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1.
Front Genet ; 14: 1135438, 2023.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37035729

Background: Laminopathies are caused by rare alterations in LMNA, leading to a wide clinical spectrum. Though muscular dystrophy begins at early ages, disease progression is different in each patient. We investigated variability in laminopathy phenotypes by performing a targeted genetic analysis of patients diagnosed with LMNA-related muscular dystrophy to identify rare variants in alternative genes, thereby explaining phenotypic differences. Methods: We analyzed 105 genes associated with muscular diseases by targeted sequencing in 26 pediatric patients of different countries, diagnosed with any LMNA-related muscular dystrophy. Family members were also clinically assessed and genetically analyzed. Results: All patients carried a pathogenic rare variant in LMNA. Clinical diagnoses included Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD, 13 patients), LMNA-related congenital muscular dystrophy (L-CMD, 11 patients), and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 1B (LGMD1B, 2 patients). In 9 patients, 10 additional rare genetic variants were identified in 8 genes other than LMNA. Genotype-phenotype correlation showed additional deleterious rare variants in five of the nine patients (3 L-CMD and 2 EDMD) with severe phenotypes. Conclusion: Analysis f known genes related to muscular diseases in close correlation with personalized clinical assessments may help identify additional rare variants of LMNA potentially associated with early onset or most severe disease progression.

2.
Int J Legal Med ; 137(2): 345-351, 2023 Mar.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36693943

Sudden death cases in the young population remain without a conclusive cause of decease in almost 40% of cases. In these situations, cardiac arrhythmia of genetic origin is suspected as the most plausible cause of death. Molecular autopsy may reveal a genetic defect in up to 20% of families. Most than 80% of rare variants remain classified with an ambiguous role, impeding a useful clinical translation. Our aim was to update rare variants originally classified as of unknown significance to clarify their role. Our cohort included fifty-one post-mortem samples of young cases who died suddenly and without a definite cause of death. Five years ago, molecular autopsy identified at least one rare genetic alteration classified then as ambiguous following the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics' recommendations. We have reclassified the same rare variants including novel data. About 10% of ambiguous variants change to benign/likely benign mainly because of improved population frequencies. Excluding cases who died before one year of age, almost 21% of rare ambiguous variants change to benign/likely benign. This fact makes it important to discard these rare variants as a cause of sudden unexplained death, avoiding anxiety in relatives' carriers. Twenty-five percent of the remaining variants show a tendency to suspicious deleterious role, highlighting clinical follow-up of carriers. Periodical reclassification of rare variants originally classified as ambiguous is crucial, at least updating frequencies every 5 years. This action aids to increase accuracy to enable and conclude a cause of death as well as translation into the clinic.


Arrhythmias, Cardiac , Death, Sudden , Humans , Death, Sudden/etiology , Mutation , Gene Frequency , Autopsy , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology
3.
J Pers Med ; 12(2)2022 Feb 08.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35207729

The titin gene (TTN) is associated with several diseases, including inherited arrhythmias. Most of these diagnoses are attributed to rare TTN variants encoding truncated forms, but missense variants represent a diagnostic challenge for clinical genetics. The proper interpretation of genetic data is critical for translation into the clinical setting. Notably, many TTN variants were classified before 2015, when the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) published recommendations to accurately classify genetic variants. Our aim was to perform an exhaustive reanalysis of rare missense TTN variants that were classified before 2015, and that have ambiguous roles in inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes. Rare missense TTN variants classified before 2015 were updated following the ACMG recommendations and according to all the currently available data. Our cohort included 193 individuals definitively diagnosed with an inherited arrhythmogenic syndrome before 2015. Our analysis resulted in the reclassification of 36.8% of the missense variants from unknown to benign/likely benign. Of all the remaining variants, currently classified as of unknown significance, 38.3% showed a potential, but not confirmed, deleterious role. Most of these rare missense TTN variants with a suspected deleterious role were identified in patients diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. More than 35% of the rare missense TTN variants previously classified as ambiguous were reclassified as not deleterious, mainly because of improved population frequencies. Despite being inconclusive, almost 40% of the variants showed a potentially deleterious role in inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes. Our results highlight the importance of the periodical reclassification of rare missense TTN variants to improve genetic diagnoses and help increase the accuracy of personalized medicine.

4.
Hum Genet ; 141(10): 1579-1589, 2022 Oct.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34546463

A proper interpretation of the pathogenicity of rare variants is crucial before clinical translation. Ongoing addition of new data may modify previous variant classifications; however, how often a reanalysis is necessary remains undefined. We aimed to extensively reanalyze rare variants associated with inherited channelopathies originally classified 5 years ago and its clinical impact. In 2016, rare variants identified through genetic analysis were classified following the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics' recommendations. Five years later, we have reclassified the same variants following the same recommendations but including new available data. Potential clinical implications were discussed. Our cohort included 49 cases of inherited channelopathies diagnosed in 2016. Update show that 18.36% of the variants changed classification mainly due to improved global frequency data. Reclassifications mostly occurred in minority genes associated with channelopathies. Similar percentage of variants remain as deleterious nowadays, located in main known genes (SCN5A, KCNH2 and KCNQ1). In 2016, 69.38% of variants were classified as unknown significance, but now, 53.06% of variants are classified as such, remaining the most common group. No management was modified after translation of genetic data into clinics. After 5 years, nearly 20% of rare variants associated with inherited channelopathies were reclassified. This supports performing periodic reanalyses of no more than 5 years since last classification. Use of newly available data is necessary, especially concerning global frequencies and family segregation. Personalized clinical translation of rare variants can be crucial to management if a significant change in classification is identified.


Channelopathies , Channelopathies/genetics , Genetic Testing , Genomics , Humans , KCNQ1 Potassium Channel/genetics , Mutation
5.
Exp Biol Med (Maywood) ; 247(3): 276-281, 2022 02.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34903068

The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic requires a rapid, reliable, and user-friendly diagnostic test to help control the spread of the virus. Reverse transcription and quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is currently the gold standard method for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Here, we develop a protocol based on reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) and demonstrate increased sensitivity of this technique using fresh RNA extracts compared to RNA samples subjected to freezing/thawing cycles. We further compare RT-LAMP to RT-qPCR and demonstrate that the RT-LAMP approach has high sensitivity in fresh RNA extracts and can detect positive samples with Ct values between 8 and 35.


COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing/methods , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/methods , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods , RNA, Viral/isolation & purification , Colorimetry/methods , DNA Primers , Humans , Nasopharynx/virology , Reverse Transcription , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Sensitivity and Specificity
6.
Front Pediatr ; 9: 704580, 2021.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34395343

Introduction: Long QT syndrome is the main arrhythmogenic disease responsible for sudden death in infants, especially in the first days of life. Performing an electrocardiogram in newborns could enable early diagnosis and adoption of therapeutic measures focused on preventing lethal arrhythmogenic events. However, the inclusion of an electrocardiogram in neonatal screening protocols still remains a matter of discussion. To comprehensively analyse the potential clinical value of performing an electrocardiogram and subsequent follow-up in a cohort of newborns. Methods: Electrocardiograms were performed in 685 neonates within the first week of life. One year follow-up was performed if QTc > 450 ms identified. Comprehensive genetic analysis using massive sequencing was performed in all cases with QTc > 470 ms. Results: We identified 54 neonates with QTc > 450 ms/ <470 ms; all normalized QTc values within 6 months. Eight cases had QTc > 480 ms at birth and, if persistent, pharmacological treatment was administrated during follow-up. A rare variant was identified as the potential cause of long QT syndrome in five cases. Three cases showed a family history of sudden arrhythmogenic death. Conclusions: Our prospective study identifies 0.14% of cases with a definite long QT, supporting implementation of electrocardiograms in routine pediatric protocols. It is an effective, simple and non-invasive approach that can help prevent sudden death in neonates and their relatives. Genetic analyses help to unravel the cause of arrhythmogenic disease in diagnosing neonates. Further, clinical assessment and genetic analysis of relatives allowed early identification of family members at risk of arrhythmias helping to adopt preventive personalized measures.

7.
J Pers Med ; 11(3)2021 Feb 26.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33652588

Genetic interpretation of rare variants associated with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is essential due to their diagnostic implications. New data may relabel previous variant classifications, but how often reanalysis is necessary remains undefined. Five years ago, 39 rare ACM-related variants were identified in patients with features of cardiomyopathy. These variants were classified following the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics' guidelines. In the present study, we reevaluated these rare variants including novel available data. All cases carried one rare variant classified as being of ambiguous significance (82.05%) or likely pathogenic (17.95%) in 2016. In our comprehensive reanalysis, the classification of 30.77% of these variants changed, mainly due to updated global frequencies. As in 2016, nowadays most variants were classified as having an uncertain role (64.1%), but the proportion of variants with an uncertain role was significantly decreased (17.95%). The percentage of rare variants classified as potentially deleterious increased from 17.95% to 23.07%. Moreover, 83.33% of reclassified variants gained certainty. We propose that periodic genetic reanalysis of all rare variants associated with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy should be undertaken at least once every five years. Defining the roles of rare variants may help clinicians obtain a definite diagnosis.

8.
EBioMedicine ; 54: 102732, 2020 Apr.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32268277

BACKGROUND: Accurate interpretation of rare genetic variants is a challenge for clinical translation. Updates in recommendations for rare variant classification require the reanalysis and reclassification. We aim to perform an exhaustive re-analysis of rare variants associated with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes, which were classified ten years ago, to determine whether their classification aligns with current standards and research findings. METHODS: In 2010, the rare variants identified through genetic analysis were classified following recommendations available at that time. Nowadays, the same variants have been reclassified following current American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommendations. FINDINGS: Our cohort included 104 cases diagnosed with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes and 17 post-mortem cases in which inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes was cause of death. 71.87% of variants change their classification. While 65.62% of variants were classified as likely pathogenic in 2010, after reanalysis, only 17.96% remain as likely pathogenic. In 2010, 18.75% of variants were classified as uncertain role but nowadays 60.15% of variants are classified of unknown significance. INTERPRETATION: Reclassification occurred in more than 70% of rare variants associated with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes. Our results support the periodical reclassification and personalized clinical translation of rare variants to improve diagnosis and adjust treatment. FUNDING: Obra Social "La Caixa Foundation" (ID 100010434, LCF/PR/GN16/50290001 and LCF/PR/GN19/50320002), Fondo Investigacion Sanitaria (FIS PI16/01203 and FIS, PI17/01690), Sociedad Española de Cardiología, and "Fundacio Privada Daniel Bravo Andreu".


Arrhythmias, Cardiac/genetics , Mutation , Adult , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged
9.
J Clin Med ; 8(7)2019 Jul 16.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31315195

Short QT syndrome, one of the most lethal entities associated with sudden cardiac death, is a rare genetic disease characterized by short QT intervals detected by electrocardiogram. Several genetic variants are causally linked to the disease, but there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of variants among patients with short QT syndrome. To fill this gap, we performed an exhaustive study of variants currently catalogued as deleterious in short QT syndrome according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Analysis of the 32 variants described in the literature determined that only nine (28.12%) have a conclusive pathogenic role. All definitively pathogenic variants are located in KCNQ1, KCNH2, or KCNJ2; three genes encoding potassium channels. Other variants located in genes encoding calcium or sodium channels are associated with electrical alterations concomitant with shortened QT intervals but do not guarantee a diagnosis of short QT syndrome. We recommend caution regarding previously reported variants classified as pathogenic. An exhaustive re-analysis is necessary to clarify the role of each variant before routinely translating genetic findings to the clinical setting.

10.
PLoS One ; 13(7): e0200756, 2018.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30020974

BACKGROUND: Patients with end-stage renal disease have very high mortality. In individuals on hemodialysis, cardiovascular deaths account for ~50% of all deaths in this population, mostly due to arrhythmia. To determine the causes of these arrhythmic deaths is essential in order to adopt preventive strategies. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether, the presence of QTc interval alterations, from electrolyte abnormalities or presence of rare genetic variants, could have a relationship with sudden arrhythmogenic deaths in end-stage renal disease patients. METHODS: We recorded the pre- and post-dialysis QTc interval in 111 patients undergoing hemodialysis. In 47 of them, we analyzed 24 SCD-related genes including the most prevalent genes associated with long QT syndrome using a custom resequencing panel. RESULTS: We found a positive although not significant association between the presence of long QTc and mortality in a subset of end-stage renal disease patients. In addition, in five patients with long QTc only after dialysis (21.7%) we detected rare potentially pathogenic genetic variants. Three out of these five carriers subsequently died suddenly. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic background may be determinant in the risk of sudden cardiac death in these patients. We recommend evaluating the QTc interval before and after hemodialysis, and performing a genetic analysis of individuals with long QTc after hemodialysis.


Arrhythmias, Cardiac/metabolism , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/physiopathology , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/pathology , Electrolytes/metabolism , Kidney Failure, Chronic/metabolism , Kidney Failure, Chronic/physiopathology , Long QT Syndrome/physiopathology , Aged , Computational Biology , Electrocardiography , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged
11.
Eur J Hum Genet ; 26(7): 1014-1025, 2018 07.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29511324

Several studies have identified copy number variants (CNVs) as responsible for cardiac diseases associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD), but very few exhaustive analyses in large cohorts of patients have been performed, and they have been generally focused on a specific SCD-related disease. The aim of the present study was to screen for CNVs the most prevalent genes associated with SCD in a large cohort of patients who suffered sudden unexplained death or had an inherited cardiac disease (cardiomyopathy or channelopathy). A total of 1765 European patients were analyzed with a homemade algorithm for the assessment of CNVs using high-throughput sequencing data. Thirty-six CNVs were identified (2%), and most of them appeared to have a pathogenic role. The frequency of CNVs among cases of sudden unexplained death, patients with a cardiomyopathy or a channelopathy was 1.4% (8/587), 2.3% (20/874), and 2.6% (8/304), respectively. Detection rates were particularly high for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (5.1%), long QT syndrome (4.7%), and dilated cardiomyopathy (4.4%). As such large genomic rearrangements underlie a non-neglectable portion of cases, we consider that their analysis should be performed as part of the routine genetic testing of sudden unexpected death cases and patients with SCD-related diseases.


Arrhythmias, Cardiac/genetics , Cardiomyopathies/genetics , DNA Copy Number Variations/genetics , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/pathology , Adult , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/epidemiology , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/pathology , Autopsy , Cardiomyopathies/epidemiology , Cardiomyopathies/pathology , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/epidemiology , Female , Genetic Testing , Heart/physiopathology , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Phenotype
12.
PLoS One ; 12(12): e0189618, 2017.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29261713

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is an unpredicted condition in patients with a diagnosis of epilepsy, and autopsy does not conclusively identify cause of death. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie this entity remain unknown, the fact that epilepsy can affect cardiac function is not surprising. The genetic factors involving ion channels co-expressed in the heart and brain and other candidate genes have been previously described. In the present study, 20 epilepsy patients with personal or family history of heart rhythm disturbance/cardiac arrhythmias/sudden death were sequenced using a custom re-sequencing panel. Twenty-six relatives were genetically analysed to ascertain the family segregation in ten individuals. Four subjects revealed variants with positive genotype-phenotype segregation: four missense variants in the CDKL5, CNTNAP2, GRIN2A and ADGRV1 genes and one copy number variant in KCNQ1. The potential pathogenic role of variants in new candidate genes will need further studies in larger cohorts, and the evaluation of the potential pathogenic role in the cardio-cerebral mechanisms requires in vivo/in vitro studies. In addition to family segregation, evaluation of the potential pathogenic roles of these variants in cardio-cerebral mechanisms by in vivo/in vitro studies should also be performed. The potential pathogenic role of variants in new candidate genes will need further studies in larger cohorts.


Cardiac Conduction System Disease/complications , Cardiac Conduction System Disease/genetics , Death, Sudden/etiology , Epilepsy/complications , Epilepsy/genetics , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Chromosome Segregation , Cohort Studies , Exons/genetics , Female , Genetic Variation , Humans , Inheritance Patterns/genetics , Male , Middle Aged , Pedigree , Sequence Deletion/genetics , Young Adult
13.
Clin Kidney J ; 10(5): 672-678, 2017 Oct.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28979779

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the primary cause of death in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but current equations for assessing coronary risk have low accuracy in this group. We have reported that the addition of a genetic risk score (GRS) to the Framingham risk function improved its predictive capacity in the general population. The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between this GRS and coronary events in the CKD population and to determine whether the addition of the GRS to coronary risk prediction functions improves the estimation of coronary risk at the earliest possible stages of kidney disease. METHODS: A total of 632 CKD patients, aged 35-74 years, who had Stage 4-5 CKD, were on dialysis, had a functioning renal transplant or had returned to dialysis after transplant failure were included and followed up for a mean of 9.3 years. The transitions between disease states and the development of coronary events were registered. The increase in predictive ability that was obtained by including the GRS was measured as the improvement in the C-statistic and as the net reclassification index. RESULTS: The GRS was independently associated with the risk of CHD (hazards ratio 1.34; 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.71; P = 0.022), especially in Stages 4 and 5 CKD, and kidney transplant patients. A coronary risk prediction function that incorporated chronic kidney disease (CKD) disease state, age, sex and the GRS had significantly greater predictive capacity (AUC 70.1, P = 0.01) and showed good reclassification (net reclassification improvement 28.6). CONCLUSION: This new function, combining genetic and clinical data, identifies CKD patients with a high risk of coronary events more accurately, allowing us to prevent such events more effectively.

14.
PLoS One ; 12(8): e0181465, 2017.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28771489

INTRODUCTION: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most prevalent inherited heart disease. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is the preferred genetic test, but the diagnostic value of screening for minor and candidate genes, and the role of copy number variants (CNVs) deserves further evaluation. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty-seven consecutive unrelated patients with HCM were screened for genetic variants in the 5 most frequent genes (MYBPC3, MYH7, TNNT2, TNNI3 and TPM1) using Sanger sequencing (N = 84) or NGS (N = 303). In the NGS cohort we analyzed 20 additional minor or candidate genes, and applied a proprietary bioinformatics algorithm for detecting CNVs. Additionally, the rate and classification of TTN variants in HCM were compared with 427 patients without structural heart disease. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in the main genes was 33.3%, without significant differences between the Sanger sequencing and NGS cohorts. The screening for 20 additional genes revealed LP variants in ACTC1, MYL2, MYL3, TNNC1, GLA and PRKAG2 in 12 patients. This approach resulted in more inconclusive tests (36.0% vs. 9.6%, p<0.001), mostly due to variants of unknown significance (VUS) in TTN. The detection rate of rare variants in TTN was not significantly different to that found in the group of patients without structural heart disease. In the NGS cohort, 4 patients (1.3%) had pathogenic CNVs: 2 deletions in MYBPC3 and 2 deletions involving the complete coding region of PLN. CONCLUSIONS: A small percentage of HCM cases without point mutations in the 5 main genes are explained by P/LP variants in minor or candidate genes and CNVs. Screening for variants in TTN in HCM patients drastically increases the number of inconclusive tests, and shows a rate of VUS that is similar to patients without structural heart disease, suggesting that this gene should not be analyzed for clinical purposes in HCM.


Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/genetics , DNA Copy Number Variations , Genetic Testing , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , Base Sequence , Calcium-Binding Proteins/genetics , Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/diagnosis , Carrier Proteins/genetics , Cohort Studies , Connectin/genetics , Female , Heterozygote , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Sarcomeres/genetics
15.
Stroke ; 48(9): 2419-2425, 2017 09.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28716979

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke diagnosis could be challenging in the acute phase. We aimed to develop a blood-based diagnostic tool to differentiate between real strokes and stroke mimics and between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes in the hyperacute phase. METHODS: The Stroke-Chip was a prospective, observational, multicenter study, conducted at 6 Stroke Centers in Catalonia. Consecutive patients with suspected stroke were enrolled within the first 6 hours after symptom onset, and blood samples were drawn immediately after admission. A 21-biomarker panel selected among previous results and from the literature was measured by immunoassays. Outcomes were differentiation between real strokes and stroke mimics and between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. Predictive models were developed by combining biomarkers and clinical variables in logistic regression models. Accuracy was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: From August 2012 to December 2013, 1308 patients were included (71.9% ischemic, 14.8% stroke mimics, and 13.3% hemorrhagic). For stroke versus stroke mimics comparison, no biomarker resulted included in the logistic regression model, but it was only integrated by clinical variables, with a predictive accuracy of 80.8%. For ischemic versus hemorrhagic strokes comparison, NT-proBNP (N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide) >4.9 (odds ratio, 2.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.55-3.71; P<0.0001) and endostatin >4.7 (odds ratio, 2.02; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-3.45; P=0.010), together with age, sex, blood pressure, stroke severity, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension, were included in the model. Predictive accuracy was 80.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The studied biomarkers were not sufficient for an accurate differential diagnosis of stroke in the hyperacute setting. Additional discovery of new biomarkers and improvement on laboratory techniques seem necessary for achieving a molecular diagnosis of stroke.


Brain Ischemia/blood , Cerebral Hemorrhage/blood , Stroke/blood , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)/blood , Apolipoprotein C-III/blood , Biomarkers/blood , Brain Ischemia/diagnosis , Case-Control Studies , Caspase 3/blood , Cell Adhesion Molecules/blood , Cerebral Hemorrhage/diagnosis , Chemokine CXCL1/blood , Endostatins/blood , Fas Ligand Protein/blood , Female , Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products/metabolism , Fibronectins/blood , HSC70 Heat-Shock Proteins/blood , Humans , Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3/blood , Interleukin Receptor Common gamma Subunit/blood , Interleukin-17/blood , Interleukin-6/blood , Logistic Models , Male , Matrix Metalloproteinase 9/blood , Middle Aged , Natriuretic Peptide, Brain/blood , Nerve Growth Factor/blood , Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules/blood , Odds Ratio , Peptide Fragments/blood , Phosphopyruvate Hydratase/blood , Prospective Studies , ROC Curve , Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I/blood , S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit/blood , Stroke/diagnosis , von Willebrand Factor/metabolism
17.
Forensic Sci Int ; 271: 120-125, 2017 Feb.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28086167

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death worldwide. Most cardiac arrests happen in patients who have previously suffered a myocardial infarct. The risk of sudden death after infarction may increase in people who carry a pathogenic genetic alteration in cardiac ion channels. We hypothesized that micro-ischemia could trigger lethal arrhythmogenesis, thus we sought to identify genetic alterations in cardiac ion channels in patients with micro-ischemic disease. We studied a cohort of 56 post-mortem samples. Autopsy studies identified myocardial infarction as the cause of death in each case. We used both Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing to screen candidate genes associated with sudden cardiac death. We identified six rare missense genetic variations in five unrelated patients. Two variants have been previously reported; one is associated with atrial fibrillation (SCN5A_p.H445D), and the other is predicted to be benign (ANK2_p.T2059M). The novel variants were predicted in silico as benign, except for one (RyR2_p.M4019T), which was classified as deleterious. Our post-mortem, micro-infarction cohort displayed a rate of nearly 10% non-common genetic variants. However, the clinical significance of most of the identified variants remains unknown due to lack of family assessment. Further analyses should be performed in large cohorts to clarify the role of ion-channel gene analysis in samples showing microscopic ischemic alterations.


Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology , Myocardial Infarction/genetics , Adult , Ankyrins/genetics , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/genetics , Cohort Studies , Female , Gene Frequency , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , Humans , Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels/genetics , Male , Middle Aged , Muscle Proteins/genetics , Mutation, Missense , Myocardial Infarction/pathology , NAV1.5 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel/genetics , Potassium Channels/genetics , Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Young Adult
18.
PLoS One ; 11(12): e0167358, 2016.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27930701

BACKGROUND: Sudden unexplained death may be the first manifestation of an unknown inherited cardiac disease. Current genetic technologies may enable the unraveling of an etiology and the identification of relatives at risk. The aim of our study was to define the etiology of natural deaths, younger than 50 years of age, and to investigate whether genetic defects associated with cardiac diseases could provide a potential etiology for the unexplained cases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Our cohort included a total of 789 consecutive cases (77.19% males) <50 years old (average 38.6±12.2 years old) who died suddenly from non-violent causes. A comprehensive autopsy was performed according to current forensic guidelines. During autopsy a cause of death was identified in most cases (81.1%), mainly due to cardiac alterations (56.87%). In unexplained cases, genetic analysis of the main genes associated with sudden cardiac death was performed using Next Generation Sequencing technology. Genetic analysis was performed in suspected inherited diseases (cardiomyopathy) and in unexplained death, with identification of potentially pathogenic variants in nearly 50% and 40% of samples, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac disease is the most important cause of sudden death, especially after the age of 40. Close to 10% of cases may remain unexplained after a complete autopsy investigation. Molecular autopsy may provide an explanation for a significant part of these unexplained cases. Identification of genetic variations enables genetic counseling and undertaking of preventive measures in relatives at risk.


Death, Sudden , Postmortem Changes , Adult , Cohort Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult
19.
PLoS One ; 11(9): e0163514, 2016.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27684715

PURPOSE: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a form of cardiac arrhythmia which may lead to sudden cardiac death. The recommended genetic testing (direct sequencing of SCN5A) uncovers disease-causing SNVs and/or indels in ~20% of cases. Limited information exists about the frequency of copy number variants (CNVs) in SCN5A in BrS patients, and the role of CNVs in BrS-minor genes is a completely unexplored field. METHODS: 220 BrS patients with negative genetic results were studied to detect CNVs in SCN5A. 63 cases were also screened for CNVs in BrS-minor genes. Studies were performed by Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification or Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: The detection rate for CNVs in SCN5A was 0.45% (1/220). The detected imbalance consisted of a duplication from exon 15 to exon 28, and could potentially explain the BrS phenotype. No CNVs were found in BrS-minor genes. CONCLUSION: CNVs in current BrS-related genes are uncommon among BrS patients. However, as these rearrangements may underlie a portion of cases and they undergo unnoticed by traditional sequencing, an appealing alternative to conventional studies in these patients could be targeted NGS, including in a single experiment the study of SNVs, indels and CNVs in all the known BrS-related genes.

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