Mutations affecting the SAND domain of DEAF1 cause intellectual disability with severe speech impairment and behavioral problems.

Recently, we identified in two individuals with intellectual disability (ID) different de novo mutations in DEAF1, which encodes a transcription factor with an important role in embryonic development. To ascertain whether these mutations in DEAF1 are causative for the ID phenotype, we performed targeted resequencing of DEAF1 in an additional cohort of over 2,300 individuals with unexplained ID and identified two additional individuals with de novo mutations in this gene. All four individuals had severe ID with severely affected speech development, and three showed severe behavioral problems. DEAF1 is highly expressed in the CNS, especially during early embryonic development. All four mutations were missense mutations affecting the SAND domain of DEAF1. Altered DEAF1 harboring any of the four amino acid changes showed impaired transcriptional regulation of the DEAF1 promoter. Moreover, behavioral studies in mice with a conditional knockout of Deaf1 in the brain showed memory deficits and increased anxiety-like behavior. Our results demonstrate that mutations in DEAF1 cause ID and behavioral problems, most likely as a result of impaired transcriptional regulation by DEAF1.

Refinement of the critical 2p25.3 deletion region: the role of MYT1L in intellectual disability and obesity.

PURPOSE: Submicroscopic deletions of chromosome band 2p25.3 are associated with intellectual disability and/or central obesity. Although MYT1L is believed to be a critical gene responsible for intellectual disability, so far no unequivocal data have confirmed this hypothesis. METHODS: In this study we evaluated a cohort of 22 patients (15 sporadic patients and two families) with a 2p25.3 aberration to further refine the clinical phenotype and to delineate the role of MYT1L in intellectual disability and obesity. In addition, myt1l spatiotemporal expression in zebrafish embryos was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and whole-mount in situ hybridization. RESULTS: Complete MYT1L deletion, intragenic deletion, or duplication was observed in all sporadic patients, in addition to two patients with a de novo point mutation in MYT1L. The familial cases comprise a 6-Mb deletion in a father and his three children and a 5' MYT1L overlapping duplication in a father and his two children. Expression analysis in zebrafish embryos shows specific myt1l expression in the developing brain. CONCLUSION: Our data strongly strengthen the hypothesis that MYT1L is the causal gene for the observed syndromal intellectual disability. Moreover, because 17 patients present with obesity/overweight, haploinsufficiency of MYT1L might predispose to weight problems with childhood onset.Genet Med 17 6, 460-466.

Massively parallel sequencing for early molecular diagnosis in Leber congenital amaurosis.

PURPOSE: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rare congenital retinal dystrophy associated with 16 genes. Recent breakthroughs in LCA gene therapy offer the first prospect of treating inherited blindness, which requires an unequivocal and early molecular diagnosis. While present genetic tests do not address this due to a tremendous genetic heterogeneity, massively parallel sequencing (MPS) strategies might bring a solution. Here, we developed a comprehensive molecular test for LCA based on targeted MPS of all exons of 16 known LCA genes. METHODS: We designed a unique and flexible workflow for targeted resequencing of all 236 exons from 16 LCA genes based on quantitative PCR (qPCR) amplicon ligation, shearing, and parallel sequencing of multiple patients on a single lane of a short-read sequencer. Twenty-two prescreened LCA patients were included, five of whom had a known molecular cause. RESULTS: Validation of 107 variations was performed as proof of concept. In addition, the causal genetic defect and a single heterozygous mutation were identified in 3 and 5, respectively, of 17 patients without previously identified mutations. CONCLUSION: We propose a novel targeted MPS-based approach that is suitable for accurate, fast, and cost-effective early molecular testing in LCA, and easily applicable in other genetic disorders.

Publisher Correction: BATCH-GE: Batch analysis of Next-Generation Sequencing data for genome editing assessment.

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Mutations in KEOPS-complex genes cause nephrotic syndrome with primary microcephaly.

Galloway-Mowat syndrome (GAMOS) is an autosomal-recessive disease characterized by the combination of early-onset nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) and microcephaly with brain anomalies. Here we identified recessive mutations in OSGEP, TP53RK, TPRKB, and LAGE3, genes encoding the four subunits of the KEOPS complex, in 37 individuals from 32 families with GAMOS. CRISPR-Cas9 knockout in zebrafish and mice recapitulated the human phenotype of primary microcephaly and resulted in early lethality. Knockdown of OSGEP, TP53RK, or TPRKB inhibited cell proliferation, which human mutations did not rescue. Furthermore, knockdown of these genes impaired protein translation, caused endoplasmic reticulum stress, activated DNA-damage-response signaling, and ultimately induced apoptosis. Knockdown of OSGEP or TP53RK induced defects in the actin cytoskeleton and decreased the migration rate of human podocytes, an established intermediate phenotype of SRNS. We thus identified four new monogenic causes of GAMOS, describe a link between KEOPS function and human disease, and delineate potential pathogenic mechanisms.

BATCH-GE: Batch analysis of Next-Generation Sequencing data for genome editing assessment.

Targeted mutagenesis by the CRISPR/Cas9 system is currently revolutionizing genetics. The ease of this technique has enabled genome engineering in-vitro and in a range of model organisms and has pushed experimental dimensions to unprecedented proportions. Due to its tremendous progress in terms of speed, read length, throughput and cost, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has been increasingly used for the analysis of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing experiments. However, the current tools for genome editing assessment lack flexibility and fall short in the analysis of large amounts of NGS data. Therefore, we designed BATCH-GE, an easy-to-use bioinformatics tool for batch analysis of NGS-generated genome editing data, available from https://github.com/WouterSteyaert/BATCH-GE.git. BATCH-GE detects and reports indel mutations and other precise genome editing events and calculates the corresponding mutagenesis efficiencies for a large number of samples in parallel. Furthermore, this new tool provides flexibility by allowing the user to adapt a number of input variables. The performance of BATCH-GE was evaluated in two genome editing experiments, aiming to generate knock-out and knock-in zebrafish mutants. This tool will not only contribute to the evaluation of CRISPR/Cas9-based experiments, but will be of use in any genome editing experiment and has the ability to analyze data from every organism with a sequenced genome.