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MFSD2A, a member of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS), is a transmembrane transporter responsible for the uptake of specific essential fatty acids through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to the brain. The transporter is crucial for early embryonic brain development and a major factor in the formation and maintenance of the BBB. Mfsd2a-knockout mice show a leakage of the BBB in early embryonic stages and develop a phenotype characterized by microcephaly, cognitive impairment, and anxiety. So far, homozygous or compound heterozygous MFSD2A mutations in humans have only been reported in 13 different families with a total of 28 affected individuals. The phenotypical spectrum of patients with MFSD2A variants is rather broad but all patients present with microcephaly and severe intellectual disability, absent or limited speech, and walking difficulties. Severely affected patients develop seizures and show brain malformations and have, above all, a profound developmental delay hardly reaching any developmental motor milestones. Here, we report on two unrelated individuals with novel homozygous variants in the MFSD2A gene, presenting with severe primary microcephaly, brain malformations, profound developmental delay, and epilepsy, including hypsarrhythmia. Our findings extend the mutational spectrum of the bi-allelic MFSD2A variants causing autosomal recessive primary microcephaly type 15 and broaden the phenotypic spectrum associated with these pathogenic variants emphasizing the role of MFSD2A in early brain development., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

RHOA is a member of the Rho family of GTPases that are involved in fundamental cellular processes including cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. RHOA can stimulate the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions and is a key regulator of actomyosin dynamics in various tissues. In a Genematcher-facilitated collaboration, we were able to identify four unrelated individuals with a specific phenotype characterized by hypopigmented areas of the skin, dental anomalies, body asymmetry, and limb length discrepancy due to hemihypotrophy of one half of the body, as well as brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) anomalies. Using whole-exome and ultra-deep amplicon sequencing and comparing genomic data of affected and unaffected areas of the skin, we discovered that all four individuals carried the identical RHOA missense variant, c.139G>A; p.Glu47Lys, in a postzygotic state. Molecular modeling and in silico analysis of the affected p.Glu47Lys residue in RHOA indicated that this exchange is predicted to specifically alter the interaction of RHOA with its downstream effectors containing a PKN-type binding domain and thereby disrupts its ability to activate signaling. Our findings indicate that the recurrent postzygotic RHOA missense variant p.Glu47Lys causes a specific mosaic disorder in humans., (© 2019 The Authors. Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Heterozygous germline mutations in MTOR have been shown to underlie Smith-Kingsmore syndrome, a rare autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by macrocephaly, developmental delay, and dysmorphic facial features. Recently, two unrelated families with the MTOR mutation, c.5395G>A p.(Glu1799Lys), were reported. Here, we describe siblings from a non-consanguineous German family in whom we identified the same heterozygous missense mutation in MTOR. Remarkably, in all reported families with Smith-Kingsmore syndrome and the MTOR c.5395G>A mutation, including the family described herein, healthy parents of recurrently affected children do not have detectable levels of the mutation in tested tissues, lending credence to gonadal mosaicism as the underlying mechanism. Furthermore, the glutamic acid at position 1799 was shown to present a recurrent somatic mutation site in several cancers, including colon cancer, pointing to a somatic mutational hotspot in MTOR. Importantly, we highlight the occurrence of multiple intestinal polyps in the older sibling. Further patients are required to establish definitively whether polyp formation forms part of the SKS clinical spectrum. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare developmental disorder characterized by multiple congenital malformations, postnatal growth retardation, intellectual disability, and recognizable facial features. It is mainly caused by mutations in either KMT2D or KDM6A. We describe a 14-year-old boy with KS presenting with an unusual combination of bilateral microphthalmia with orbital cystic venous lymphatic malformation and neonatal cholestasis with bile duct paucity, in addition to the typical clinical features of KS. We identified the novel KMT2D mutation c.10588delC, p.(Glu3530Serfs*128) by Mendeliome (Illumina TruSight One®) sequencing, a next generation sequencing panel targeting 4,813 genes linked to human genetic disease. We analyzed the Mendeliome data for additional mutations which might explain the exceptional clinical presentation of our patient but did not find any, leading us to suspect that the above named symptoms might be part of the KMT2D-associated spectrum of anomalies. We thus extend the range of KS-associated malformations and propose a hypothetical connection between KMT2D and Notch signaling. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)