Autosomal recessive deafness 1A (DFNB1A) in Yakut population isolate in Eastern Siberia: extensive accumulation of the splice site mutation IVS1+1G>A in GJB2 gene as a result of founder effect.

Hereditary forms of hearing impairment (HI) caused by GJB2 (Cx26) mutations are the frequent sensory disorders registered among newborns in various human populations. In this study, we present data on the molecular, audiological and population features of autosomal recessive deafness 1A (DFNB1A) associated with the donor splicing site IVS1+1G>A mutation of GJB2 gene in Yakut population isolate of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) located in Eastern Siberia (Russian Federation). The Yakut population exhibits high frequency of some Mendelian disorders, which are rare in other populations worldwide. Mutational analysis of GJB2 gene in 86 unrelated Yakut patients with congenital HI without other clinical features has been performed. In this study, we registered a large cohort of Yakut patients homozygous for the IVS1+1G>A mutation (70 unrelated deaf subjects in total). Detailed audiological analysis of 40 deaf subjects with genotype IVS1+1G>A/IVS1+1G>A revealed significant association of this genotype with mostly symmetrical bilateral severe to profound HI (85% severe-to-profound HI versus 15% mild-to-moderate HI, P<0.05). The highest among six investigated Eastern Siberian populations carrier frequency of the IVS1+1G>A mutation (11.7%) has been found in Yakut population. Reconstruction of 140 haplotypes with IVS1+1G>A mutation demonstrates the common origin of all mutant chromosomes found in Yakuts. The age of mutation was estimated to be approximately 800 years. These findings characterize Eastern Siberia as the region with the most extensive accumulation of the IVS1+1G>A mutation in the world as a result of founder effect.

Spectrum and Frequency of the GJB2 Gene Pathogenic Variants in a Large Cohort of Patients with Hearing Impairment Living in a Subarctic Region of Russia (the Sakha Republic).

Pathogenic variants in the GJB2 gene, encoding connexin 26, are known to be a major cause of hearing impairment (HI). More than 300 allelic variants have been identified in the GJB2 gene. Spectrum and allelic frequencies of the GJB2 gene vary significantly among different ethnic groups worldwide. Until now, the spectrum and frequency of the pathogenic variants in exon 1, exon 2 and the flanking intronic regions of the GJB2 gene have not been described thoroughly in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), which is located in a subarctic region in Russia. The complete sequencing of the non-coding and coding regions of the GJB2 gene was performed in 393 patients with HI (Yakuts-296, Russians-51, mixed and other ethnicities-46) and in 187 normal hearing individuals of Yakut (n = 107) and Russian (n = 80) populations. In the total sample (n = 580), we revealed 12 allelic variants of the GJB2 gene, 8 of which were recessive pathogenic variants. Ten genotypes with biallelic recessive pathogenic variants in the GJB2 gene (in a homozygous or a compound heterozygous state) were found in 192 out of 393 patients (48.85%). We found that the most frequent GJB2 pathogenic variant in the Yakut patients was c.-23+1G>A (51.82%) and that the second most frequent was c.109G>A (2.37%), followed by c.35delG (1.64%). Pathogenic variants с.35delG (22.34%), c.-23+1G>A (5.31%), and c.313_326del14 (2.12%) were found to be the most frequent among the Russian patients. The carrier frequencies of the c.-23+1G>A and с.109G>A pathogenic variants in the Yakut control group were 10.20% and 2.80%, respectively. The carrier frequencies of с.35delG and c.101T>C were identical (2.5%) in the Russian control group. We found that the contribution of the GJB2 gene pathogenic variants in HI in the population of the Sakha Republic (48.85%) was the highest among all of the previously studied regions of Asia. We suggest that extensive accumulation of the c.-23+1G>A pathogenic variant in the indigenous Yakut population (92.20% of all mutant chromosomes in patients) and an extremely high (10.20%) carrier frequency in the control group may indicate a possible selective advantage for the c.-23+1G>A carriers living in subarctic climate.

Age-Related Hearing Impairment (ARHI) associated with GJB2 single mutation IVS1+1G>A in the Yakut population isolate in Eastern Siberia.

Age-Related Hearing Impairment (ARHI) is one of the frequent sensory disorders registered in 50% of individuals over 80 years. ARHI is a multifactorial disorder due to environmental and poor-known genetic components. In this study, we present the data on age-related hearing impairment of 48 heterozygous carriers of mutation IVS1+1G>A (GJB2 gene) and 97 subjects with GJB2 genotype wt/wt in the Republic of Sakha/Yakutia (Eastern Siberia, Russia). This subarctic territory was found as the region with the most extensive accumulation of mutation IVS1+1G>A in the world as a result of founder effect in the unique Yakut population isolate. The GJB2 gene resequencing and detailed audiological analysis in the frequency range 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 kHz were performed in all examined subjects that allowed to investigate genotype-phenotype correlations between the presence of single mutation IVS1+1G>A and hearing of subjects from examined groups. We revealed the linear correlation between increase of average hearing thresholds at speech frequencies (PTA0.5,1.0,2.0,4.0 kHz) and age of individuals with GJB2 genotype IVS1+1G>A/wt (rs = 0.499, p = 0.006860 for males and rs = 0.427, p = 0.000277 for females). Moreover, the average hearing thresholds on high frequency (8.0 kHz) in individuals with genotype IVS1+1G>A/wt (both sexes) were significantly worse than in individuals with genotype wt/wt (p<0.05). Age of hearing loss manifestation in individuals with genotype IVS1+1G>A/wt was estimated to be ∼40 years (rs = 0.504, p = 0.003). These findings demonstrate that the single IVS1+1G>A mutation (GJB2) is associated with age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) of the IVS1+1G>A carriers in the Yakuts.