0000000000295090
AUTHOR
Brian J. O'roak
Excess of de novo variants in genes involved in chromatin remodelling in patients with marfanoid habitus and intellectual disability.
PurposeMarfanoid habitus (MH) combined with intellectual disability (ID) (MHID) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous presentation. The combination of array CGH and targeted sequencing of genes responsible for Marfan or Lujan–Fryns syndrome explain no more than 20% of subjects.MethodsTo further decipher the genetic basis of MHID, we performed exome sequencing on a combination of trio-based (33 subjects) or single probands (31 subjects), of which 61 were sporadic.ResultsWe identified eight genes with de novo variants (DNVs) in at least two unrelated individuals (ARID1B, ATP1A1, DLG4, EHMT1, NFIX, NSD1, NUP205 and ZEB2). Using simulation models, we showed that five genes (DLG4, NFIX, …
Exonic Mosaic Mutations Contribute Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder
AbstractGenetic risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have yet to be fully elucidated. Postzygotic mosaic mutations (PMMs) have been implicated in several neurodevelopmental disorders and overgrowth syndromes. We systematically evaluated PMMs by leveraging whole-exome sequencing data on a large family-based ASD cohort, the Simons Simplex Collection. We found evidence that 11% of published single nucleotide variant (SNV)de novomutations are potentially PMMs. We then developed a robust SNV PMM calling approach that leverages complementary callers, logistic regression modeling, and additional heuristics. Using this approach, we recalled SNVs and found that 22% ofde novomutations like…
PI3K/AKT pathway mutations cause a spectrum of brain malformations from megalencephaly to focal cortical dysplasia
Malformations of cortical development containing dysplastic neuronal and glial elements, including hemimegalencephaly and focal cortical dysplasia, are common causes of intractable paediatric epilepsy. In this study we performed multiplex targeted sequencing of 10 genes in the PI3K/AKT pathway on brain tissue from 33 children who underwent surgical resection of dysplastic cortex for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. Sequencing results were correlated with clinical, imaging, pathological and immunohistological phenotypes. We identified mosaic activating mutations in PIK3CA and AKT3 in this cohort, including cancer-associated hotspot PIK3CA mutations in dysplastic megalencephaly, hemimeg…