@article {949, title = {A relatively common homozygous TRAPPC4 splicing variant is associated with an early-infantile neurodegenerative syndrome.}, journal = {Eur J Hum Genet}, volume = {29}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Feb}, pages = {271-279}, abstract = {

Trafficking protein particle (TRAPP) complexes, which include the TRAPPC4 protein, regulate membrane trafficking between lipid organelles in a process termed vesicular tethering. TRAPPC4 was recently implicated in a recessive neurodevelopmental condition in four unrelated families due to a shared c.454+3A>G splice variant. Here, we report 23 patients from 17 independent families with an early-infantile-onset neurodegenerative presentation, where we also identified the homozygous variant hg38:11:119020256 A>G (NM_016146.5:c.454+3A>G) in TRAPPC4 through exome or genome sequencing. No other clinically relevant TRAPPC4 variants were identified among any of over 10,000 patients with neurodevelopmental conditions. We found the carrier frequency of TRAPPC4 c.454+3A>G was 2.4-5.4 per 10,000 healthy individuals. Affected individuals with the homozygous TRAPPC4 c.454+3A>G variant showed profound psychomotor delay, developmental regression, early-onset epilepsy, microcephaly and progressive spastic tetraplegia. Based upon RNA sequencing, the variant resulted in partial exon 3 skipping and generation of an aberrant transcript owing to use of a downstream cryptic splice donor site, predicting a premature stop codon and nonsense mediated decay. These data confirm the pathogenicity of the TRAPPC4 c.454+3A>G variant, and refine the clinical presentation of TRAPPC4-related encephalopathy.

}, issn = {1476-5438}, doi = {10.1038/s41431-020-00717-5}, author = {Ghosh, Shereen G and Scala, Marcello and Beetz, Christian and Helman, Guy and Stanley, Valentina and Yang, Xiaoxu and Breuss, Martin W and Mazaheri, Neda and Selim, Laila and Hadipour, Fatemeh and Pais, Lynn and Stutterd, Chloe A and Karageorgou, Vasiliki and Begtrup, Amber and Crunk, Amy and Juusola, Jane and Willaert, Rebecca and Flore, Leigh A and Kennelly, Kelly and Spencer, Christopher and Brown, Martha and Trapane, Pamela and Hurst, Anna C E and Lane Rutledge, S and Goodloe, Dana H and McDonald, Marie T and Shashi, Vandana and Schoch, Kelly and Tomoum, Hoda and Zaitoun, Raghda and Hadipour, Zahra and Galehdari, Hamid and Pagnamenta, Alistair T and Mojarrad, Majid and Sedaghat, Alireza and Dias, Patr{\'\i}cia and Quintas, Sofia and Eslahi, Atiyeh and Shariati, Gholamreza and Bauer, Peter and Simons, Cas and Houlden, Henry and Issa, Mahmoud Y and Zaki, MAH S and Maroofian, Reza and Gleeson, Joseph G} } @article {719, title = {Loss of SMPD4 Causes a Developmental Disorder Characterized by Microcephaly and Congenital Arthrogryposis.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {105}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Oct 03}, pages = {689-705}, abstract = {

Sphingomyelinases generate ceramide from sphingomyelin as a second messenger in intracellular signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, or apoptosis. Children from 12 unrelated families presented with microcephaly, simplified gyral pattern of the cortex, hypomyelination, cerebellar hypoplasia, congenital arthrogryposis, and early fetal/postnatal demise. Genomic analysis revealed bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in SMPD4, coding for the neutral sphingomyelinase-3 (nSMase-3/SMPD4). Overexpression of human Myc-tagged SMPD4 showed localization both to the outer nuclear envelope and the ER and additionally revealed interactions with several nuclear pore complex proteins by proteomics analysis. Fibroblasts from affected individuals showed ER cisternae abnormalities, suspected for increased autophagy, and were more susceptible to apoptosis under stress conditions, while treatment with siSMPD4 caused delayed cell cycle progression. Our data show that SMPD4 links homeostasis of membrane sphingolipids to cell fate by regulating the cross-talk between the ER and the outer nuclear envelope, while its loss reveals a pathogenic mechanism in microcephaly.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.08.006}, author = {Magini, Pamela and Smits, Daphne J and Vandervore, Laura and Schot, Rachel and Columbaro, Marta and Kasteleijn, Esmee and van der Ent, Mees and Palombo, Flavia and Lequin, Maarten H and Dremmen, Marjolein and de Wit, Marie Claire Y and Severino, Mariasavina and Divizia, Maria Teresa and Striano, Pasquale and Ordonez-Herrera, Natalia and Alhashem, Amal and Al Fares, Ahmed and Al Ghamdi, Malak and Rolfs, Arndt and Bauer, Peter and Demmers, Jeroen and Verheijen, Frans W and Wilke, Martina and van Slegtenhorst, Marjon and van der Spek, Peter J and Seri, Marco and Jansen, Anna C and Stottmann, Rolf W and Hufnagel, Robert B and Hopkin, Robert J and Aljeaid, Deema and Wiszniewski, Wojciech and Gawlinski, Pawel and Laure-Kamionowska, Milena and Alkuraya, Fowzan S and Akleh, Hanah and Stanley, Valentina and Musaev, Damir and Gleeson, Joseph G and Zaki, Maha S and Brunetti-Pierri, Nicola and Cappuccio, Gerarda and Davidov, Bella and Basel-Salmon, Lina and Bazak, Lily and Shahar, Noa Ruhrman and Bertoli-Avella, Aida and Mirzaa, Ghayda M and Dobyns, William B and Pippucci, Tommaso and Fornerod, Maarten and Mancini, Grazia M S} } @article {500, title = {Genetic variants in components of the NALCN-UNC80-UNC79 ion channel complex cause a broad clinical phenotype (NALCN channelopathies).}, journal = {Hum Genet}, volume = {137}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Sep}, pages = {753-768}, abstract = {

NALCN is a conserved cation channel, which conducts a permanent sodium leak current and regulates resting membrane potential and neuronal excitability. It is part of a large ion channel complex, the "NALCN channelosome", consisting of multiple proteins including UNC80 and UNC79. The predominant neuronal expression pattern and its function suggest an important role in neuronal function and disease. So far, biallelic NALCN and UNC80 variants have been described in a small number of individuals leading to infantile hypotonia, psychomotor retardation, and characteristic facies 1 (IHPRF1, OMIM 615419) and 2 (IHPRF2, OMIM 616801), respectively. Heterozygous de novo NALCN missense variants in the S5/S6 pore-forming segments lead to congenital contractures of the limbs and face, hypotonia, and developmental delay (CLIFAHDD, OMIM 616266) with some clinical overlap. In this study, we present detailed clinical information of 16 novel individuals with biallelic NALCN variants, 1 individual with a heterozygous de novo NALCN missense variant and an interesting clinical phenotype without contractures, and 12 individuals with biallelic UNC80 variants. We report for the first time a missense NALCN variant~located in the predicted S6 pore-forming unit inherited in an autosomal-recessive manner leading to mild IHPRF1. We show evidence of clinical variability, especially among IHPRF1-affected individuals, and discuss differences between the IHPRF1- and IHPRF2 phenotypes. In summary, we provide a comprehensive overview of IHPRF1 and IHPRF2 phenotypes based on the largest cohort of individuals reported so far and provide additional insights into the clinical phenotypes of these neurodevelopmental diseases to help improve counseling of affected families.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Carrier Proteins, Channelopathies, Child, Child, Preschool, Developmental Disabilities, Female, Genetic Markers, Genetic Variation, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Membrane Proteins, Phenotype, Sodium Channels, Young Adult}, issn = {1432-1203}, doi = {10.1007/s00439-018-1929-5}, author = {Bramswig, Nuria C and Bertoli-Avella, Aida M and Albrecht, Beate and Al Aqeel, Aida I and Alhashem, Amal and Al-Sannaa, Nouriya and Bah, Maissa and Br{\"o}hl, Katharina and Depienne, Christel and Dorison, Nathalie and Doummar, Diane and Ehmke, Nadja and Elbendary, Hasnaa M and Gorokhova, Svetlana and H{\'e}ron, Delphine and Horn, Denise and James, Kiely and Keren, Boris and Kuechler, Alma and Ismail, Samira and Issa, Mahmoud Y and Marey, Isabelle and Mayer, Mich{\`e}le and McEvoy-Venneri, Jennifer and Megarbane, Andre and Mignot, Cyril and Mohamed, Sarar and Nava, Caroline and Philip, Nicole and Ravix, Cecile and Rolfs, Arndt and Sadek, Abdelrahim Abdrabou and Segebrecht, Lara and Stanley, Valentina and Trautman, Camille and Valence, Stephanie and Villard, Laurent and Wieland, Thomas and Engels, Hartmut and Strom, Tim M and Zaki, Maha S and Gleeson, Joseph G and L{\"u}decke, Hermann-Josef and Bauer, Peter and Wieczorek, Dagmar} }