Selenoprotein deficiency disorder predisposes to aortic aneurysm formation.

Aortic aneurysms, which may dissect or rupture acutely and be lethal, can be a part of multisystem disorders that have a heritable basis. We report four patients with deficiency of selenocysteine-containing proteins due to selenocysteine Insertion Sequence Binding Protein 2 (SECISBP2) mutations who show early-onset, progressive, aneurysmal dilatation of the ascending aorta due to cystic medial necrosis. Zebrafish and male mice with global or vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-targeted disruption of Secisbp2 respectively show similar aortopathy. Aortas from patients and animal models exhibit raised cellular reactive oxygen species, oxidative DNA damage and VSMC apoptosis. Antioxidant exposure or chelation of iron prevents oxidative damage in patient's cells and aortopathy in the zebrafish model. Our observations suggest a key role for oxidative stress and cell death, including via ferroptosis, in mediating aortic degeneration.

Conclusion of diagnostic odysseys due to inversions disrupting GLI3 and FBN1.

Many genetic testing methodologies are biased towards picking up structural variants (SVs) that alter copy number. Copy-neutral rearrangements such as inversions are therefore likely to suffer from underascertainment. In this study, manual review prompted by a virtual multidisciplinary team meeting and subsequent bioinformatic prioritisation of data from the 100K Genomes Project was performed across 43 genes linked to well-characterised skeletal disorders. Ten individuals from three independent families were found to harbour diagnostic inversions. In two families, inverted segments of 1.2/14.8 Mb unequivocally disrupted GLI3 and segregated with skeletal features consistent with Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome. For one family, phenotypic blending was due to the opposing breakpoint lying ~45 kb from HOXA13 In the third family, long suspected to have Marfan syndrome, a 2.0 Mb inversion disrupting FBN1 was identified. These findings resolved lengthy diagnostic odysseys of 9-20 years and highlight the importance of direct interaction between clinicians and data-analysts. These exemplars of a rare mutational class inform future SV prioritisation strategies within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and similar genome sequencing initiatives. In over 30 years since these two disease-gene associations were identified, large inversions have yet to be described and so our results extend the mutational spectra linked to these conditions.

100,000 Genomes Pilot on Rare-Disease Diagnosis in Health Care - Preliminary Report.

BACKGROUND: The U.K. 100,000 Genomes Project is in the process of investigating the role of genome sequencing in patients with undiagnosed rare diseases after usual care and the alignment of this research with health care implementation in the U.K. National Health Service. Other parts of this project focus on patients with cancer and infection. METHODS: We conducted a pilot study involving 4660 participants from 2183 families, among whom 161 disorders covering a broad spectrum of rare diseases were present. We collected data on clinical features with the use of Human Phenotype Ontology terms, undertook genome sequencing, applied automated variant prioritization on the basis of applied virtual gene panels and phenotypes, and identified novel pathogenic variants through research analysis. RESULTS: Diagnostic yields varied among family structures and were highest in family trios (both parents and a proband) and families with larger pedigrees. Diagnostic yields were much higher for disorders likely to have a monogenic cause (35%) than for disorders likely to have a complex cause (11%). Diagnostic yields for intellectual disability, hearing disorders, and vision disorders ranged from 40 to 55%. We made genetic diagnoses in 25% of the probands. A total of 14% of the diagnoses were made by means of the combination of research and automated approaches, which was critical for cases in which we found etiologic noncoding, structural, and mitochondrial genome variants and coding variants poorly covered by exome sequencing. Cohortwide burden testing across 57,000 genomes enabled the discovery of three new disease genes and 19 new associations. Of the genetic diagnoses that we made, 25% had immediate ramifications for clinical decision making for the patients or their relatives. CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study of genome sequencing in a national health care system showed an increase in diagnostic yield across a range of rare diseases. (Funded by the National Institute for Health Research and others.).

Clinical Diagnosis of Classical Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Made From Postmortem Examination of Second Trimester Fetus With Novel NIPBL Pathogenic Variant.

Classical Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a rare genetic disorder which is associated with distinctive facial features, growth retardation, significant intellectual disability and global developmental delay, hirsutism, and upper-limb reduction defects. Classical CdLS is associated with pathogenic variants in NIPBL. We present a clinical diagnosis of classical CdLS made in a second trimester male fetus with advanced maceration who had undergone intrauterine death at 15 + 6 weeks gestation. The diagnosis was suspected after multiple congenital anomalies were identified on fetal postmortem examination. These included intrauterine growth retardation, upper limb anomalies, ventricular septal defect and diaphragmatic hernia, and skeletal and genitourinary abnormalities. Related prenatal screening findings included a raised nuchal translucency and low maternal serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A. Targeted molecular sequencing of genes associated with CdLS identified a novel de novo frameshift pathogenic variant in NIPBL, which confirmed the diagnosis. This report describes our case and reviews the current literature on prenatal diagnosis of CdLS. In summary, we demonstrate that clinical diagnosis of CdLS in a second trimester fetus, through postmortem examination findings, is possible, with confirmation through molecular testing.

Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis for cystic fibrosis: detection of paternal mutations, exploration of patient preferences and cost analysis.

OBJECTIVES: We aim to develop non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for cystic fibrosis (CF) and determine costs and implications for implementation. METHODS: A next-generation sequencing assay was developed to detect ten common CF mutations for exclusion of the paternal mutation in maternal plasma. Using uptake data from a study exploring views on NIPD for CF, total test-related costs were estimated for the current care pathway and compared with those incorporating NIPD. RESULTS: The assay reliably predicted mutation status in all control and maternal plasma samples. Of carrier or affected adults with CF (n = 142) surveyed, only 43.5% reported willingness to have invasive testing for CF with 94.4% saying they would have NIPD. Using these potential uptake data, the incremental costs of NIPD over invasive testing per 100 pregnancies at risk of CF are £9025 for paternal mutation exclusion, and £26,510 for direct diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed NIPD for risk stratification in around a third of CF families. There are economic implications due to potential increased test demand to inform postnatal management rather than to inform decisions around termination of an affected pregnancy.

Non-invasive prenatal testing for Down syndrome.

Prenatal screening and diagnosis of Down syndrome and other major aneuploidies may be transformed following the identification of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma at the end of the last millennium. Next generation sequencing has enabled the development of tests that accurately predict the presence of fetal trisomies by analysis of cell-free DNA in maternal blood from as early as 10 weeks of gestation. These tests are now widely available in the commercial sector but are yet to be implemented in publicly led health services. In this article we discuss the technical, social, and ethical challenges that these new tests bring.

Evaluation of germline BMP4 mutation as a cause of colorectal cancer.

Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signalling plays a key role in colorectal cancer (CRC). Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4) is a member of the TGF-ß family of signal transduction molecules. To examine if germline mutation in BMP4 causes CRC we analysed 504 genetically enriched CRC cases (by virtue of early-onset disease, family history of CRC) for mutations in the coding sequence of BMP4. We identified three pathogenic mutations, p.R286X (g.8330C>T), p.W325C (g.8449G>T) and p.C373S (g.8592G>C), amongst the CRC cases which were not observed in 524 healthy controls. p.R286X localizes to the N-terminal of the TGF-ß1 prodomain truncating the protein prior to the active domain. p.W325C and p.C373S mutations are predicted from protein homology modelling with BMP2 to impact deleteriously on BMP4 function. Segregation of p.C373S with adenoma and hyperplastic polyp in first-degree relatives of the case suggests germline mutations may confer a juvenile polyposis-type phenotype. These findings suggest mutation of BMP4is a cause of CRC and the value of protein-based modelling in the elucidation of rare disease-causing variants.

Allelic variation at the 8q23.3 colorectal cancer risk locus functions as a cis-acting regulator of EIF3H.

Common genetic variation at human 8q23.3 is significantly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. To elucidate the basis of this association we compared the frequency of common variants at 8q23.3 in 1,964 CRC cases and 2,081 healthy controls. Reporter gene studies showed that the single nucleotide polymorphism rs16888589 acts as an allele-specific transcriptional repressor. Chromosome conformation capture (3C) analysis demonstrated that the genomic region harboring rs16888589 interacts with the promoter of gene for eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, subunit H (EIF3H). We show that increased expression of EIF3H gene increases CRC growth and invasiveness thereby providing a biological mechanism for the 8q23.3 association. These data provide evidence for a functional basis for the non-coding risk variant rs16888589 at 8q23.3 and provides novel insight into the etiological basis of CRC.

Fine-scale mapping of the 6p25.3 chronic lymphocytic leukaemia susceptibility locus.

A recent genome-wide association study of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has identified a susceptibility locus on 6p25.3 associated with a modest but highly significant increase in CLL risk. Using a set of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, we generated a fine-scale map and narrowed the association signal to a 18 kb DNA segment within the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of the IRF4 (interferon regulatory factor 4) gene. Resequencing this segment in European subjects identified 55 common polymorphisms, including 13 highly correlated candidate causal variants. In a large case-control study, it was shown that all but four variants could be excluded with 95% confidence. These four SNPs map to a 3 kb region of the 3'-UTR of IRF4, consistent with the causal basis of the association being mediated through differential IRF4 expression.

The CDH1-160C>A polymorphism is a risk factor for colorectal cancer.

Part of the inherited susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) is caused by the coinheritance of common low risk variants. E-cadherin (CDH1) has an established role in CRC; somatic inactivation of CDH1 is a common early event, and germline mutations can cause early-onset CRC. The -160C>A promoter variant (rs16260) of CDH1 has been reported to influence CDH1 transcription and thereby represents a strong candidate for a predisposition locus. To examine this proposition, we conducted a two-staged association study based on genotyping a total of 5,679 CRC cases and 5,412 controls for rs16260. CDH1-160C>A genotype was associated with CRC risk (p(trend) = 0.001). Compared to common homozygotes, the odds ratios (ORs) of CRC associated with heterozygous and homozygote variant genotype were 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84-0.97) and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71-0.93), respectively. In combination with the previously identified 8q21, 8q24, 10p14, 11q, 15q13.3 and 18q21 risk variants, the risk of CRC increases with an increasing numbers of variant alleles for the 7 loci (OR(per allele) = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.13-1.19; p(trend) = 1.68 x 10(-34)). These data indicate CDH1-160C>A is a risk factor for CRC, and because a high proportion of the European population are carriers of at-risk genotypes, the variant is likely to contribute substantially to the development of CRC. Furthermore, our study underscores the importance of conducting association studies using large sample series to demonstrate polymorphic variants conferring modest relative risks.

The colorectal cancer risk at 18q21 is caused by a novel variant altering SMAD7 expression.

Recent genome-wide scans for colorectal cancer (CRC) have revealed the SMAD7 (mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 7) gene as a locus associated with a modest, but highly significant increase in CRC risk. To identify the causal basis of the association between 18q21 variation and CRC, we resequenced the 17-kb region of linkage disequilibrium and evaluated all variants in 2532 CRC cases and 2607 controls. A novel C to G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at 44,703,563 bp was maximally associated with CRC risk (P = 5.98 x 10(-7); > or =1.5-fold more likely to be causal than other variants). Using transgenic assays in Xenopus laevis as a functional model, we demonstrate that the G risk allele leads to reduced reporter gene expression in the colorectum (P = 5.4 x 10(-3)). Electrophoretic mobility shift assays provided evidence for the role of Novel 1 in transcription factor binding. We propose that the novel SNP we have identified is the functional change leading to CRC predisposition through differential SMAD7 expression and, hence, aberrant TGF-beta signaling.

Refinement of the basis and impact of common 11q23.1 variation to the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

The common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3802842 at 11q23.1 has recently been reported to be associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). To examine this association in detail we genotyped rs3802842 in eight independent case-control series comprising a total of 10 638 cases and 10 457 healthy individuals. A significant association between the C allele of rs3802842 and CRC risk was found (per allele OR = 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-1.22; P = 1.08 x 10(-12)) with the risk allele more frequent in rectal than colonic disease (P = 0.02). In combination with 8q21, 8q24, 10p14, 11q, 15q13.3 and 18q21 variants, the risk of CRC increases with an increasing numbers of variant alleles for the six loci (OR(per allele) = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.15-1.23; P(trend) = 7.4 x 10(-24)). Using the data from our genome-wide association study of CRC, LD mapping and imputation, we were able to refine the location of the causal locus to a 60 kb region and screened for coding changes. The absence of exonic mutations in any of the transcripts (FLJ45803, LOC120376, C11orf53 and POU2AF1) mapping to this region makes the association likely to be a consequence of non-coding effects on gene expression.