The identification of two pathogenic variants in a family with mild and severe forms of developmental delay.

Intellectual disability (ID) accounts for 1% of the general population, and it is caused by the interplay between the genetic and/or environmental factors. The genetic components responsible for the development of ID are highly heterogeneous, and the phenotype and severity of the disease vary in patients even if they have an identical pathological variant and/or belong to the same family. Herein, we reported two male siblings with ID in an Iranian family. By means of the whole-exome sequencing method, elder brother affected by a moderate form of ID exhibited a de novo missense variant in the KCNQ3 gene, while another sibling afflicted with a severe form of the disease exhibited a de novo in-frame deletion in the UBE3A gene. Both variants have been previously ascribed to similar clinical phenotypes. In addition, a genetic variant in the KCNQ3 gene was transmitted to his son, who had a mild form of ID. To our knowledge, all individuals with KCNQ3-related developmental delay show de novo variants in the KCNQ3 gene. Thus, this familial case exhibit milder phenotype that might extend the clinical spectrum of KCNQ3 pathogenic variants. In addition, the current report highlights the significance of the clinical evaluation and non-biased assessment of the genetic analysis.

A novel homozygous mutation in HSF4 causing autosomal recessive congenital cataract.

Cataract is defined as opacity in the crystalline lens and congenital cataract occurs during the first year of life. Until now, mutations of more than 50 genes in congenital cataract have been reported with various modes of inheritance. Among them, HSF4 mutations have been reported in autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive and age-related forms of cataract. The inheritance patterns of these mutations depend on their mutational positions in HSF4: autosomal dominant or recessive mutations are respectively found either in a DNA-binding domain or in (or downstream of) hydrophobic repeats. Here we report a novel homozygous HSF4 mutation (c.521T>C, p.Leu174Pro) in two affected sibs of an Iranian consanguineous family using whole exome sequencing. The mutation is predicted as highly pathogenic by in silico analysis (SIFT, Polyphen2 and MutationTaster) and is not found in any of control databases. This mutation is located in a hydrophobic repeat of the HSF4 protein, which is consistent with the mode of inheritance as an autosomal recessive trait.

Application of Epstein-Barr Virus for Optimization of Immortalized B-lymphocyte Production as a Positive Control in Genetic Studies.

BACKGROUND: Infection of B-cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) leads to more and subsequent immortalization. This is considered as the method of choice for generating lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Producing LCLs, although very useful but is very time consuming and troublesome, drives the requirement for quicker and more reliable methods for EBV-driven B-cell transformation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After successfully production of LCLs, different parameters including temperature, serum concentration, type of culture medium, and CO2 concentration were evaluated on EBV-transformed B-cells. In this study, we were able to produce LCLs and optimize condition. RESULTS: The best condition for generating LCLs was 37°C, 5% CO2, 20% fasting blood sugar, and RPMI 1640. The study results were to establish a reliable method for producing LCLs that can be used to produce immortalized B-cells from almost any sources. CONCLUSION: This can help with tumorgenecity studies, as well as producing control material for rare genetic disorders and so on. The aim of this study was to determine optimized condition for reliable and reproducible LCLs from different sources.