@article {886, title = {Community-based recruitment and exome sequencing indicates high diagnostic yield in adults with intellectual disability.}, journal = {Mol Genet Genomic Med}, volume = {8}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 10}, pages = {e1439}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Establishing a genetic diagnosis for individuals with intellectual disability (ID) benefits patients and their families as it may inform the prognosis, lead to appropriate therapy, and facilitate access to medical and supportive services. Exome sequencing has been successfully applied in a diagnostic setting, but most clinical exome referrals are pediatric patients, with many adults with ID lacking a comprehensive genetic evaluation.

METHODS: Our unique recruitment strategy involved partnering with service and education providers for individuals with ID. We performed exome sequencing and analysis, and clinical variant interpretation for each recruited family.

RESULTS: All five families enrolled in the study opted-in for the return of genetic results. In three out of five families exome sequencing analysis identified pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in KANSL1, TUSC3, and MED13L genes. Families discussed the results and any potential medical follow-up in an appointment with a board certified clinical geneticist.

CONCLUSION: Our study suggests high yield of exome sequencing as a diagnostic tool in adult patients with ID who have not undergone comprehensive sequencing-based genetic testing. Research studies including an option of return of results through a genetic clinic could help minimize the disparity in exome diagnostic testing between pediatric and adult patients with ID.

}, keywords = {Adult, Female, Genetic Testing, Humans, Independent Living, Intellectual Disability, Male, Mediator Complex, Membrane Proteins, Nuclear Proteins, Patient Selection, Sensitivity and Specificity, Tumor Suppressor Proteins, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {2324-9269}, doi = {10.1002/mgg3.1439}, author = {Sabo, Aniko and Murdock, David and Dugan, Shannon and Meng, Qingchang and Gingras, Marie-Claude and Hu, Jianhong and Muzny, Donna and Gibbs, Richard} } @article {908, title = {Multiplexed Functional Assessment of Genetic Variants in CARD11.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {107}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 12 03}, pages = {1029-1043}, abstract = {

Genetic testing has increased the number of variants identified in disease genes, but the diagnostic utility is limited by lack of understanding variant function. CARD11 encodes an adaptor protein that expresses dominant-negative and gain-of-function variants associated with distinct immunodeficiencies. Here, we used a "cloning-free" saturation genome editing approach in a diploid cell line to simultaneously score 2,542 variants for decreased or increased function in the region of CARD11 associated with immunodeficiency. We also described an exon-skipping mechanism for CARD11 dominant-negative activity. The classification of reported clinical variants was sensitive (94.6\%) and specific (88.9\%), which rendered the data immediately useful for interpretation of seven coding and splicing variants implicated in immunodeficiency found in our clinic. This approach is generalizable for variant interpretation in many other clinically actionable genes, in any relevant cell type.

}, keywords = {Adenine, B-Cell CLL-Lymphoma 10 Protein, B-Lymphocytes, CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins, Cell Line, Diploidy, Exons, Genes, Dominant, Genetic Variation, Guanylate Cyclase, Humans, Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes, Jurkat Cells, Lymphoma, NF-kappa B p50 Subunit, Piperidines, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases, Sensitivity and Specificity}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.10.015}, author = {Meitlis, Iana and Allenspach, Eric J and Bauman, Bradly M and Phan, Isabelle Q and Dabbah, Gina and Schmitt, Erica G and Camp, Nathan D and Torgerson, Troy R and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J and Hagin, David and Luthers, Christopher R and Stinson, Jeffrey R and Gray, Jessica and Lundgren, Ingrid and Church, Joseph A and Butte, Manish J and Jordan, Mike B and Aceves, Seema S and Schwartz, Daniella M and Milner, Joshua D and Schuval, Susan and Skoda-Smith, Suzanne and Cooper, Megan A and Starita, Lea M and Rawlings, David J and Snow, Andrew L and James, Richard G} } @article {551, title = {Ximmer: a system for improving accuracy and consistency of CNV calling from exome data.}, journal = {Gigascience}, volume = {7}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 10 01}, abstract = {

Background: While exome and targeted next-generation DNA sequencing are primarily used for detecting single nucleotide changes and small indels, detection of copy number variants (CNVs) can provide highly valuable additional information from the data. Although there are dozens of exome CNV detection methods available, these are often difficult to use, and accuracy varies unpredictably between and within datasets.

Findings: We present Ximmer, a tool that supports an end-to-end process for evaluating, tuning, and running analysis methods for detection of CNVs in germline samples. Ximmer includes a simulation framework, implementations of several commonly used CNV detection methods, and a visualization and curation tool that together enable interactive exploration and quality control of CNV results. Using Ximmer, we comprehensively evaluate CNV detection on four datasets using five different detection methods. We show that application of Ximmer can improve accuracy and aid in quality control of CNV detection results. In addition, Ximmer can be used to run analyses and explore CNV results in exome data.

Conclusions: Ximmer offers a comprehensive tool and method for applying and improving accuracy of CNV detection methods for exome data.

}, keywords = {Algorithms, Computational Biology, Computer Simulation, DNA Copy Number Variations, Exome, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Reproducibility of Results, ROC Curve, Sensitivity and Specificity, Software}, issn = {2047-217X}, doi = {10.1093/gigascience/giy112}, author = {Sadedin, Simon P and Ellis, Justine A and Masters, Seth L and Oshlack, Alicia} }