scholarly journals CNKSR2-related neurodevelopmental and epilepsy disorder: a cohort of 13 new families and literature review indicating a predominance of loss of function pathogenic variants

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Ann Higa ◽  
Jennifer Wardley ◽  
Christopher Wardley ◽  
Susan Singh ◽  
Timothy Foster ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Pathogenic variants in connector enhancer of kinase suppressor of Ras-2 (CNKSR2) located on the X chromosome (Xp22.12) lead to a disorder characterized by developmental delay and a characteristic seizure phenotype. To date, 20 affected males representing 13 different pathogenic variants have been published. Case presentation We identified an 8-year-old male with seizures, abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) with epileptiform abnormalities in the right hemisphere, and developmental delay with notable loss of speech following seizure onset. Additional concerns include multiple nighttime awakenings, hyperactivity, and autism spectrum disorder. Genetic testing identified a de novo pathogenic nonsense variant in CNKSR2. Through an active family support group, an additional 12 males are described, each harboring a different CNKSR2 variant. The clinical presentation and natural history consistently show early developmental delay, sleep disturbances, and seizure onset in childhood that is initially intractable but later becomes better controlled. Virtually all of the pathogenic variants are predicted to be loss of function, including genomic deletions, nonsense variants, splice site mutations, and small insertions or deletions. Conclusions This expanded knowledge, combined with functional studies and work with animal models currently underway, will enable a better understanding and improved ability to care for individuals with CNKSR2-related neurodevelopmental and epilepsy disorder.

2021 ◽  
pp. jmedgenet-2021-107694
Author(s):  
Ashley Kahen ◽  
Haluk Kavus ◽  
Alexa Geltzeiler ◽  
Catherine Kentros ◽  
Cora Taylor ◽  
...  

BackgroundSLC6A1 encodes GAT-1, a major gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter in the brain. GAT-1 maintains neurotransmitter homeostasis by removing excess GABA from the synaptic cleft. Pathogenic variants in SLC6A1 disrupt the reuptake of GABA and are associated with a neurobehavioural phenotype.MethodsMedical history interviews, seizure surveys, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Second Edition and other behavioural surveys were completed by primary care givers of 28 participants in Simons Searchlight. All participants underwent clinical whole exome sequencing or gene panel sequencing. Additional cases from the medical literature with comparable data were included.ResultsWe identified 28 individuals with largely de novo pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants including missense (15/21 or 71%) and truncating variants (6/21 or 29%). Missense variants were largely clustered around the sixth and seventh transmembrane domains, which functions as a GABA binding pocket. The phenotype of individuals with pathogenic variants in SLC6A1 includes hypotonia, intellectual disability/developmental delay, language disorder/speech delay, autism spectrum disorder, sleep issues and seizures.ConclusionPathogenic variants in SLC6A1 are associated with a clinical phenotype of developmental delay, behaviour problems and seizures. Understanding of the genotype–phenotype correlation within SLC6A1 may provide opportunities to develop new treatments for GABA-related conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 030006052110583
Author(s):  
Tong Qiu ◽  
Qian Dai ◽  
Qiu Wang

ARHGEF9 encodes collybistin, a brain-specific guanosine diphosphate-guanosine-5′-triphosphate exchange factor that plays an important role in clustering of gephyrin and γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors in the postsynaptic membrane. Overwhelming evidence suggests that defects in this protein can cause X-linked intellectual disability, which comprises a series of clinical phenotypes, including autism spectrum disorder, behavior disorder, intellectual disability, and febrile seizures. Here, we report a boy with clinical symptoms of severe intellectual disability, epilepsy, and developmental delay and regression. Trio exome sequencing ( trio-clinical exome sequencing) identified a novel hemizygous deletion, c.656_c.669delACTTCTTTGAGGCC (p. His219Leu fs*9), in exon 5 of ARHGEF9. This variant was not reported in either the Genome Aggregation Database or our database of 309 patients with neurodevelopmental disorders. Oxcarbazepine and levetiracetam reduced the frequency of the patient’s epileptic seizures to a certain extent, but psychomotor developmental delay and developmental regression became more obvious with age. This case study seeks to report a de novo loss-of-function mutation of ARHGEF9, aiming to emphasize the genetic diagnosis of X-linked intellectual disability and further improve knowledge of the ethnic distribution of ARHGEF9 mutations.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack A. Kosmicki ◽  
Kaitlin E. Samocha ◽  
Daniel P. Howrigan ◽  
Stephan J. Sanders ◽  
Kamil Slowikowski ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent research has uncovered an important role for de novo variation in neurodevelopmental disorders. Using aggregated data from 9246 families with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, or developmental delay, we show ~1/3 of de novo variants are independently observed as standing variation in the Exome Aggregation Consortium’s cohort of 60,706 adults, and these de novo variants do not contribute to neurodevelopmental risk. We further use a loss-of-function (LoF)-intolerance metric, pLI, to identify a subset of LoF-intolerant genes that contain the observed signal of associated de novo protein truncating variants (PTVs) in neurodevelopmental disorders. LoF-intolerant genes also carry a modest excess of inherited PTVs; though the strongest de novo impacted genes contribute little to this, suggesting the excess of inherited risk resides lower-penetrant genes. These findings illustrate the importance of population-based reference cohorts for the interpretation of candidate pathogenic variants, even for analyses of complex diseases and de novo variation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Gandini ◽  
Ivana A. Souza ◽  
Laurent Ferron ◽  
A. Micheil Innes ◽  
Gerald W. Zamponi

AbstractCACNA1A pathogenic variants have been linked to several neurological disorders including familial hemiplegic migraine and cerebellar conditions. More recently, de novo variants have been associated with severe early onset developmental encephalopathies. CACNA1A is highly expressed in the central nervous system and encodes the pore-forming CaVα1 subunit of P/Q-type (Cav2.1) calcium channels. We have previously identified a patient with a de novo missense mutation in CACNA1A (p.Y1384C), characterized by hemiplegic migraine, cerebellar atrophy and developmental delay. The mutation is located at the transmembrane S5 segment of the third domain. Functional analysis in two predominant splice variants of the neuronal Cav2.1 channel showed a significant loss of function in current density and changes in gating properties. Moreover, Y1384 variants exhibit differential splice variant-specific effects on recovery from inactivation. Finally, structural analysis revealed structural damage caused by the tyrosine substitution and changes in electrostatic potentials.


Author(s):  
Evan Jiang ◽  
Mark P. Fitzgerald ◽  
Katherine L. Helbig ◽  
Ethan M. Goldberg

AbstractInterleukin-1 receptor accessory protein-like 1 (IL1RAPL1) encodes a protein that is highly expressed in neurons and has been shown to regulate neurite outgrowth as well as synapse formation and synaptic transmission. Clinically, mutations in or deletions of IL1RAPL1 have been associated with a spectrum of neurological dysfunction including autism spectrum disorder and nonsyndromic X-linked developmental delay/intellectual disability of varying severity. Nearly all reported cases are in males; in the few reported cases involving females, the clinical presentation was mild or the deletion was identified in phenotypically normal carriers in accordance with X-linked inheritance. Using genome-wide microarray analysis, we identified a novel de novo 373 kb interstitial deletion of the X chromosome (Xp21.1-p21.2) that includes exons 4 to 6 of the IL1RAPL1 gene in an 8-year-old girl with severe intellectual disability and behavioral disorder with a history of developmental regression. Overnight continuous video electroencephalography revealed electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES). This case expands the clinical genetic spectrum of IL1RAPL1-related neurodevelopmental disorders and highlights a new genetic association of ESES.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Zhang ◽  
Ye Wu ◽  
Yuwu Jiang

CNNM2 (Cystathionine-β-synthase-pair Domain Divalent Metal Cation Transport Mediator 2) pathogenic variants have been reported to cause hypomagnesemia, epilepsy, and intellectual disability/developmental delay (ID/DD). We identified two new cases with CNNM2 novel de novo pathogenic variants, c.814T>C and c.976G>C. They both presented with infantile-onset epilepsy with DD and hypomagnesemia refractory to magnesium supplementation. To date, 21 cases with CNNM2-related disorders have been reported. We combined all 23 cases to analyze the features of CNNM2-related disorders. The phenotypes can be classified into three types: type 1, autosomal dominant (AD) inherited simple hypomagnesemia; type 2, AD inherited hypomagnesemia with epilepsy and ID/DD; and type 3, autosomal recessive (AR) inherited hypomagnesemia with epilepsy and ID/DD. All five type 1 cases had no epilepsy or ID/DD; they all had hypomagnesemia, and three of them presented with symptoms secondary to hypomagnesemia. Fifteen type 2 patients could have ID/DD and seizures, which can be controlled with antiseizure medications (ASMs); their variations clustered in the DUF21 domain of CNNM2. All three type 3 patients had seizures from 1 to 6 days after birth; the seizures were refractory, and 1/3 had status epilepticus; ID/DD in these AR-inherited cases was more severe than that of AD-inherited cases; they all had abnormalities of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Except for one patient whose serum magnesium was the lower limit of normal, others had definite hypomagnesemia. Hypomagnesemia could be improved after magnesium supplement but could not return to the normal level. Variations in the CBS2 domain may be related to lower serum magnesium. However, there was no significant difference in the level of serum magnesium among the patients with three different types of CNNM2-related disorders. The severity of different phenotypes was therefore not explained by decreased serum magnesium. We expanded the spectrum of CNNM2 variants and classified the phenotypes of CNNM2-related disorders into three types. We found that DUF21 domain variations were most associated with CNNM2-related central nervous system phenotypes, whereas hypomagnesemia was more pronounced in patients with CBS2 domain variations, and AR-inherited CNNM2-related disorders had the most severe phenotype. These results provide important clues for further functional studies of CNNM2 and provide basic foundations for more accurate genetic counseling.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 2329048X2110553
Author(s):  
Rea Mittal ◽  
Ashutosh Kumar ◽  
Roger Ladda ◽  
Gayatra Mainali ◽  
Ermal Aliu

Pitt Hopkins-like syndrome 1 (PTHLS1, OMIM # 610042) is an ultra-rare autosomal recessive condition with a prevalence of <1/1,000,000. Intragenic deletions of CNTNAP2 has been implicated in PTHLS1, however to our knowledge a compound heterozygous deletion of exon 4 and a c.1977_1989del13; p.V660Ffsx9 frameshift variant have not been published previously. In this case report, the proband is a seven year old female with PTHLS1, developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, focal epilepsy, hypotonia, refractory errors, strabismus, and obstructive sleep apnea. Whole exome sequencing analysis revealed biallelic pathogenic variants of the CNTNAP2 gene. Proband has a three year old sister who has who has a similar phenotype including, developmental delay, epilepsy, gait abnormality, refractory errors, strabismus. Family variants were tested and she shared the same CNTNAP2 variants as her sister. The sisters described highlight two novel variants leading to PTHLS1. Genetic workup is essential in identification and management guidance in these populations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e528
Author(s):  
Federica Malerba ◽  
Giulio Alberini ◽  
Ganna Balagura ◽  
Francesca Marchese ◽  
Elisabetta Amadori ◽  
...  

ObjectiveEarly identification of de novo KCNQ2 variants in patients with epilepsy raises prognostic issues toward optimal management. We analyzed the clinical and genetic information from a cohort of patients with de novo KCNQ2 pathogenic variants to dissect genotype-phenotype correlations.MethodsPatients with de novo KCNQ2 pathogenic variants were identified from Italy, Denmark, and Belgium. Atomic resolution Kv7.2 structures were also generated using homology modeling to map the variants.ResultsWe included 34 patients with a mean age of 4.7 years. Median seizure onset was 2 days, mainly with focal seizures with autonomic signs. Twenty-two patients (65%) were seizure free at the mean age of 1.2 years. More than half of the patients (17/32) displayed severe/profound intellectual disability; however, 4 (13%) of them had a normal cognitive outcome.A total of 28 de novo pathogenic variants were identified, most missense (25/28), and clustered in conserved regions of the protein; 6 variants recurred, and 7 were novel. We did not identify a relationship between variant position and seizure offset or cognitive outcome in patients harboring missense variants. Besides, recurrent variants were associated with overlapping epilepsy features but also variable evolution regarding the intellectual outcome.ConclusionsWe highlight the complexity of variant interpretation to assess the impact of a class of de novo KCNQ2 mutations. Genetic modifiers could be implicated, but the study paradigms to successfully address the impact of each single mutation need to be developed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueya Zhou ◽  
Pamela Feliciano ◽  
Tianyun Wang ◽  
Irina Astrovskaya ◽  
Chang Shu ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite the known heritable nature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), studies have primarily identified risk genes with de novo variants (DNVs). To capture the full spectrum of ASD genetic risk, we performed a two-stage analysis of rare de novo and inherited coding variants in 42,607 ASD cases, including 35,130 new cases recruited online by SPARK. In the first stage, we analyzed 19,843 cases with one or both biological parents and found that known ASD or neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) risk genes explain nearly 70% of the genetic burden conferred by DNVs. In contrast, less than 20% of genetic risk conferred by rare inherited loss-of-function (LoF) variants are explained by known ASD/NDD genes. We selected 404 genes based on the first stage of analysis and performed a meta-analysis with an additional 22,764 cases and 236,000 population controls. We identified 60 genes with exome-wide significance (p < 2.5e-6), including five new risk genes (NAV3, ITSN1, MARK2, SCAF1, and HNRNPUL2). The association of NAV3 with ASD risk is entirely driven by rare inherited LoFs variants, with an average relative risk of 4, consistent with moderate effect. ASD individuals with LoF variants in the four moderate risk genes (NAV3, ITSN1, SCAF1, and HNRNPUL2, n = 95) have less cognitive impairment compared to 129 ASD individuals with LoF variants in well-established, highly penetrant ASD risk genes (CHD8, SCN2A, ADNP, FOXP1, SHANK3) (59% vs. 88%, p= 1.9e-06). These findings will guide future gene discovery efforts and suggest that much larger numbers of ASD cases and controls are needed to identify additional genes that confer moderate risk of ASD through rare, inherited variants.


Author(s):  
George Kirov ◽  
Michael C. O’Donovan ◽  
Michael J. Owen

Several submicroscopic genomic deletions and duplications known as copy number variants (CNVs) have been reported to increase susceptibility to schizophrenia. Those for which the evidence is particularly strong include deletions at chromosomal segments 1q21.1, 3q29, 15q11.2, 15q13.3, 17q12 and 22q11.2, duplications at 15q11.2-q13.1, 16p13.1, and 16p11.2, and deletions atthe gene NRXN1. The effect of each on individual risk is relatively large, but it does not appear that any of them is alone sufficient to cause disorder in carriers. These CNVs often arise as new mutations(de novo). Analyses of genes enriched among schizophrenia implicated CNVs highlight the involvement in the disorder of post-synaptic processes relevant to glutamatergicsignalling, cognition and learning. CNVs that contribute to schizophrenia risk also contribute to other neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disability, developmental delay and autism. As a result of selection, all known pathogenic CNVs are rare, and none makes a sizeable contribution to overall population risk of schizophrenia, although the study of these mutations is nevertheless providing important insights into the origins of the disorder.


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