel Swols, Dayna and Parisot, M{\'e}lanie and Bole-Feysot, Christine and Nitschk{\'e}, Patrick and Pingault, V{\'e}ronique and Munnich, Arnold and Cho, Megan T and Cormier-Daire, Val{\'e}rie and Balcells, Susanna and Lyonnet, Stanislas and Grinberg, Daniel and Amiel, Jeanne and Urreizti, Roser and Gordon, Christopher T} } @article {446, title = {WNT Signaling Perturbations Underlie the Genetic Heterogeneity of Robinow Syndrome.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {102}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 01 04}, pages = {27-43}, abstract = {

Locus heterogeneity characterizes a variety of skeletal dysplasias often due to interacting or overlapping signaling pathways. Robinow syndrome is a skeletal disorder historically refractory to molecular diagnosis, potentially stemming from substantial genetic heterogeneity. All current known pathogenic variants reside in genes within the noncanonical Wnt signaling pathway including ROR2, WNT5A, and more recently, DVL1 and DVL3. However, \~{}70\% of autosomal-dominant Robinow syndrome cases remain molecularly unsolved. To investigate this missing heritability, we recruited 21 families with at least one family member clinically diagnosed with Robinow or Robinow-like phenotypes and performed genetic and genomic studies. In total, four families with variants in FZD2 were identified as well as three individuals from two families with biallelic variants in NXN that co-segregate with the phenotype. Importantly, both FZD2 and NXN are relevant protein partners in the WNT5A interactome, supporting their role in skeletal development. In addition to confirming that clustered -1 frameshifting variants in DVL1 and DVL3 are the main contributors to dominant Robinow syndrome, we also found likely pathogenic variants in candidate genes GPC4 and RAC3, both linked to the Wnt signaling pathway. These data support an initial hypothesis that Robinow syndrome results from perturbation of the Wnt/PCP pathway, suggest specific relevant domains of the proteins involved, and reveal key contributors in this signaling cascade during human embryonic development. Contrary to the view that non-allelic genetic heterogeneity hampers gene discovery, this study demonstrates the utility of rare disease genomic studies to parse gene function in human developmental pathways.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Base Sequence, Child, Child, Preschool, Chromosome Segregation, Craniofacial Abnormalities, Diagnosis, Differential, Dwarfism, Female, Genes, Dominant, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Heterogeneity, Humans, Limb Deformities, Congenital, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Missense, Phenotype, Urogenital Abnormalities, Wnt Signaling Pathway}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.10.002}, author = {White, Janson J and Mazzeu, Juliana F and Coban-Akdemir, Zeynep and Bayram, Yavuz and Bahrambeigi, Vahid and Hoischen, Alexander and van Bon, Bregje W M and Gezdirici, Alper and Gulec, Elif Yilmaz and Ramond, Francis and Touraine, Renaud and Thevenon, Julien and Shinawi, Marwan and Beaver, Erin and Heeley, Jennifer and Hoover-Fong, Julie and Durmaz, Ceren D and Karabulut, Halil Gurhan and Marzioglu-Ozdemir, Ebru and Cayir, Atilla and Duz, Mehmet B and Seven, Mehmet and Price, Susan and Ferreira, Barbara Merfort and Vianna-Morgante, Angela M and Ellard, Sian and Parrish, Andrew and Stals, Karen and Flores-Daboub, Josue and Jhangiani, Shalini N and Gibbs, Richard A and Brunner, Han G and Sutton, V Reid and Lupski, James R and Carvalho, Claudia M B} }