@article {711, title = {De novo and inherited variants in ZNF292 underlie a neurodevelopmental disorder with features of autism spectrum disorder.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {22}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 03}, pages = {538-546}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: Intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are genetically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders. We sought to delineate the clinical, molecular, and neuroimaging spectrum of a novel neurodevelopmental disorder caused by variants in the zinc finger protein 292 gene (ZNF292).

METHODS: We ascertained a cohort of 28 families with ID due to putatively pathogenic ZNF292 variants that were identified via targeted and exome sequencing. Available data were analyzed to characterize the canonical phenotype and examine genotype-phenotype relationships.

RESULTS: Probands presented with ID as well as a spectrum of neurodevelopmental features including ASD, among others. All ZNF292 variants were de novo, except in one family with dominant inheritance. ZNF292 encodes a highly conserved zinc finger protein that acts as a transcription factor and is highly expressed in the developing human brain supporting its critical role in neurodevelopment.

CONCLUSION: De novo and dominantly inherited variants in ZNF292 are associated with a range of neurodevelopmental features including ID and ASD. The clinical spectrum is broad, and most individuals present with mild to moderate ID with or without other syndromic features. Our results suggest that variants in ZNF292 are likely a recurrent cause of a neurodevelopmental disorder manifesting as ID with or without ASD.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carrier Proteins, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Male, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Neuroimaging, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/s41436-019-0693-9}, author = {Mirzaa, Ghayda M and Chong, Jessica X and Piton, Am{\'e}lie and Popp, Bernt and Foss, Kimberly and Guo, Hui and Harripaul, Ricardo and Xia, Kun and Scheck, Joshua and Aldinger, Kimberly A and Sajan, Samin A and Tang, Sha and Bonneau, Dominique and Beck, Anita and White, Janson and Mahida, Sonal and Harris, Jacqueline and Smith-Hicks, Constance and Hoyer, Juliane and Zweier, Christiane and Reis, Andr{\'e} and Thiel, Christian T and Jamra, Rami Abou and Zeid, Natasha and Yang, Amy and Farach, Laura S and Walsh, Laurence and Payne, Katelyn and Rohena, Luis and Velinov, Milen and Ziegler, Alban and Schaefer, Elise and Gatinois, Vincent and Genevi{\`e}ve, David and Simon, Marleen E H and Kohler, Jennefer and Rotenberg, Joshua and Wheeler, Patricia and Larson, Austin and Ernst, Michelle E and Akman, Cigdem I and Westman, Rachel and Blanchet, Patricia and Schillaci, Lori-Anne and Vincent-Delorme, Catherine and Gripp, Karen W and Mattioli, Francesca and Guyader, Gwena{\"e}l Le and Gerard, B{\'e}n{\'e}dicte and Mathieu-Dramard, Mich{\`e}le and Morin, Gilles and Sasanfar, Roksana and Ayub, Muhammad and Vasli, Nasim and Yang, Sandra and Person, Rick and Monaghan, Kristin G and Nickerson, Deborah A and van Binsbergen, Ellen and Enns, Gregory M and Dries, Annika M and Rowe, Leah J and Tsai, Anne C H and Svihovec, Shayna and Friedman, Jennifer and Agha, Zehra and Qamar, Raheel and Rodan, Lance H and Martinez-Agosto, Julian and Ockeloen, Charlotte W and Vincent, Marie and Sunderland, William James and Bernstein, Jonathan A and Eichler, Evan E and Vincent, John B and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {677, title = {Bi-allelic Variants in DYNC1I2 Cause Syndromic Microcephaly with Intellectual Disability, Cerebral Malformations, and Dysmorphic Facial Features.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {104}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jun 06}, pages = {1073-1087}, abstract = {

Cargo transport along the cytoplasmic microtubular network is essential for neuronal function, and cytoplasmic dynein-1 is an established molecular motor that is critical for neurogenesis and homeostasis. We performed whole-exome sequencing, homozygosity mapping, and chromosomal microarray studies in five individuals from three independent pedigrees and identified likely-pathogenic variants in DYNC1I2 (Dynein Cytoplasmic 1 Intermediate Chain 2), encoding a component of the cytoplasmic dynein 1 complex. In a consanguineous Pakistani family with three affected individuals presenting with microcephaly, severe intellectual disability, simplification of cerebral gyration, corpus callosum hypoplasia, and dysmorphic facial features, we identified a homozygous splice donor site variant (GenBank: NM_001378.2:c.607+1G>A). We report two additional individuals who have similar neurodevelopmental deficits and craniofacial features and harbor deleterious variants; one individual bears a c.740A>G (p.Tyr247Cys) change in trans with a 374~kb deletion encompassing DYNC1I2, and an unrelated individual harbors the compound-heterozygous variants c.868C>T (p.Gln290) and c.740A>G (p.Tyr247Cys). Zebrafish larvae subjected to CRISPR-Cas9 gene disruption or transient suppression of dync1i2a displayed significantly altered craniofacial patterning with concomitant reduction in head size. We monitored cell death and cell cycle progression in dync1i2a zebrafish models and observed significantly increased apoptosis, likely due to prolonged mitosis caused by abnormal spindle morphology, and this finding offers initial insights into the cellular basis of microcephaly. Additionally, complementation studies in zebrafish demonstrate that p.Tyr247Cys attenuates gene function, consistent with protein structural analysis. Our genetic and functional data indicate that DYNC1I2 dysfunction probably causes an autosomal-recessive microcephaly syndrome and highlight further the critical roles of the dynein-1 complex in neurodevelopment.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.04.002}, author = {Ansar, Muhammad and Ullah, Farid and Paracha, Sohail A and Adams, Darius J and Lai, Abbe and Pais, Lynn and Iwaszkiewicz, Justyna and Millan, Francisca and Sarwar, Muhammad T and Agha, Zehra and Shah, Sayyed Fahim and Qaisar, Azhar Ali and Falconnet, Emilie and Zoete, Vincent and Ranza, Emmanuelle and Makrythanasis, Periklis and Santoni, Federico A and Ahmed, Jawad and Katsanis, Nicholas and Walsh, Christopher and Davis, Erica E and Antonarakis, Stylianos E} }