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The PIDDosome is a multiprotein complex, composed by the p53-induced death domain protein 1 (PIDD1), the bipartite linker protein CRADD (also known as RAIDD) and the proform of caspase-2 that induces apoptosis in response to DNA damage. In the recent years, biallelic pathogenic variants in CRADD have been associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder (MRT34; MIM 614499) characterized by pachygyria with a predominant anterior gradient, megalencephaly, epilepsy and intellectual disability. More recently, biallelic pathogenic variants in PIDD1 have been described in a few families with apparently nonsydnromic intellectual disability. Here, we aim to delineate the genetic and radio-clinical features of PIDD1-related disorder. Exome sequencing was carried out in six consanguineous families. Thorough clinical and neuroradiological evaluation was performed for all the affected individuals as well as reviewing all the data from previously reported cases. We identified five distinct novel homozygous variants (c.2584C>T p.(Arg862Trp), c.1340G>A p.(Trp447*), c.2116_2120del p.(Val706Hisfs*30), c.1564_1565delCA p.(Gln522fs*44), and c.1804_1805del p.(Gly602fs*26) in eleven subjects displaying intellectual disability, behaviorial and psychiatric features, and a typical anterior-predominant pachygyria, remarkably resembling the CRADD-related neuroimaging pattern. In summary, we outlin`e the phenotypic and molecular spectrum of PIDD1 biallelic variants supporting the evidence that the PIDD1/CRADD/caspase-2 signaling is crucial for normal gyration of the developing human neocortex as well as cognition and behavior., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Trafficking protein particle (TRAPP) complexes, which include the TRAPPC4 protein, regulate membrane trafficking between lipid organelles in a process termed vesicular tethering. TRAPPC4 was recently implicated in a recessive neurodevelopmental condition in four unrelated families due to a shared c.454+3A>G splice variant. Here, we report 23 patients from 17 independent families with an early-infantile-onset neurodegenerative presentation, where we also identified the homozygous variant hg38:11:119020256 A>G (NM_016146.5:c.454+3A>G) in TRAPPC4 through exome or genome sequencing. No other clinically relevant TRAPPC4 variants were identified among any of over 10,000 patients with neurodevelopmental conditions. We found the carrier frequency of TRAPPC4 c.454+3A>G was 2.4-5.4 per 10,000 healthy individuals. Affected individuals with the homozygous TRAPPC4 c.454+3A>G variant showed profound psychomotor delay, developmental regression, early-onset epilepsy, microcephaly and progressive spastic tetraplegia. Based upon RNA sequencing, the variant resulted in partial exon 3 skipping and generation of an aberrant transcript owing to use of a downstream cryptic splice donor site, predicting a premature stop codon and nonsense mediated decay. These data confirm the pathogenicity of the TRAPPC4 c.454+3A>G variant, and refine the clinical presentation of TRAPPC4-related encephalopathy.

Despite clear technical superiority of genome sequencing (GS) over other diagnostic methods such as exome sequencing (ES), few studies are available regarding the advantages of its clinical application. We analyzed 1007 consecutive index cases for whom GS was performed in a diagnostic setting over a 2-year period. We reported pathogenic and likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants that explain the patients' phenotype in 212 of the 1007 cases (21.1%). In 245 additional cases (24.3%), a variant of unknown significance (VUS) related to the phenotype was reported. We especially investigated patients which had had ES with no genetic diagnosis (n = 358). For this group, GS diagnostic yield was 14.5% (52 patients with P/LP out of 358). GS should be especially indicated for ES-negative cases since up to 29.6% of them  could benefit from GS testing (14.5% with P/LP, n = 52 and 15.1% with VUS, n = 54). Genetic diagnoses in most of the ES-negative/GS-positive cases were determined by technical superiority of GS, i.e., access to noncoding regions and more uniform coverage. Importantly, we reported 79 noncoding variants, of which, 41 variants were classified as P/LP. Interpretation of noncoding variants remains challenging, and in many cases, complementary methods based on direct enzyme assessment, biomarker testing and RNA analysis are needed for variant classification and diagnosis. We present the largest cohort of patients with GS performed in a clinical setting to date. The results of this study should direct the decision for GS as standard second-line, or even first-line stand-alone test.

A high rate of consanguinity leads to a high prevalence of autosomal recessive disorders in inbred populations. One example of inbred populations is the Arab communities in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In the Palestinian Authority in particular, due to limited access to specialized medical care, most patients do not receive a genetic diagnosis and can therefore neither receive genetic counseling nor possibly specific treatment. We used whole-exome sequencing as a first-line diagnostic tool in 83 Palestinian and Israeli Arab families with suspected neurogenetic disorders and were able to establish a probable genetic diagnosis in 51% of the families (42 families). Pathogenic, likely pathogenic or highly suggestive candidate variants were found in the following genes extending and refining the mutational and phenotypic spectrum of these rare disorders: ACO2, ADAT3, ALS2, AMPD2, APTX, B4GALNT1, CAPN1, CLCN1, CNTNAP1, DNAJC6, GAMT, GPT2, KCNQ2, KIF11, LCA5, MCOLN1, MECP2, MFN2, MTMR2, NT5C2, NTRK1, PEX1, POLR3A, PRICKLE1, PRKN, PRX, SCAPER, SEPSECS, SGCG, SLC25A15, SPG11, SYNJ1, TMCO1, and TSEN54. Further, this cohort has proven to be ideal for prioritization of new disease genes. Two separately published candidate genes (WWOX and PAX7) were identified in this study. Analyzing the runs of homozygosity (ROHs) derived from the Exome sequencing data as a marker for the rate of inbreeding, revealed significantly longer ROHs in the included families compared with a German control cohort. The total length of ROHs correlated with the detection rate of recessive disease-causing variants. Identification of the disease-causing gene led to new therapeutic options in four families.

Intellectual disability (ID) is one of most frequent reasons for genetic consultation. The complex molecular anatomy of ID ranges from complete chromosomal imbalances to single nucleotide variant changes occurring de novo, with thousands of genes identified. This extreme genetic heterogeneity challenges the molecular diagnosis, which mostly requires a genomic approach. CXorf56 is largely uncharacterized and was recently proposed as a candidate ID gene based on findings in a single Dutch family. Here, we describe nine cases (six males and three females) from three unrelated families. Exome sequencing and combined database analyses, identified family-specific CXorf56 variants (NM_022101.3:c.498_503del, p.(Glu167_Glu168del) and c.303_304delCTinsACCC, p.(Phe101Leufs*20)) that segregated with the ID phenotype. These variants are presumably leading to loss-of-function, which is the proposed disease mechanism. Clinically, CXorf56-related disease is a slowly progressive neurological disorder. The phenotype is more severe in hemizygote males, but might also manifests in heterozygote females, which showed skewed X-inactivation patterns in blood. Male patients might present previously unreported neurological features such as epilepsy, abnormal gait, tremor, and clonus, which extends the clinical spectrum of the disorder. In conclusion, we confirm the causative role of variants in CXorf56 for an X-linked form of intellectual disability with additional neurological features. The gene should be considered for molecular diagnostics of patients with ID, specifically when family history is suggestive of X-linked inheritance. Further work is needed to understand the role of this gene in neurodevelopment and intellectual disability.

We explored the clinico-genetic basis of spinocerebellar ataxia 29 (SCA29) by determining the frequency, phenotype, and functional impact of ITPR1 missense variants associated with early-onset ataxia (EOA). Three hundred thirty one patients from a European EOA target cohort (n = 120), US-American EOA validation cohort (n = 72), and early-onset epileptic encephalopathy (EOEE) control cohort (n = 139) were screened for de novo ITPR1 variants. The target cohort was also screened for inherited ITPR1 variants. The variants' functional impact was determined by IP3-induced Ca 2+ release in HEK293 cells. 3/120 patients (2.5%) from the target cohort and 4/72 patients (5.5%) from the validation cohort, but none from the EOEE control cohort, carried de novo ITPR1 variants. However, most ITPR1 variants (7/10 = 70%) in the target cohort were inherited from a healthy parent, with 3/6 patients carrying disease-causing variants in other genes. This suggests limited or no phenotypic impact of many ITPR1 missense variants, even if ultra-rare and well-conserved. While common bioinformatics tools did not discriminate de novo from other ITPR1 variants, functional characterization demonstrated reduced IP3-induced Ca 2+ release for all de novo variants, including the recurrent c.805C>T (p.(R269W)) variant. In sum, these findings show that de novo ITPR1 missense variants are a recurrent cause of EOA (SCA29) across independent cohorts, acting via loss of IP3 channel function. Inherited ITPR1 variants are also enriched in EOA, but often without strong impact, albeit rare and well-conserved. Functional studies allow identifying ITPR1 variants with large impact, likely disease-causing. Such functional confirmation is warranted for inherited ITPR1 variants before making a SCA29 diagnosis.

Congenital neurological disorders are genetically highly heterogeneous. Rare forms of hereditary neurological disorders are still difficult to be adequately diagnosed. Pertinent studies, especially when reporting only single families, need independent confirmation. We present three unrelated families in which whole-exome sequencing identified the homozygous non-sense variants c.430[C>T];[C>T] p.(Arg144*), c.1219[C>T];[C>T] p.(Gln407*) and c.1408[C>T];[C>T] p.(Arg470*) in GTPBP2. Their clinical presentations include early onset and apparently non-progressive motor and cognitive impairment, and thereby overlap with findings in a recently described family harbouring a homozygous GTPBP2 splice site variant. Notable differences include structural brain abnormalities (e.g., agenesis of the corpus callosum, exclusive to our patients), and evidence for brain iron accumulation (exclusive to the previously described family). This report confirms pathogenicity of biallelic GTPBP2 inactivation and broadens the phenotypic spectrum. It also underlines that a potential involvement of brain iron accumulation needs clarification. Further patients will have to be identified and characterised in order to fully define the core features of GTPBP2-associated neurological disorder, but future approaches to molecular diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders should implement GTPBP2.

Farber disease (FD) is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the acid ceramidase gene (ASAH1). Low ceramidase activity results in the accumulation of fatty substances, mainly ceramides. Hallmark symptoms at clinical level are periarticular nodules, lipogranulomas, swollen and painful joints and a hoarse voice. FD phenotypes are heterogeneous varying from mild to very severe cases, with the patients not surviving past their first year of life. The diagnostic aspects of FD are poorly developed due to the rarity of the disease. In the present study, the screening for ceramides and related molecules was performed in Farber affected patients (n = 10), carriers (n = 11) and control individuals (n = 192). This study has the highest number of enrolled Farber patients and carriers reported to present. Liquid chromatography multiple reaction mass spectrometry (LC/MRM-MS) studies revealed that the ceramide C26:0 and especially its isoform 1 is a highly sensitive and specific biomarker for FD (p < 0.0001). The new biomarker can be determined directly in the dried blood spot extracts with low sample consumption. This allows for easy sample preparation, high reproducibility and use in high throughput screenings.

We report our results of 1000 diagnostic WES cases based on 2819 sequenced samples from 54 countries with a wide phenotypic spectrum. Clinical information given by the requesting physicians was translated to HPO terms. WES processes were performed according to standardized settings. We identified the underlying pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in 307 families (30.7%). In further 253 families (25.3%) a variant of unknown significance, possibly explaining the clinical symptoms of the index patient was identified. WES enabled timely diagnosing of genetic diseases, validation of causality of specific genetic disorders of PTPN23, KCTD3, SCN3A, PPOX, FRMPD4, and SCN1B, and setting dual diagnoses by detecting two causative variants in distinct genes in the same patient. We observed a better diagnostic yield in consanguineous families, in severe and in syndromic phenotypes. Our results suggest that WES has a better yield in patients that present with several symptoms, rather than an isolated abnormality. We also validate the clinical benefit of WES as an effective diagnostic tool, particularly in nonspecific or heterogeneous phenotypes. We recommend WES as a first-line diagnostic in all cases without a clear differential diagnosis, to facilitate personal medical care., Competing Interests: DT, AMBA, MERW, JK, KKK, AM, OP, MCdC, CB, KW, RS, JMGA, OB, SK, NN, MW, RAJ are employed at Centogene AG; AR has financial holdings in Centogene AG; WE, MTAR, AAR, WAT, AAlo, MAB, and MA are employees at King Abdulaziz Medical city; AAlh is employee at Prince Sultan Military Medical City; NAS is employee at Johns Hopkins Aramco hospital.

PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome (PHTS) is caused by heterozygous variants in PTEN and is characterised by tumour predisposition, macrocephaly, and cognition impairment. Bi-allelic loss of PTEN activity has not been reported so far and animal models suggest that bi-allelic loss of PTEN activity is embryonically lethal. Here, we report the identification of a novel homozygous variant in PTEN, NM&#95;000314.4; c.545T>C; p.Leu182Ser, in two adolescent siblings with severe macrocephaly and mild intellectual disability. The variant is predicted to be damaging and is associated with significantly increased phospho-S6 downstream of PTEN. The absence of tumours in the two homozygous siblings as well as lack of symptoms of PHTS in the heterozygous carriers of the family suggest that this particular variant is functionally hypomorphic rather than deleterious.