scholarly journals Whole-exome sequencing analysis on products of conception: A cohort study to evaluate clinical utility and genetic etiology for pregnancy loss

Author(s):  
Chen Zhao ◽  
Hongyan Chai ◽  
Qinghua Zhou ◽  
Jiadi Wen ◽  
Uma M. Reddy ◽  
...  

Purpose: Pregnancy loss ranging from spontaneous abortion (SAB) to stillbirth can result from monogenic causes of Mendelian inheritance. This study evaluated the clinical application of whole exome sequencing (WES) in identifying the genetic etiology for pregnancy loss. Methods: A cohort of 102 specimens from products of conception (POC) with normal karyotype and absence of pathogenic copy number variants were selected for WES. Abnormality detection rate (ADR) and variants of diagnostic value correlated with SAB and stillbirth were evaluated. Results: WES detected six pathogenic variants, 16 likely pathogenic variants, and 17 variants of uncertain significance favor pathogenic (VUSfp) from this cohort. The ADR for pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants was 22% and reached 35% with the inclusion of VUSfp. The ADRs of SAB and stillbirth were 36% and 33%, respectively. Affected genes included those associated with multi-system abnormalities, neurodevelopmental disorders, cardiac anomalies, skeletal dysplasia, metabolic disorders and renal diseases. Conclusion: These results supported the clinical utility of WES for detecting monogenic etiology of pregnancy loss. The identification of disease associated variants provided information for follow-up genetic counseling of recurrence risk and management of subsequent pregnancies. Discovery of novel variants could provide insight for underlying molecular mechanisms causing fetal death.

Author(s):  
Adam L. Numis ◽  
Gilberto da Gente ◽  
Elliott H. Sherr ◽  
Hannah C. Glass

Abstract Background The contribution of pathogenic gene variants with development of epilepsy after acute symptomatic neonatal seizures is not known. Methods Case–control study of 20 trios in children with a history of acute symptomatic neonatal seizures: 10 with and 10 without post-neonatal epilepsy. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) and identified pathogenic de novo, transmitted, and non-transmitted variants from established and candidate epilepsy association genes and correlated prevalence of these variants with epilepsy outcomes. We performed a sensitivity analysis with genes associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). We analyzed variants throughout the exome to evaluate for differential enrichment of functional properties using exploratory KEGG searches. Results Querying 200 established and candidate epilepsy genes, pathogenic variants were identified in 5 children with post-neonatal epilepsy yet in only 1 child without subsequent epilepsy. There was no difference in the number of trios with non-transmitted pathogenic variants in epilepsy or CAD genes. An exploratory KEGG analysis demonstrated a relative enrichment in cell death pathways in children without subsequent epilepsy. Conclusions In this pilot study, children with epilepsy after acute symptomatic neonatal seizures had a higher prevalence of coding variants with a targeted epilepsy gene sequencing analysis compared to those patients without subsequent epilepsy. Impact We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in 20 trios, including 10 children with epilepsy and 10 without epilepsy, both after acute symptomatic neonatal seizures. Children with post-neonatal epilepsy had a higher burden of pathogenic variants in epilepsy-associated genes compared to those without post-neonatal epilepsy. Future studies evaluating this association may lead to a better understanding of the risk of epilepsy after acute symptomatic neonatal seizures and elucidate molecular pathways that are dysregulated after brain injury and implicated in epileptogenesis.


F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 2056
Author(s):  
Barbara Bosch ◽  
Yuval Itan ◽  
Isabelle Meyts

The study of inborn errors of immunity is based on a comprehensive clinical description of the patient’s phenotype and the elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms and their genetic etiology. Deciphering the pathogenesis is key to genetic counseling and the development of targeted therapy. This review shows the power of whole-exome sequencing in detecting inborn errors of immunity along five central steps taken in whole-exome sequencing analysis. In parallel, we highlight the challenges for the clinical and scientific use of the method and how these hurdles are currently being addressed. We end by ruminating on major areas in the field open to future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongli Liu ◽  
Xiaoli Wei ◽  
Yanwei Sha ◽  
Wensheng Liu ◽  
Haijie Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The loss of ovarian function in women, referred to as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), is associated with a series of concomitant diseases. POI is genetically heterogeneous, and in most cases, the etiology is unknown. Methods Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed on DNA samples obtained from patients with POI, and Sanger sequencing was used to validate the detected potentially pathogenic variants. An in silico analysis was carried out to predict the pathogenicity of the variants. Results We recruited 24 patients with POI and identified variants in POI-related genes in 14 patients, including bi-allelic mutations in DNAH6, HFM1, EIF2B2, BNC, and LRPPRC and heterozygous variants in BNC1, EIF2B4, FOXL2, MCM9, FANCA, ATM, EIF2B3, and GHR. No variants in the above genes were detected in the WES data obtained from 29 women in a control group without POI. Determining a clear genetic etiology could significantly increase patient compliance with appropriate intervention strategies. Conclusions Our study confirmed that POI is a genetically heterogeneous condition and that whole-exome sequencing is a powerful tool for determining its genetic etiology. The results of this study will aid researchers and clinicians in genetic counseling and suggests the potential of WES for the detection of POI and thus early interventions for patients with POI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Peng ◽  
Shuting Yang ◽  
Xiaoliang Huang ◽  
Jialun Pang ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Skeletal dysplasias (SDs) are a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders that primarily affect bone and cartilage. This study aims to identify the genetic causes for fetal SDs, and evaluates the diagnostic yield of prenatal whole-exome sequencing (WES) for this disorder.Methods: WES was performed on 38 fetuses with sonographically identified SDs and normal results of karyotype and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Candidate variants were selected by bioinformatics analysis, and verified by Sanger sequencing.Results: WES revealed pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants associated with SDs in 65.79% (25/38) of fetuses, variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in SDs-related genes in 10.53% (4/38) cases, and incidental findings in 31.58% (12/38) fetuses. The SDs-associated variants identified in the present study affected 10 genes, and 35.71% (10/28) of the variants were novel.Conclusion: WES has a high diagnostic rate for prenatal SDs, which improves pregnancy management, prenatal counseling and recurrence risk assessment for future pregnancies. The newly identified variants expanded mutation spectrum of this disorder.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Xu ◽  
Yong-Biao Zhang ◽  
Li-Jun Liang ◽  
Jia-Li Tian ◽  
Jin-Ming Lin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a disease characterized by arteriovenous malformations in the skin and mucous membranes. We enrolled a large pedigree comprising 32 living members, and screened for mutations responsible for HHT. Methods We performed whole-exome sequencing to identify novel mutations in the pedigree after excluding three previously reported HHT-related genes using Sanger sequencing. We then performed in silico functional analysis of candidate mutations that were obtained using a variant filtering strategy to identify mutations responsible for HHT. Results After screening the HHT-related genes, activin A receptor-like type 1 (ACVRL1), endoglin (ENG), and SMAD family member 4 (SMAD4), we did not detect any co-segregated mutations in this pedigree. Whole-exome sequencing analysis of 7 members and Sanger sequencing analysis of 16 additional members identified a mutation (c.784A > G) in the NSF attachment protein gamma (NAPG) gene that co-segregated with the disease. Functional prediction showed that the mutation was deleterious and might change the conformational stability of the NAPG protein. Conclusions NAPG c.784A > G may potentially lead to HHT. These results expand the current understanding of the genetic contributions to HHT pathogenesis.


Author(s):  
J Fonseca ◽  
C Melo ◽  
C Ferreira ◽  
M Sampaio ◽  
R Sousa ◽  
...  

AbstractEarly infantile epileptic encephalopathy-64 (EIEE 64), also called RHOBTB2-related developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), is caused by heterozygous pathogenic variants (EIEE 64; MIM#618004) in the Rho-related BTB domain-containing protein 2 (RHOBTB2) gene. To date, only 13 cases with RHOBTB2-related DEE have been reported. We add to the literature the 14th case of EIEE 64, identified by whole exome sequencing, caused by a heterozygous pathogenic variant in RHOBTB2 (c.1531C > T), p.Arg511Trp. This additional case supports the main features of RHOBTB2-related DEE: infantile-onset seizures, severe intellectual disability, impaired motor functions, postnatal microcephaly, recurrent status epilepticus, and hemiparesis after seizures.


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