Mosaicism of a Truncating Variant of CASK Causes Congenital Heart Disease and Neurodevelopmental Disorder.

Introduction: Calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) gene mutations cause microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH) and X-linked intellectual disability. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a rare complication reported in only 4 male patients with full loss-of-function mutations. Here, we report the first male patient with mosaicism of a truncating variant of CASK complicated by CHD. Case Presentation: The patient is a 6-year-old male with MICPCH, ventricular septal defect, and developmental delay. He achieved rolling over but can not speak meaningful words. We identified a somatic mosaic variant of CASK: c.[725=/G>A], p.(W242*) and high mosaic ratios of 90% and 84% for mutant alleles in peripheral blood lymphocytes and skin fibroblasts, respectively. His developmental delay was severe but milder than that of previously reported CHD patients. Discussion: Truncating CASK variants may be associated with CHD, even in a mosaic state, and even a low normal allele ratio could lengthen survivorship.

Novel COL2A1 variants in Japanese patients with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita.

Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC) is a multisystemic skeletal disorder caused by pathogenic variants in COL2A1. Here, we report the genotype-phenotype correlations in five Japanese patients with SEDC based on their clinical and radiological findings. All five patients had novel missense variants resulting in glycine substitutions (G474V, G543E, G567S, G594R, and G1170R). Genetic testing is important for early intervention for the extraskeletal complications of SEDC. Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC) (OMIM#183900) is an autosomal dominant chondrodysplasia characterized by disproportionate short stature, abnormal epiphyses, flattened vertebral bodies (skeletal abnormalities), and extraskeletal features, including myopia, retinal degeneration with retinal detachment, and cleft palate. SEDC is caused by a heterozygous variant in the collagen II alpha 1 (COL2A1) gene.

Divergent variant patterns among 19 patients with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome uncovered by comprehensive genetic analysis including whole genome sequencing.

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is characterized by dysmorphic facial features, broad thumbs, and intellectual disability. CREB-binding protein (CREBBP) or E1A-binding protein P300 (EP300) are causative genes. To elucidate the underlying genetic and genomic architecture related to the RSTS phenotype, we performed comprehensive genetic analysis targeting CREBBP and/or EP300 in 22 clinically diagnosed patients. During the 11-year study period, we used several analysis methods including high-resolution melting, array-based comparative genomic hybridization, panel-based exome sequencing, whole exome sequencing, and whole genome sequencing (WGS). We identified the causative variants in 19 patients (86.3%), but they were variable and complex, so we must combine multiple analysis methods. Notably, we found genetic alterations in the non-coding regions of two patients (10.5%, 2/19): scattered deletions including a partial 5'-untranslated region of CREBBP in one patient (all coding exons were intact), and a deep 229-bp intronic deletion in another patient, resulting in a splicing error. Furthermore, we identified rare clinical findings: two patients with an EP300 variant showed abnormal development of the neural tube, and one patient with a CREBBP variant had anorectal atresia with a cloaca. Our findings expand the allelic heterogeneity of RSTS, underscore the utility of comprehensive genetic analysis, and suggest that WGS may be a practical diagnostic strategy.

Update of the genotype and phenotype of KMT2D and KDM6A by genetic screening of 100 patients with clinically suspected Kabuki syndrome.

Kabuki syndrome is characterized by a variable degree of intellectual disability, characteristic facial features, and complications in various organs. Many variants have been identified in two causative genes, that is, lysine methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D) and lysine demethylase 6A (KDM6A). In this study, we present the results of genetic screening of 100 patients with a suspected diagnosis of Kabuki syndrome in our center from July 2010 to June 2018. We identified 76 variants (43 novel) in KMT2D and 4 variants (3 novel) in KDM6A as pathogenic or likely pathogenic. Rare variants included a deep splicing variant (c.14000-8C>G) confirmed by RNA sequencing and an 18% mosaicism level for a KMT2D mutation. We also characterized a case with a blended phenotype consisting of Kabuki syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, and 16p13.11 microdeletion. We summarized the clinical phenotypes of 44 patients including a patient who developed cervical cancer of unknown origin at 16 years of age. This study presents important details of patients with Kabuki syndrome including rare clinical cases and expands our genetic understanding of this syndrome, which will help clinicians and researchers better manage and understand patients with Kabuki syndrome they may encounter.

A Japanese girl with mild xeroderma pigmentosum group D neurological disease diagnosed using whole-exome sequencing.

We report a Japanese girl with mild xeroderma pigmentosum group D neurological disease. She had short stature, cataracts, intellectual disability, and mild skin symptoms. However, she was not clinically diagnosed. Using whole-exome sequencing, we identified compound heterozygous pathogenic variants in ERCC2. In the future, the patient may develop skin cancer and her neurological symptoms may progress. Early genetic testing is necessary to clarify the cause of symptoms in undiagnosed patients.

Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome with a novel DNMT3A mutation presented severe intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.

Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome is a congenital anomaly syndrome that manifests with overgrowth, macrocephaly, and characteristic facial features. This autosomal dominant disease is caused by a germline mutation in DNMT3A. Some patients with this syndrome develop mild to severe intellectual disability, which is sometimes accompanied by autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disorders. We report a Japanese patient with severe intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder with a de novo mutation in the active domain of DNMT3A.

An efficient genetic test flow for multiple congenital anomalies and intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Genetic testing has enabled the diagnosis of multiple congenital anomalies and/or intellectual disabilities. However, because of the phenotypic variability in these disorders, selection of an appropriate genetic test can be difficult and complex. For clinical examination, particularly in clinical facilities, a simple and standardized system is needed. METHODS: We compared microarray comparative genomic hybridization and clinical exome sequencing with regard to diagnostic yield, cost, and time required to reach a definitive diagnosis. After first performing G-banding for 200 patients with multiple congenital anomalies and/or intellectual disability, as a subsequent genetic test, microarray and clinical exome sequencing were compared with regard to diagnostic yield, cost, and time required. RESULTS: There was no obvious difference in the diagnostic rate between the two methods; however, clinical exome sequencing was superior in terms of cost and time. In addition, clinical exome sequencing could sufficiently identify copy number variants, and even smaller copy number variants could be identified. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical exome sequencing should be implemented earlier as a genetic test for undiagnosed patients with multiple congenital anomalies and/or intellectual disabilities. Our results can be used to establish inspection methods in clinical facilities.

CNV analysis using whole exome sequencing identified biallelic CNVs of VPS13B in siblings with intellectual disability.

Cohen syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by myopia, retinal dystrophy, neutropenia, short stature, microcephaly, persistent hypotonia, intellectual disability (ID), and a distinct facial appearance. Cohen syndrome is caused by mutations, such as single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and small insertions/deletions, and copy number variations (CNVs) in vacuolar protein sorting 13 homolog B (VPS13B). Here, we report Japanese siblings with ID, who were subsequently diagnosed with Cohen syndrome by whole exome sequencing (WES). The older sister had hypotonia and mild to moderate ID. The younger sister had short stature, postnatal onset microcephaly, and developmental delay. No pathogenic mutations, including SNVs or small insertions/deletions, were found by WES. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH)-array did not detect pathogenic copy-number variations. However, using log2-ratio values calculated from WES depth data, we detected pathogenic biallelic heterozygous CNVs in VPS13B in both sisters: a maternally-derived exons 8-15 deletion and a paternally-derived exons 32-33 deletion. Interestingly, the sisters did not show obvious clinical features suggestive of Cohen syndrome, including the distinct facial appearance. These results support the idea that the typical facial features of Cohen syndrome do not appear in early childhood, and that the late appearance of distinctive clinical features results in delayed diagnosis. Furthermore, these results show the possibility that CNV analysis using log2-ratio values calculated from WES depth data is a useful and effective method to detect CNVs, such as the deletion of multiple exons.

Two unrelated girls with intellectual disability associated with a truncating mutation in the PPM1D penultimate exon.

PPM1D truncating mutations in the last and penultimate exons of the gene have been associated with intellectual disability (ID) syndrome. Only 15 affected patients to-date have been reported with mild-to-severe ID, autistic behavior, anxiety and dysmorphic features. Here, we describe the clinical characteristics and underlying genetics of two unrelated girls with moderate developmental delay and dysmorphic features associated with novel mutations in PPM1D exon 5. The dysmorphic features demonstrated by these two patients are consistent with previously reported patients, including broad forehead, thin upper lip, brachydactyly, and hypoplastic nails. We identified a de novo PPM1D mutation in exon 5 of each patient (c.1250_1251insACCA p.V419Tfs*16 and c.1256_1257insCAAG p.S421Qfs*14) by panel sequencing for 4,813 disease-related genes. Both patients also had frameshift mutations (at different positions) that resulted in the same estimated termination codon at 434. These additional reports add to the growing literature on PPM1D-associated ID syndrome and help delineate the clinical phenotype and genetic basis.

Nonsyndromic intellectual disability with novel heterozygous SCN2A mutation and epilepsy.

SCN2A mutations are primarily associated with a variety of epilepsy syndromes. Recently, SCN2A has been reported as a gene responsible for nonsyndromic intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorders. Here, we present a case of a 12-year-old girl with nonsyndromic intellectual disability who exhibited a heterozygous de novo missense mutation in SCN2A. She developed seizures during the course of illness. This case suggests that the phenotype of patients with heterozygous SCN2A mutations can be variable.

Biallelic mutations of EGFR in a compound heterozygous state cause ectodermal dysplasia with severe skin defects and gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a receptor that recognizes epidermal growth factor, is a very important regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation. To date, three cases of severe ectodermal dysplasia were reported to be caused by an inherited germline homozygous loss-of-function missense mutation of EGFR. This is the first report of a patient with biallelic compound heterozygous mutations in EGFR.

Haploinsufficiency of BCL11A associated with cerebellar abnormalities in 2p15p16.1 deletion syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Chromosome 2p15p16.1 deletion syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability (ID), neurodevelopmental delay, language delay, growth retardation, microcephaly, structural brain abnormalities, and dysmorphic features. More than 30 patients with 2p15p16.1 microdeletion syndrome have been reported in the literature. METHODS: Molecular analysis was performed using microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH). Clinical characteristics and brain magnetic resonance imaging features of these patients were also reviewed. RESULTS: We identified four patients with ID, neurodevelopmental delay, brain malformations, and dysmorphic features; two patients with 2p15p16.1 deletions (3.24 Mb, 5.04 Mb), one patient with 2p16.1 deletion (1.12 Mb), and one patient with 2p14p16.1 deletion (5.12 Mb). Three patients with 2p15p16.1 deletions or 2p16.1 deletions encompassing BCL11A,PAPOLG, and REL showed hypoplasia of the pons and cerebellum. The patient with 2p14p16.1 deletion, which did not include three genes showed normal size and shape of the cerebellar hemispheres and pons. CONCLUSION: The zinc finger transcription factor BCL11A associated with the BAF chromatin remodeling complex has been identified to be critical for neural development and BCL11A haploinsufficiency is closely related to cerebellar abnormalities.

The severe clinical phenotype for a heterozygous Fabry female patient correlates to the methylation of non-mutated allele associated with chromosome 10q26 deletion syndrome.

Heterozygous Fabry females usually have an attenuated form of Fabry disease, causing them to be symptomatic; however, in rare cases, they can present with a severe phenotype. In this study, we report on a 37-year-old woman with acroparesthesia, a dysmorphic face, left ventricular hypertrophy, and intellectual disability. Her father had Fabry disease and died due to chronic renal and congestive cardiac failure. Her paternal uncle had chronic renal failure and intellectual disability, and her paternal aunt was affected with congestive cardiac failure. The patient has two sisters with no significant medical illness. However, her nephew has acroparesthesia, anhidrosis, and school phobia, and her niece shows mild phenotypes. The patient's enzyme analysis showed very low α-galactosidase A (α-gal A) activity in dried blood spot (DBS), lymphocytes, and skin fibroblasts with massive excretion of Gb3 and Gb2 in urine and lyso-Gb3 in DBS and plasma. Electron microscopic examination showed a large accumulation of sphingolipids in vascular endothelial cells and keratinocytes. Chromosomal analysis and comparative genomic hybridization microarray showed 10q26 terminal deletion. Molecular data showed a novel heterozygous stop codon mutation in exon 1 of the GLA gene in her sisters and niece, and a hemizygous state in her nephew. When we checked the methylation status, we found her non-mutated allele in the GLA gene was methylated. However, the non-mutated alleles of her sisters were non-methylated, and those of her niece were partially methylated. The chromosomal and methylation study may speculate the severity of her clinical phenotypes.

Non-myeloablative preconditioning with ACK2 (anti-c-kit antibody) is efficient in bone marrow transplantation for murine models of mucopolysaccharidosis type II.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by the deficient activity of iduronate 2-sulfatase (IDS), which is involved in the lysosomal catabolism of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) dermatan and heparan sulfate. Such a deficiency leads to the accumulation of undegraded GAGs in some organs. Although enzyme replacement therapy is available as a treatment of MPS II, there are some limitations, such as the requirement of weekly administration for whole life. To avoid such limitations, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HSCT) is a possible alternative. In fact, some report suggested positive effects of HSCT for MPS II. However, HSCT has also some limitations. Strong conditioning regimens can cause severe side effects. For overcome this obstacle, we studied the efficacy of ACK2, an antibody that blocks KIT, followed by low-dose irradiation as a preconditioning regimen for HSCT using a murine model of MPS II. This protocol achieves 58.7±4.92% donor chimerism at 16weeks after transplantation in the peripheral blood of recipient mice. GAG levels were significantly reduced in liver, spleen, heart and intestine. These results indicated that ACK2-based preconditioning might be one of the choices for MPS II patients who receive HSCT.

Akt inactivation induces endoplasmic reticulum stress-independent autophagy in fibroblasts from patients with Pompe disease.

Pompe disease (glycogen storage disease type II) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder arising from a deficiency of lysosomal acid α-glucosidase (GAA). Accumulation of autophagosomes is a key pathological change in skeletal muscle fibers and fibroblasts from patients with Pompe disease and is implicated in the poor response to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). We previously found that mutant GAA-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress initiated autophagy in patient fibroblasts. However, the mechanism of induction of autophagy in fibroblasts from Pompe disease patients lacking ER stress remains unclear. In this study, we show that inactivated Akt induces ER stress-independent autophagy via mTOR suppression in patient fibroblasts. Activated autophagy as evidenced by increased levels of LC3-II and autophagic vesicles was observed in patient fibroblasts, whereas PERK phosphorylation reflecting the presence of ER stress was not observed in them. These patient fibroblasts showed decreased levels of not only phosphorylated Akt, but also phosphorylated p70 S6 kinase. Treatment with insulin, which acts as an activator of the Akt signaling pathway, resulted in increased phosphorylation of both Akt and p70 S6 kinase and suppression of autophagy in patient fibroblasts. In addition, following combination treatment with recombinant human GAA plus insulin, enhanced localization of the enzymes with lysosomes was observed in patient fibroblasts. These findings define a critical role of Akt suppression in the induction of autophagy in fibroblasts from patients with Pompe disease carrying an ER stress non-inducible mutation, and they provide evidence that insulin may potentiate the effect of ERT.