Whole exome sequencing identified a homozygous novel variant in DOP1A gene in the Pakistan family with neurodevelopmental disabilities: case report and literature review.

Background: Hereditary neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are prevalent in poorly prognostic pediatric diseases, but the pathogenesis of NDDs is still unclear. Irregular myelination could be one of the possible causes of NDDs. Case presentation: Here, whole exome sequencing was carried out for a consanguineous Pakistani family with NDDs to identify disease-associated variants. The co-segregation of candidate variants in the family was validated using Sanger sequencing. The potential impact of the gene on NDDs has been supported by conservation analysis, protein prediction, and expression analysis. A novel homozygous variant DOP1A(NM_001385863.1):c.2561A>G was identified. It was concluded that the missense variant might affect the protein-protein binding sites of the critical MEC interaction region of DOP1A, and DOP1A-MON2 may cause stability deficits in Golgi-endosome protein traffic. Proteolipid protein (PLP) and myelin-associate glycoprotein (MAG) could be targets of the DOP1A-MON2 Golgi-endosome traffic complex, especially during the fetal stage and the early developmental stages. This further supports the perspective that disorganized myelinogenesis due to congenital DOP1A deficiency might cause neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Conclusion: Our case study revealed the potential pathway of myelinogenesis-relevant NDDs and identified DOP1A as a potential NDDs-relevant gene in humans.

A novel AP4M1 mutation in autosomal recessive cerebral palsy syndrome and clinical expansion of AP-4 deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intellectual disability in one-third of cases. Recent findings support Mendelian inheritance in subgroups of patients with the disease. The purpose of this study was to identify a novel genetic cause of paraplegic CP with intellectual disability in a consanguineous Pakistani family. METHODS: We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in two brothers with CP and intellectual disability. Analysis of AP4M1 mRNA was performed using quantitative real-time PCR on total RNA from cultured fibroblasts. The brothers were investigated clinically and by MRI. RESULTS: We identified a novel homozygous AP4M1 mutation c.194_195delAT, p.Y65Ffs*50 in the affected brothers. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed markedly reduced AP4M1 mRNA levels suggesting partial non-sense mediated mRNA decay. Several clinical and MRI features were consistent with AP-4 complex deficiency. However, in contrast to previously reported cases with AP4M1 mutations our patients show an aggressive behavior and a relatively late onset of disease. CONCLUSION: This study shows an AP4M1 mutation associated with aggressive behavior in addition to mild dysmorphic features, intellectual disability, spastic paraparesis and reduced head circumference. Our findings expand the clinical spectrum associated with AP-4 complex deficiency and the study illustrates the importance of MRI and WES in the diagnosis of patients with CP and intellectual disability.

Detection and screening of bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency in Pakistan using molecular methods.

Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) is an autosomal recessive disease. Affected animals die because of extreme susceptibility to infections caused by the lack of a membrane glycoprotein called the leukocyte integrin beta-2 subunit of CD18. The present study was planned to standardize a technique for the diagnosis of BLAD and to get an estimation of BLAD allele in the Pakistani cattle population. The study was performed on 700 animals including Holstein-Friesian (HF) (n=280), Friesian-Sahiwal (FS) (n=120) Sahiwal (n=100) cows and HF calves (n=59) from Government as well as private farms. Similarly 141 bulls of Sahiwal (n=100), HF (n=18) and FS (n=23) from the Semen Production Unit Qadirabad and Kherimorat were also sampled. The identification of normal, carrier and affected animals were made by the PCR-RFLP method. No animal was found homozygous for BLAD while 10 animals including HF calve (n=1), FS bull (n=1), HF (n=6) and FS (n=2) cows were BLAD carrier. The Hardy-Weinberg frequency of the mutant allele in HF and FS population in Pakistan was calculated to 0.01. Thus there is a need of regular screening of the bulls used for artificial insemination to avoid the risk of spreading BLAD in the cattle population of Pakistan.