Diagnostic Utility of Genome-wide DNA Methylation Analysis in Genetically Unsolved Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies and Refinement of a CHD2 Episignature.

Sequence-based genetic testing currently identifies causative genetic variants in ∼50% of individuals with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). Aberrant changes in DNA methylation are implicated in various neurodevelopmental disorders but remain unstudied in DEEs. Rare epigenetic variations ("epivariants") can drive disease by modulating gene expression at single loci, whereas genome-wide DNA methylation changes can result in distinct "episignature" biomarkers for monogenic disorders in a growing number of rare diseases. Here, we interrogate the diagnostic utility of genome-wide DNA methylation array analysis on peripheral blood samples from 516 individuals with genetically unsolved DEEs who had previously undergone extensive genetic testing. We identified rare differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and explanatory episignatures to discover causative and candidate genetic etiologies in 10 individuals. We then used long-read sequencing to identify DNA variants underlying rare DMRs, including one balanced translocation, three CG-rich repeat expansions, and two copy number variants. We also identify pathogenic sequence variants associated with episignatures; some had been missed by previous exome sequencing. Although most DEE genes lack known episignatures, the increase in diagnostic yield for DNA methylation analysis in DEEs is comparable to the added yield of genome sequencing. Finally, we refine an episignature for CHD2 using an 850K methylation array which was further refined at higher CpG resolution using bisulfite sequencing to investigate potential insights into CHD2 pathophysiology. Our study demonstrates the diagnostic yield of genome-wide DNA methylation analysis to identify causal and candidate genetic causes as ∼2% (10/516) for unsolved DEE cases.

Improved diagnostics by exome sequencing following raw data reevaluation by clinical geneticists involved in the medical care of the individuals tested.

PURPOSE: Reanalysis of exome sequencing data when results are negative may yield additional diagnoses. We sought to estimate the contribution of clinical geneticists to the interpretation of sequencing data of their patients. METHODS: The cohort included 84 probands attending a tertiary genetics institute (2015-2018) with a nondiagnostic result on clinical exome sequencing performed in one of five external laboratories. The raw data were uploaded to the Emedgene bioinformatics and interpretation platform for reanalysis by a team of two clinical geneticists, the geneticist directly involved in the patient's care, and a bioinformatician. RESULTS: In ten probands (11.9%), a new definitive diagnosis was reached based on genes that were known to be associated with the phenotype at the time the original report was issued. The main reasons for a negative exome result were incorrect interpretation of the clinical context and absence of OMIM entry. Pathogenic variants in genes with previously unknown gene-disease associations were discovered to be causative in three probands. In total, new diagnoses were established in 13/84 individuals (15.5%). CONCLUSION: Direct access to complete clinical data and shortening of time to including gene-phenotype associations in databases can assist the analytics team and reduce the need for additional unnecessary tests.

Homozygous mutations in VAMP1 cause a presynaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome.

We report 2 families with undiagnosed recessive presynaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS). Whole exome or genome sequencing identified segregating homozygous variants in VAMP1: c.51_64delAGGTGGGGGTCCCC in a Kuwaiti family and c.146G>C in an Israeli family. VAMP1 is crucial for vesicle fusion at presynaptic neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Electrodiagnostic examination showed severely low compound muscle action potentials and presynaptic impairment. We assessed the effect of the nonsense mutation on mRNA levels and evaluated the NMJ transmission in VAMP1lew/lew mice, observing neurophysiological features of presynaptic impairment, similar to the patients. Taken together, our findings highlight VAMP1 homozygous mutations as a cause of presynaptic CMS. Ann Neurol 2017;81:597-603.

De novo KCNH1 mutations in four patients with syndromic developmental delay, hypotonia and seizures.

The voltage-gated Kv10.1 potassium channel, also known as ether-a-go-go-related gene 1, encoded by KCNH1 (potassium voltage-gated channel, subfamily H (eag related), member 1) is predominantly expressed in the central nervous system. Recently, de novo missense KCNH1 mutations have been identified in six patients with Zimmermann-Laband syndrome and in four patients with Temple-Baraitser syndrome. These syndromes were historically considered distinct. Here we report three de novo missense KCNH1 mutations in four patients with syndromic developmental delay and epilepsy. Two novel KCNH1 mutations (p.R357Q and p.R357P), found in three patients, were located at the evolutionally highly conserved arginine in the channel voltage-sensor domain (S4). Another mutation (p.G496E) was found in the channel pore domain (S6) helix, which acts as a hinge in activation gating and mainly conducts non-inactivating outward potassium current. A previously reported p.G496R mutation was shown to produce no voltage-dependent outward current in CHO cells, suggesting that p.G496E may also disrupt the proper function of the Kv channel pore. Our report confirms that KCNH1 mutations are associated with syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder, and also support the functional importance of the S4 domain.

Biallelic SZT2 mutations cause infantile encephalopathy with epilepsy and dysmorphic corpus callosum.

Epileptic encephalopathies are genetically heterogeneous severe disorders in which epileptic activity contributes to neurological deterioration. We studied two unrelated children presenting with a distinctive early-onset epileptic encephalopathy characterized by refractory epilepsy and absent developmental milestones, as well as thick and short corpus callosum and persistent cavum septum pellucidum on brain MRI. Using whole-exome sequencing, we identified biallelic mutations in seizure threshold 2 (SZT2) in both affected children. The causative mutations include a homozygous nonsense mutation and a nonsense mutation together with an exonic splice-site mutation in a compound-heterozygous state. The latter mutation leads to exon skipping and premature termination of translation, as shown by RT-PCR in blood RNA of the affected boy. Thus, all three mutations are predicted to result in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay and/or premature protein truncation and thereby loss of SZT2 function. Although the molecular role of the peroxisomal protein SZT2 in neuronal excitability and brain development remains to be defined, Szt2 has been shown to influence seizure threshold and epileptogenesis in mice, consistent with our findings in humans. We conclude that mutations in SZT2 cause a severe type of autosomal-recessive infantile encephalopathy with intractable seizures and distinct neuroradiological anomalies.