PurposeCoffin-Siris and Nicolaides-Baraitser syndromes are recognizable neurodevelopmental disorders caused by germline variants in BAF complex subunits. The SMARCC2 BAFopathy was recently reported... Show morePurposeCoffin-Siris and Nicolaides-Baraitser syndromes are recognizable neurodevelopmental disorders caused by germline variants in BAF complex subunits. The SMARCC2 BAFopathy was recently reported. Herein, we present clinical and molecular data on a large cohort.MethodsClinical symptoms for 41 novel and 24 previously published affected individuals were analyzed using the Human Phenotype Ontology. For genotype-phenotype correlations, molecular data were standardized and grouped into non-truncating and likely gene-disrupting (LGD) variants. Missense variant protein expression and BAF-subunit interactions were examined using 3D protein modeling, co-immunoprecipitation, and proximity-ligation assays.ResultsNeurodevelopmental delay with intellectual disability, muscular hypotonia, and behavioral disorders were the major manifestations. Clinical hallmarks of BAFopathies were rare. Clinical presentation differed significantly, with LGD variants being predominantly inherited and associated with mildly reduced or normal cognitive development, whereas non-truncating variants were mostly de novo and presented with severe developmental delay. These distinct manifestations and non-truncating variant clustering in functional domains suggest different pathomechanisms. In vitro testing showed decreased protein expression for N-terminal missense variants similar to LGD.ConclusionThis study improved SMARCC2 variant classification and identified discernible SMARCC2-associated phenotypes for LGD and non-truncating variants, which were distinct from other BAFopathies. The pathomechanism of most non-truncating variants has yet to be investigated. Show less
Humbert, M.; Kovacs, G.; Hoeper, M.M.; Badagliacca, R.; Berger, R.M.F.; Brida, M.; ... ; ESC ERS Sci Document Grp 2023
Purpose To delineate the genotype-phenotype correlation in individuals with likely pathogenic variants in the CLTC gene. Methods We describe 13 individuals with de novo CLTC variants. Causality of... Show morePurpose To delineate the genotype-phenotype correlation in individuals with likely pathogenic variants in the CLTC gene. Methods We describe 13 individuals with de novo CLTC variants. Causality of variants was determined by using the tolerance landscape of CLTC and computer-assisted molecular modeling where applicable. Phenotypic abnormalities observed in the individuals identified with missense and in-frame variants were compared with those with nonsense or frameshift variants in CLTC. Results All de novo variants were judged to be causal. Combining our data with that of 14 previously reported affected individuals (n = 27), all had intellectual disability (ID), ranging from mild to moderate/severe, with or without additional neurologic, behavioral, craniofacial, ophthalmologic, and gastrointestinal features. Microcephaly, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, and epilepsy were more frequently observed in individuals with missense and in-frame variants than in those with nonsense and frameshift variants. However, this difference was not significant. Conclusions The wide phenotypic variability associated with likely pathogenic CLTC variants seems to be associated with allelic heterogeneity. The detailed clinical characterization of a larger cohort of individuals with pathogenic CLTC variants is warranted to support the hypothesis that missense and in-frame variants exert a dominant-negative effect, whereas the nonsense and frameshift variants would result in haploinsufficiency. Show less
The etiology of mental retardation remains elusive in the majority of cases. Microdeletions within chromosomal bands 5q14.3q15 were recently identified as a recurrent cause of severe mental... Show moreThe etiology of mental retardation remains elusive in the majority of cases. Microdeletions within chromosomal bands 5q14.3q15 were recently identified as a recurrent cause of severe mental retardation, epilepsy, muscular hypotonia, and variable minor anomalies. By molecular karyotyping we identified two novel 2.4- and 1.5-Mb microdeletions of this region in patients with a similar phenotype. Both deletions contained the MEF2C gene, which is located proximally to the previously defined smallest region of overlap. Nevertheless, due to its known role in neurogenesis, we considered MEF2C as a phenocritical candidate gene for the 5q14.3q15 microdeletion phenotype. We therefore performed mutational analysis in 362 patients with severe mental retardation and found two truncating and two missense de novo mutations in MEF2C, establishing defects in this transcription factor as a novel relatively frequent autosomal dominant cause of severe mental retardation accounting for as much as 1.1% of patients. In these patients we found diminished MECP2 and CDKL5 expression in vivo, and transcriptional reporter assays indicated that MEF2C mutations diminish synergistic transactivation of E-box promoters including that of MECP2 and CDKL5. We therefore conclude that the phenotypic overlap of patients with MEF2C mutations and atypical Rett syndrome is due to the involvement of a common pathway. Hum Mutat 31:722-733, 2010. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Show less
