Causes and consequences of a complex recombinational landscape in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior.

Eusocial Hymenoptera have the highest recombination rates among all multicellular animals studied so far, but it is unclear why this is and how this affects the biology of individual species. A high-resolution linkage map for the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior corroborates genome-wide high recombination rates reported for ants (8.1 cM/Mb). However, recombination is locally suppressed in regions that are enriched with TEs, that have strong haplotype divergence, or that show signatures of epistatic selection in C. obscurior The results do not support the hypotheses that high recombination rates are linked to phenotypic plasticity or to modulating selection efficiency. Instead, genetic diversity and the frequency of structural variants correlate positively with local recombination rates, potentially compensating for the low levels of genetic variation expected in haplodiploid social Hymenoptera with low effective population size. Ultimately, the data show that recombination contributes to within-population polymorphism and to the divergence of the lineages within C. obscurior.

Long-read transcriptome sequencing of CLL and MDS patients uncovers molecular effects of SF3B1 mutations.

Mutations in splicing factor 3B subunit 1 (SF3B1) frequently occur in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). These mutations have different effects on the disease prognosis with beneficial effect in MDS and worse prognosis in CLL patients. A full-length transcriptome approach can expand our knowledge on SF3B1 mutation effects on RNA splicing and its contribution to patient survival and treatment options. We applied long-read transcriptome sequencing (LRTS) to 44 MDS and CLL patients, as well as two pairs of isogenic cell lines with and without SF3B1 mutations, and found >60% of novel isoforms. Splicing alterations were largely shared between cancer types and specifically affected the usage of introns and 3' splice sites. Our data highlighted a constrained window at canonical 3' splice sites in which dynamic splice site switches occurred in SF3B1-mutated patients. Using transcriptome-wide RNA binding maps and molecular dynamics simulations, we showed multimodal SF3B1 binding at 3' splice sites and predicted reduced RNA binding at the second binding pocket of SF3B1K700E Our work presents the hitherto most complete LRTS study of the SF3B1 mutation in CLL and MDS and provides a resource to study aberrant splicing in cancer. Moreover, we showed that different disease prognosis most likely results from the different cell types expanded during carcinogenesis rather than different mechanisms of action of the mutated SF3B1 These results have important implications for understanding the role of SF3B1 mutations in hematological malignancies and other related diseases.

Entirely noninvasive outcome prediction in central nervous system lymphomas using circulating tumor DNA.

ABSTRACT: State-of-the-art response assessment of central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL) by magnetic resonance imaging is challenging and an insufficient predictor of treatment outcomes. Accordingly, the development of novel risk stratification strategies in CNSL is a high unmet medical need. We applied ultrasensitive circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing to 146 plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 67 patients, aiming to develop an entirely noninvasive dynamic risk model considering clinical and molecular features of CNSL. Our ultrasensitive method allowed for the detection of CNSL-derived mutations in plasma ctDNA with high concordance to CSF and tumor tissue. Undetectable plasma ctDNA at baseline was associated with favorable outcomes. We tracked tumor-specific mutations in plasma-derived ctDNA over time and developed a novel CNSL biomarker based on this information: peripheral residual disease (PRD). Persistence of PRD after treatment was highly predictive of relapse. Integrating established baseline clinical risk factors with assessment of radiographic response and PRD during treatment resulted in the development and independent validation of a novel tool for risk stratification: molecular prognostic index for CNSL (MOP-C). MOP-C proved to be highly predictive of outcomes in patients with CNSL (failure-free survival hazard ratio per risk group of 6.60; 95% confidence interval, 3.12-13.97; P < .0001) and is publicly available at www.mop-c.com. Our results highlight the role of ctDNA sequencing in CNSL. MOP-C has the potential to improve the current standard of clinical risk stratification and radiographic response assessment in patients with CNSL, ultimately paving the way toward individualized treatment.

Biallelic loss-of-function variants of ZFTRAF1 cause neurodevelopmental disorder with microcephaly and hypotonia.

PURPOSE: Neurodevelopmental disorders exhibit clinical and genetic heterogeneity, ergo manifest dysfunction in components of diverse cellular pathways; the precise pathomechanism for the majority remains elusive. METHODS: We studied 5 affected individuals from 3 unrelated families manifesting global developmental delay, postnatal microcephaly, and hypotonia. We used exome sequencing and prioritized variants that were subsequently characterized using immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, pulldown assays, and RNA sequencing. RESULTS: We identified biallelic variants in ZFTRAF1, encoding a protein of yet unknown function. Four affected individuals from 2 unrelated families segregated 2 homozygous frameshift variants in ZFTRAF1, whereas, in the third family, an intronic splice site variant was detected. We investigated ZFTRAF1 at the cellular level and signified it as a nucleocytoplasmic protein in different human cell lines. ZFTRAF1 was completely absent in the fibroblasts of 2 affected individuals. We also identified 110 interacting proteins enriched in mRNA processing and autophagy-related pathways. Based on profiling of autophagy markers, patient-derived fibroblasts show irregularities in the protein degradation process. CONCLUSION: Thus, our findings suggest that biallelic variants of ZFTRAF1 cause a severe neurodevelopmental disorder.

Noninvasive minimal residual disease assessment in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma using digital droplet PCR.

Although several promising approaches for the treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (rrDLBCL) have been approved recently, it remains unclear which patients will ultimately achieve long-term responses. Circulating tumor (ct)DNA sequencing has emerged as a valuable tool to assess minimal residual disease (MRD). Correlations between MRD and outcomes have been shown in previously untreated DLBCL, but data on the repeated assessment of MRD in the dynamic course of rrDLBCL is limited. Here, we present an approach leveraging cost- and time-sensitivity of digital droplet (dd)PCR to repeatedly assess MRD in rrDLBCL and present proof-of-principle for its ability to predict outcomes.

Methylation of the 4q35 D4Z4 repeat defines disease status in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

Genetic diagnosis of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) remains a challenge in clinical practice as it cannot be detected by standard sequencing methods despite being the third most common muscular dystrophy. The conventional diagnostic strategy addresses the known genetic parameters of FSHD: the required presence of a permissive haplotype, a size reduction of the D4Z4 repeat of chromosome 4q35 (defining FSHD1) or a pathogenic variant in an epigenetic suppressor gene (consistent with FSHD2). Incomplete penetrance and epistatic effects of the underlying genetic parameters as well as epigenetic parameters (D4Z4 methylation) pose challenges to diagnostic accuracy and hinder prediction of clinical severity. In order to circumvent the known limitations of conventional diagnostics and to complement genetic parameters with epigenetic ones, we developed and validated a multistage diagnostic workflow that consists of a haplotype analysis and a high-throughput methylation profile analysis (FSHD-MPA). FSHD-MPA determines the average global methylation level of the D4Z4 repeat array as well as the regional methylation of the most distal repeat unit by combining bisulphite conversion with next-generation sequencing and a bioinformatics pipeline and uses these as diagnostic parameters. We applied the diagnostic workflow to a cohort of 148 patients and compared the epigenetic parameters based on FSHD-MPA to genetic parameters of conventional genetic testing. In addition, we studied the correlation of repeat length and methylation level within the most distal repeat unit with age-corrected clinical severity and age at disease onset in FSHD patients. The results of our study show that FSHD-MPA is a powerful tool to accurately determine the epigenetic parameters of FSHD, allowing discrimination between FSHD patients and healthy individuals, while simultaneously distinguishing FSHD1 and FSHD2. The strong correlation between methylation level and clinical severity indicates that the methylation level determined by FSHD-MPA accounts for differences in disease severity among individuals with similar genetic parameters. Thus, our findings further confirm that epigenetic parameters rather than genetic parameters represent FSHD disease status and may serve as a valuable biomarker for disease status.

The genomic landscape across 474 surgically accessible epileptogenic human brain lesions.

Understanding the exact molecular mechanisms involved in the aetiology of epileptogenic pathologies with or without tumour activity is essential for improving treatment of drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Here, we characterize the landscape of somatic genetic variants in resected brain specimens from 474 individuals with drug-resistant focal epilepsy using deep whole-exome sequencing (>350×) and whole-genome genotyping. Across the exome, we observe a greater number of somatic single-nucleotide variants in low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours (7.92 ± 5.65 single-nucleotide variants) than in brain tissue from malformations of cortical development (6.11 ± 4 single-nucleotide variants) or hippocampal sclerosis (5.1 ± 3.04 single-nucleotide variants). Tumour tissues also had the largest number of likely pathogenic variant carrying cells. low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours had the highest proportion of samples with one or more somatic copy-number variants (24.7%), followed by malformations of cortical development (5.4%) and hippocampal sclerosis (4.1%). Recurring somatic whole chromosome duplications affecting Chromosome 7 (16.8%), chromosome 5 (10.9%), and chromosome 20 (9.9%) were observed among low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours. For germline variant-associated malformations of cortical development genes such as TSC2, DEPDC5 and PTEN, germline single-nucleotide variants were frequently identified within large loss of heterozygosity regions, supporting the recently proposed 'second hit' disease mechanism in these genes. We detect somatic variants in 12 established lesional epilepsy genes and demonstrate exome-wide statistical support for three of these in the aetiology of low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours (e.g. BRAF) and malformations of cortical development (e.g. SLC35A2 and MTOR). We also identify novel significant associations for PTPN11 with low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours and NRAS Q61 mutated protein with a complex malformation of cortical development characterized by polymicrogyria and nodular heterotopia. The variants identified in NRAS are known from cancer studies to lead to hyperactivation of NRAS, which can be targeted pharmacologically. We identify large recurrent 1q21-q44 duplication including AKT3 in association with focal cortical dysplasia type 2a with hyaline astrocytic inclusions, another rare and possibly under-recognized brain lesion. The clinical-genetic analyses showed that the numbers of somatic single-nucleotide variant across the exome and the fraction of affected cells were positively correlated with the age at seizure onset and surgery in individuals with low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours. In summary, our comprehensive genetic screen sheds light on the genome-scale landscape of genetic variants in epileptic brain lesions, informs the design of gene panels for clinical diagnostic screening and guides future directions for clinical implementation of epilepsy surgery genetics.

NOMAC-E2 compares to LNG combined oral contraceptives in women over forty: real-world PRO-E2 study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate safety and effectiveness of NOMAC-E2 and levonorgestrel-containing COCs (COCLNG) in users over 40. METHODS: In this large, observational study, new users1 of NOMAC-E2 and COCLNG were recruited in Europe, Australia, and Latin America and followed-up via questionnaires. Incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) was expressed as incidence rate (IR; events/104 women-years [WY]). Unintended pregnancy was expressed by the Pearl Index (PI; contraceptive failures/100 WY). Mood and weight changes were defined as mean changes in mood score and percentage of body weight. RESULTS: Overall, 7,762 NOMAC-E2 and 6,059 COCLNG users over 40 were followed-up. NOMAC-E2 showed no increased VTE risk compared to COCLNG; confirmed events: 5 NOMAC-E2 (IR 5.9; 95% CI, 1.9-13.7) vs 4 COCLNG (IR 5.9; 95% CI, 1.6-15.1). Unintended pregnancy did not differ substantially between cohorts; confirmed events: 4 NOMAC-E2 (PI 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.13) vs 5 COCLNG (PI 0.08; 95% CI, 0.03-0.18). No differential effect on mood and weight was observed between cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: NOMAC-E2 can be considered a valid alternative to COCLNG in perimenopausal women.

NOMAC-E2 shows a better contraceptive effectiveness than LNG combined oral contraceptives in women under 25: real-world PRO-E2 study.

Objective: To investigate unintended pregnancy and changes in mood, acne, and weight in NOMAC-E2 vs levonorgestrel-containing COC (COCLNG) users under 25 years.Methods: In this large, observational study, new users (first-ever users of an eligible COC or restarting with the same or a new eligible COC after a break of at least 2 months) of NOMAC-E2 and COCLNG were recruited in 12 countries in Europe, Australia, and Latin America and followed up via questionnaires for up to 2 years. Unintended pregnancy was expressed by the Pearl Index (PI; contraceptive failures/100 women-years). Crude (HRcrude) and adjusted hazard ratios (HRadj) were calculated. Mood and acne changes were defined as change of score from baseline. Weight change was defined as percent change of body weight.Results: Overall, 12,829 NOMAC-E2 users and 17,095 COCLNG users under 25 were followed-up. The risk of unintended pregnancy was statistically significantly lower in the NOMAC-E2 cohort; confirmed events: 30 NOMAC-E2 (PI 0.24; 95% CI, 0.16-0.35) vs 94 COCLNG (PI 0.51; 95% CI, 0.41-0.62). The HRcrude for unintended pregnancy comparing NOMAC-E2 to COCLNG was 0.47 (95% CI, 0.31-0.71) and the HRadj was 0.52 (95% CI, 0.34-0.78). No differential effect on acne, mood, and weight was observed between cohorts.Conclusions: NOMAC-E2 shows a significantly better contraceptive effectiveness in young women and has no differential effect on acne, mood, and weight compared to COCLNG.

Missense mutations in CASK, coding for the calcium-/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase, interfere with neurexin binding and neurexin-induced oligomerization.

Mutations in the X-linked gene coding for the calcium-/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) are associated with severe neurological disorders ranging from intellectual disability (in males) to mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia. CASK is involved in transcription control, in the regulation of trafficking of the post-synaptic NMDA and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors, and acts as a presynaptic scaffolding protein. For CASK missense mutations, it is mostly unclear which of CASK's molecular interactions and cellular functions are altered and contribute to patient phenotypes. We identified five CASK missense mutations in male patients affected by neurodevelopmental disorders. These and five previously reported mutations were systematically analysed with respect to interaction with CASK interaction partners by co-expression and co-immunoprecipitation. We show that one mutation in the L27 domain interferes with binding to synapse-associated protein of 97 kDa. Two mutations in the guanylate kinase (GK) domain affect binding of CASK to the nuclear factors CASK-interacting nucleosome assembly protein (CINAP) and T-box, brain, 1 (Tbr1). A total of five mutations in GK as well as PSD-95/discs large/ZO-1 (PDZ) domains affect binding of CASK to the pre-synaptic cell adhesion molecule Neurexin. Upon expression in neurons, we observe that binding to Neurexin is not required for pre-synaptic localization of CASK. We show by bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay that Neurexin induces oligomerization of CASK, and that mutations in GK and PDZ domains interfere with the Neurexin-induced oligomerization of CASK. Our data are supported by molecular modelling, where we observe that the cooperative activity of PDZ, SH3 and GK domains is required for Neurexin binding and oligomerization of CASK.

Biallelic Mutations in ADPRHL2, Encoding ADP-Ribosylhydrolase 3, Lead to a Degenerative Pediatric Stress-Induced Epileptic Ataxia Syndrome.

ADP-ribosylation, the addition of poly-ADP ribose (PAR) onto proteins, is a response signal to cellular challenges, such as excitotoxicity or oxidative stress. This process is catalyzed by a group of enzymes referred to as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). Because the accumulation of proteins with this modification results in cell death, its negative regulation restores cellular homeostasis: a process mediated by poly-ADP ribose glycohydrolases (PARGs) and ADP-ribosylhydrolase proteins (ARHs). Using linkage analysis and exome or genome sequencing, we identified recessive inactivating mutations in ADPRHL2 in six families. Affected individuals exhibited a pediatric-onset neurodegenerative disorder with progressive brain atrophy, developmental regression, and seizures in association with periods of stress, such as infections. Loss of the Drosophila paralog Parg showed lethality in response to oxidative challenge that was rescued by human ADPRHL2, suggesting functional conservation. Pharmacological inhibition of PARP also rescued the phenotype, suggesting the possibility of postnatal treatment for this genetic condition.

Genotype-phenotype correlation in seven motor neuron disease families with novel ALS2 mutations.

Autosomal-recessive mutations in the Alsin Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (ALS2) gene may cause specific subtypes of childhood-onset progressive neurodegenerative motor neuron diseases (MND). These diseases can manifest with a clinical continuum from infantile ascending hereditary spastic paraplegia (IAHSP) to juvenile-onset forms with or without lower motor neuron involvement, the juvenile primary lateral sclerosis (JPLS) and the juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (JALS). We report 11 patients from seven unrelated Turkish and Yemeni families with clinical signs of IAHSP or JPLS. We performed haplotype analysis or next-generation panel sequencing followed by Sanger Sequencing to unravel the genetic disease cause. We described their clinical phenotype and analyzed the pathogenicity of the detected variants with bioinformatics tools. We further reviewed all previously reported cases with ALS2-related MND. We identified five novel homozygous pathogenic variants in ALS2 at various positions: c.275_276delAT (p.Tyr92CysfsTer11), c.1044C>G (p.Tyr348Ter), c.1718C>A (p.Ala573Glu), c.3161T>C (p.Leu1054Pro), and c.1471+1G>A (NM_020919.3, NP_065970.2). In our cohort, disease onset was in infancy or early childhood with rapid onset of motor neuron signs. Muscle weakness, spasticity, severe dysarthria, dysphagia, and facial weakness were common features in the first decade of life. Frameshift and nonsense mutations clustered in the N-terminal Alsin domains are most prevalent. We enriched the mutational spectrum of ALS2-related disorders with five novel pathogenic variants. Our study indicates a high detection rate of ALS2 mutations in patients with a clinically well-characterized early onset MND. Intrafamilial and even interfamilial diversity in patients with identical pathogenic variants suggest yet unknown modifiers for phenotypic expression.

Prospective controlled cohort study on the safety of a monophasic oral contraceptive containing nomegestrol acetate (2.5mg) and 17ß-oestradiol (1.5mg) (PRO-E2 study): risk of venous and arterial thromboembolism.

OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial thromboembolism (ATE) in NOMAC-E2 users with levonorgestrel-containing combined oral contraceptive (COCLNG) users. STUDY DESIGN: This large, prospective, observational active surveillance study used a non-inferiority design. New users of NOMAC-E2 and COCLNG were recruited in 12 countries in Australia, Europe, and Latin America. Women were followed up directly and self-reported outcomes of interest were validated via treating physicians. The main outcome of interest was VTE, specifically deep venous thrombosis of the lower extremities (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Secondary outcomes included all VTE and ATE. Data on confounders were captured and independent blinded adjudication assessed the classification of events. Incidence rates, crude (HRcrude), and adjusted (HRadj) hazard ratios were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 101,498 women (49,598 NOMAC-E2 users and 51,900 COCLNG users) were enrolled and followed for up to 2 years (144,901 WY of observation). NOMAC-E2 users had a higher mean age (31.0 ± 8.63 years) than COCLNG users (29.3 ± 8.53 years) but other baseline characteristics were similar between the cohorts. The main analysis comparing the risk of DVT of the lower extremities and PE in NOMAC-E2 users versus COCLNG users yielded an HRadj of 0.59 (95% CI, 0.25-1.35) (adjusted for age, BMI, family history of VTE, and current duration of use). The risk of all VTE and ATE was not higher in NOMAC-E2 users compared with COCLNG users. CONCLUSION(S): NOMAC-E2 use was not associated with a higher risk of VTE or ATE compared with COCLNG.

Unintended pregnancy in users of nomegestrol acetate and 17ß-oestradiol (NOMAC-E2) compared with levonorgestrel-containing combined oral contraceptives: final results from the PRO-E2 study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the risk of unintended pregnancy in NOMAC-E2 users with levonorgestrel-containing COC (COCLNG) users in clinical practice. STUDY DESIGN: In this observational study, new users1 of NOMAC-E2 and COCLNG were recruited in Europe, Australia, and Latin America and followed for up to 2 years. Unintended pregnancy was expressed by the Pearl Index (contraceptive failures per 100 women-years [WY]), crude hazard ratios (HRcrude) and adjusted hazard ratios (HRadj). RESULTS: Overall, 44,559 and 46,754 users were recruited to the NOMAC-E2 and COCLNG user cohorts, respectively. There were 64 unintended pregnancies in NOMAC-E2 users (0.15 per 100 WY; 95% CI, 0.11-0.19) and 200 in COCLNG users (0.41 per 100 WY; 95% CI, 0.35-0.47). The unintended pregnancy risk was statistically significantly lower in the NOMAC-E2 cohort (p<.0001) compared to the COCLNG user cohort. The HRadj of NOMAC-E2 vs COCLNG was 0.45 (95% CI, 0.34-0.60; adjusted for age, body mass index, gravidity, COC user status, education level). CONCLUSIONS: NOMAC-E2 demonstrated superior contraceptive effectiveness compared to COCLNG, likely due to the comparatively short hormone-free interval and possibly reinforced by the long half-life of NOMAC.

A Genome-wide Association Study of Dupuytren Disease Reveals 17 Additional Variants Implicated in Fibrosis.

Individuals with Dupuytren disease (DD) are commonly seen by physicians and surgeons across multiple specialties. It is an increasingly common and disabling fibroproliferative disorder of the palmar fascia, which leads to flexion contractures of the digits, and is associated with other tissue-specific fibroses. DD affects between 5% and 25% of people of European descent and is the most common inherited disease of connective tissue. We undertook the largest GWAS to date in individuals with a surgically validated diagnosis of DD from the UK, with replication in British, Dutch, and German individuals. We validated association at all nine previously described signals and discovered 17 additional variants with p ≤ 5 × 10-8. As a proof of principle, we demonstrated correlation of the high-risk genotype at the statistically most strongly associated variant with decreased secretion of the soluble WNT-antagonist SFRP4, in surgical specimen-derived DD myofibroblasts. These results highlight important pathways involved in the pathogenesis of fibrosis, including WNT signaling, extracellular matrix modulation, and inflammation. In addition, many associated loci contain genes that were hitherto unrecognized as playing a role in fibrosis, opening up new avenues of research that may lead to novel treatments for DD and fibrosis more generally. DD represents an ideal human model disease for fibrosis research.

Individual differences in envy experienced through perspective-taking involves functional connectivity of the superior frontal gyrus.

Envy is the painful or resentful awareness of another's advantage combined with a desire to possess that same advantage. Recent neuroscientific research has begun to shed light on the brain regions that process the experience of envy, including regions of the prefrontal cortex involved in emotional processing and social cognition. It is still unclear, however, which regions of the brain are functionally connected during the experience of envy. We recorded functional neuroimaging data while inducing simulated envy in participants, experienced through a perspective-taking hypothetical scenario task. In this task, participants took the perspective of a protagonist portrayed in a written description and compared themselves to either i) a self-similar/superior individual, ii) a self-dissimilar/superior individual, or iii) a self-dissimilar/average individual. During each comparison, participants also reported how much envy they experienced while taking the protagonists perspective. We demonstrate an inverse relationship in the connectivity of the left superior frontal gyrus to both the right supramarginal gyrus and the precuneus with respect to self-reported envy ratings across participants. In other words, we show that the greater the functional connectivity that the left superior frontal gyrus shares with the right supramarginal gyrus and precuneus, the less reported envy a participant experiences. Overall, our results are in line with previous research implicating the superior frontal gyrus in the reappraisal of negative emotions and extend these findings by showing this region is also involved in modulating the simulated experience of the social comparative, negative emotion of envy.

The genomic and clinical landscape of fetal akinesia.

PURPOSE: Fetal akinesia has multiple clinical subtypes with over 160 gene associations, but the genetic etiology is not yet completely understood. METHODS: In this study, 51 patients from 47 unrelated families were analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques aiming to decipher the genomic landscape of fetal akinesia (FA). RESULTS: We have identified likely pathogenic gene variants in 37 cases and report 41 novel variants. Additionally, we report putative pathogenic variants in eight cases including nine novel variants. Our work identified 14 novel disease-gene associations for fetal akinesia: ADSSL1, ASAH1, ASPM, ATP2B3, EARS2, FBLN1, PRG4, PRICKLE1, ROR2, SETBP1, SCN5A, SCN8A, and ZEB2. Furthermore, a sibling pair harbored a homozygous copy-number variant in TNNT1, an ultrarare congenital myopathy gene that has been linked to arthrogryposis via Gene Ontology analysis. CONCLUSION: Our analysis indicates that genetic defects leading to primary skeletal muscle diseases might have been underdiagnosed, especially pathogenic variants in RYR1. We discuss three novel putative fetal akinesia genes: GCN1, IQSEC3 and RYR3. Of those, IQSEC3, and RYR3 had been proposed as neuromuscular disease-associated genes recently, and our findings endorse them as FA candidate genes. By combining NGS with deep clinical phenotyping, we achieved a 73% success rate of solved cases.

Correction: The genomic and clinical landscape of fetal akinesia.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Novel mutations in KMT2B offer pathophysiological insights into childhood-onset progressive dystonia.

Rapid progress has recently been made in the elucidation of the genetic basis of childhood-onset inherited generalized dystonia (IGD) due to the implementation of genomic sequencing methodologies. We identified four patients with childhood-onset IGD harboring novel disease-causing mutations in lysine-specific histone methyltransferase 2B gene (KMT2B) by whole-exome sequencing. The main focus of this paper is to gain novel pathophysiological insights through understanding the molecular consequences of these mutations. The disease course is mostly progressive, evolving from lower limbs into generalized dystonia, which could be associated with dysarthria, dysphonia, intellectual disability, orofacial dyskinesia, and sometimes distinct dysmorphic facial features. In two patients, motor performances improved after bilateral implantation of deep brain stimulation in the globus pallidus internus (GPi-DBS). Pharmacotherapy with trihexyphenidyl reduced dystonia in two patients. We discovered three novel KMT2B mutations. Our analyses revealed that the mutation in patient 1 (c.7463A > G, p.Y2488C) is localized in the highly conserved FYRC domain of KMT2B. This mutation holds the potential to alter the inter-domain FYR interactions, which could lead to KMT2B instability. The mutations in patients 2 and 3 (c.3596_3697insC, p.M1202Dfs*22; c.4229delA, p.Q1410Rfs*12) lead to predicted unstable transcripts, likely to be subject to degradation by non-sense-mediated decay. Childhood-onset progressive dystonia with orofacial involvement is one of the main clinical manifestations of KMT2B mutations. In all, 26% (18/69) of the reported cases have T2 signal alterations of the globus pallidus internus, mostly at a younger age. Anticholinergic medication and GPi-DBS are promising treatment options and shall be considered early.