ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Congenital contractural arachnodactyly (CCA) is an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder manifesting joint contractures, arachnodactyly, crumpled ears, and kyphoscoliosis as main features. Due to its rarity, rather aspecific clinical presentation, and overlap with other conditions including Marfan syndrome, the diagnosis is challenging, but important for prognosis and clinical management. CCA is caused by pathogenic variants in FBN2, encoding fibrillin-2, but locus heterogeneity has been suggested. We designed a clinical scoring system and diagnostic criteria to support the diagnostic process and guide molecular genetic testing. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we assessed 167 probands referred for FBN2 analysis and classified them into a FBN2-positive (n = 44) and FBN2-negative group (n = 123) following molecular analysis. We developed a 20-point weighted clinical scoring system based on the prevalence of ten main clinical characteristics of CCA in both groups. RESULTS: The total score was significantly different between the groups (P < 0.001) and was indicative for classifying patients into unlikely CCA (total score <7) and likely CCA (total score ≥7) groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our clinical score is helpful for clinical guidance for patients suspected to have CCA, and provides a quantitative tool for phenotyping in research settings.
Subject(s)
Arachnodactyly/diagnosis , Contracture/diagnosis , Fibrillin-2/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNA/methods , Arachnodactyly/genetics , Child , Contracture/genetics , Diagnosis, Differential , Early Diagnosis , Female , Genetic Testing , Humans , Male , Marfan Syndrome/diagnosis , Marfan Syndrome/genetics , Phenotype , Retrospective Studies , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
The inclusion of familial myeloid malignancies as a separate disease entity in the revised WHO classification has renewed efforts to improve the recognition and management of this group of at risk individuals. Here we report a cohort of 86 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) families with 49 harboring germline variants in 16 previously defined loci (57%). Whole exome sequencing in a further 37 uncharacterized families (43%) allowed us to rationalize 65 new candidate loci, including genes mutated in rare hematological syndromes (ADA, GP6, IL17RA, PRF1 and SEC23B), reported in prior MDS/AML or inherited bone marrow failure series (DNAH9, NAPRT1 and SH2B3) or variants at novel loci (DHX34) that appear specific to inherited forms of myeloid malignancies. Altogether, our series of MDS/AML families offer novel insights into the etiology of myeloid malignancies and provide a framework to prioritize variants for inclusion into routine diagnostics and patient management.
Subject(s)
Germ-Line Mutation , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics , Myelodysplastic Syndromes/genetics , Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/genetics , Adenosine Deaminase/genetics , Axonemal Dyneins/genetics , Cohort Studies , Humans , Nonsense Mediated mRNA Decay , Pedigree , Perforin/genetics , Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins/genetics , RNA Helicases/genetics , Receptors, Interleukin-17/genetics , Vesicular Transport Proteins/genetics , Exome SequencingABSTRACT
Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) catalyze the hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to inosine in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and thereby potentially alter the information content and structure of cellular RNAs. Notably, although the overwhelming majority of such editing events occur in transcripts derived from Alu repeat elements, the biological function of non-coding RNA editing remains uncertain. Here, we show that mutations in ADAR1 (also known as ADAR) cause the autoimmune disorder Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). As in Adar1-null mice, the human disease state is associated with upregulation of interferon-stimulated genes, indicating a possible role for ADAR1 as a suppressor of type I interferon signaling. Considering recent insights derived from the study of other AGS-related proteins, we speculate that ADAR1 may limit the cytoplasmic accumulation of the dsRNA generated from genomic repetitive elements.