Identification of pathogenic variant enriched regions across genes and gene families

in Genome Research (2020), 30(1), 62-71

Missense variant interpretation is challenging. Essential regions for protein function are conserved among gene family members, and genetic variants within these regions are potentially more likely to ... [more ▼]

Missense variant interpretation is challenging. Essential regions for protein function are conserved among gene family members, and genetic variants within these regions are potentially more likely to confer risk to disease. Here, we generated 2,871 gene family protein sequence alignments involving 9,990 genes and performed missense variant burden analyses to identify novel essential protein regions. We mapped 2,219,811 variants from the general population into these alignments and compared their distribution with 76,153 missense variants from patients. With this gene family approach, we identified 465 regions enriched for patient variants spanning 41,463 amino acids in 1,252 genes. As a comparison, testing the same genes individually we identified less patient variant enriched regions involving only 2,639 amino acids and 215 genes. Next, we selected de novo variants from 6,753 patients with neurodevelopmental disorders and 1,911 unaffected siblings, and observed an 8.33-fold enrichment of patient variants in our identified regions (95% C.I.=3.90-Inf, p-value = 2.72x10-11). Using the complete ClinVar variant set, we found that missense variants inside the identified regions are 106-fold more likely to be classified as pathogenic in comparison to benign classification (OR = 106.15, 95% C.I = 70.66-Inf, p-value < 2.2 x 10-16). All pathogenic variant enriched regions (PERs) identified are available online through the “PER viewer” a user-friendly online platform for interactive data mining, visualization and download. In summary, our gene family burden analysis approach identified novel pathogenic variant enriched regions in protein sequences. This annotation can empower variant interpretation. [less ▲]

A patient-based model of RNA mis-splicing uncovers treatment targets in Parkinson's disease.

in Science translational medicine (2020), 12(560),

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with monogenic forms representing prototypes of the underlying molecular pathology and reproducing to variable degrees the sporadic ... [more ▼]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with monogenic forms representing prototypes of the underlying molecular pathology and reproducing to variable degrees the sporadic forms of the disease. Using a patient-based in vitro model of PARK7-linked PD, we identified a U1-dependent splicing defect causing a drastic reduction in DJ-1 protein and, consequently, mitochondrial dysfunction. Targeting defective exon skipping with genetically engineered U1-snRNA recovered DJ-1 protein expression in neuronal precursor cells and differentiated neurons. After prioritization of candidate drugs, we identified and validated a combinatorial treatment with the small-molecule compounds rectifier of aberrant splicing (RECTAS) and phenylbutyric acid, which restored DJ-1 protein and mitochondrial dysfunction in patient-derived fibroblasts as well as dopaminergic neuronal cell loss in mutant midbrain organoids. Our analysis of a large number of exomes revealed that U1 splice-site mutations were enriched in sporadic PD patients. Therefore, our study suggests an alternative strategy to restore cellular abnormalities in in vitro models of PD and provides a proof of concept for neuroprotection based on precision medicine strategies in PD. [less ▲]

Assessment of genetic variant burden in epilepsy-associated brain lesions

in European Journal of Human Genetics (2019)

It is challenging to estimate genetic variant burden across different subtypes of epilepsy. Herein, we used a comparative approach to assess the diagnostic yield and genotype-phenotype correlations in the ... [more ▼]

It is challenging to estimate genetic variant burden across different subtypes of epilepsy. Herein, we used a comparative approach to assess the diagnostic yield and genotype-phenotype correlations in the four most common brain lesions in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Targeted sequencing analysis was performed for a panel of 161 genes with a mean coverage of > 400x. Lesional tissue was histopathologically reviewed and dissected from hippocampal sclerosis (n=15), ganglioglioma (n=16), dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (n=8) and ocal cortical dysplasia type II (n=15). Peripheral blood (n=12) or surgical tissue samples histopathologically classified as lesion-free (n=42) were available for comparison. Variants were classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines. Overall, we identified pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in 25.9% of patients with a mean coverage of 383x. The highest number of pathogenic/ likely pathogenic variants was observed in patients with ganglioglioma (43.75%; all somatic) and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (37.5%; all somatic), and in 20% of cases with focal cortical dysplasia type II (13.33% somatic, 6.67% germline). Pathogenic/likely pathogenic positive genes were disorder-specific and BRAF V600E the only recurrent pathogenic variant. This study represents a reference for diagnostic yield across the four most common lesion entities in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. The observed large variability in variant burden by epileptic lesion type calls for whole exome sequencing of histopathologically well characterized tissue in a diagnostic setting and in research to discover novel disease-associated genes. [less ▲]

Mutations in RHOT1 disrupt ER-mitochondria contact sites interfering with calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial dynamics in Parkinson's disease.

in Antioxidants & redox signaling (2019)

OBJECTIVE: The outer mitochondrial membrane protein Miro1 is a crucial player in mitochondrial dynamics and calcium homeostasis. Recent evidence indicated that Miro1 mediates calcium-induced mitochondrial ... [more ▼]

OBJECTIVE: The outer mitochondrial membrane protein Miro1 is a crucial player in mitochondrial dynamics and calcium homeostasis. Recent evidence indicated that Miro1 mediates calcium-induced mitochondrial shape transition (MiST), which is a prerequisite for the initiation of mitophagy. Moreover, altered Miro1 protein levels have emerged as a shared feature of monogenic and sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD), but, so far, no disease-associated variants in RHOT1 have been identified. RESULTS: Here, for the first time, we describe heterozygous RHOT1 mutations in two PD patients (het c.815G>A; het c.1348C>T) and identified mitochondrial phenotypes with reduced mitochondrial mass in patient-derived cellular models. Both mutations lead to decreased ER-mitochondrial contact sites and calcium dyshomeostasis. As a consequence, energy metabolism was impaired, which in turn lead to increased mitophagy. CONCLUSION: In summary, our data support the role of Miro1 in maintaining calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial quality control in PD. [less ▲]

Simple ClinVar:an interactive web server to explore and retrieve gene and disease variants 1 aggregated in ClinVar database

in Nucleic Acids Research (2019)

Clinical genetic testing has exponentially expanded in recent years, leading to an overwhelming amount of patient variants with high variability in pathogenicity and heterogeneous phenotypes. A large part ... [more ▼]

Clinical genetic testing has exponentially expanded in recent years, leading to an overwhelming amount of patient variants with high variability in pathogenicity and heterogeneous phenotypes. A large part of the variant level data are comprehensively aggregated in public databases such as ClinVar. However, the ability to explore this rich resource and answer general questions such as “How many genes inside ClinVar are associated with a specific disease? or “In which part of the protein are patient variants located?” is limited and requires advanced bioinformatics processing. Here, we present Simple ClinVar (http://simple-clinvar.broadinstitute.org/) a web- server application that is able to provide variant, gene, and disease level summary statistics based on the entire ClinVar database in a dynamic and user-friendly web-interface. Overall, our web application is able to interactively answer basic questions regarding genetic variation and its known relationships to disease. By typing a disease term of interest, t he user can identify in seconds the genes and phenotypes most frequently reported to ClinVar. Subsets of variants can then be further explored, filtered, or mapped and visualized in the corresponding protein sequences. Our website will follow ClinVar monthly releases and provide easy access to rich ClinVar resources to a broader audience including basic and clinical scientists. [less ▲]

A Recurrent Missense Variant in AP2M1 Impairs Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis and Causes Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy.

in American journal of human genetics (2019)

The developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) are heterogeneous disorders with a strong genetic contribution, but the underlying genetic etiology remains unknown in a significant proportion of ... [more ▼]

The developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) are heterogeneous disorders with a strong genetic contribution, but the underlying genetic etiology remains unknown in a significant proportion of individuals. To explore whether statistical support for genetic etiologies can be generated on the basis of phenotypic features, we analyzed whole-exome sequencing data and phenotypic similarities by using Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) in 314 individuals with DEEs. We identified a de novo c.508C>T (p.Arg170Trp) variant in AP2M1 in two individuals with a phenotypic similarity that was higher than expected by chance (p = 0.003) and a phenotype related to epilepsy with myoclonic-atonic seizures. We subsequently found the same de novo variant in two individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and generalized epilepsy in a cohort of 2,310 individuals who underwent diagnostic whole-exome sequencing. AP2M1 encodes the mu-subunit of the adaptor protein complex 2 (AP-2), which is involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) and synaptic vesicle recycling. Modeling of protein dynamics indicated that the p.Arg170Trp variant impairs the conformational activation and thermodynamic entropy of the AP-2 complex. Functional complementation of both the mu-subunit carrying the p.Arg170Trp variant in human cells and astrocytes derived from AP-2mu conditional knockout mice revealed a significant impairment of CME of transferrin. In contrast, stability, expression levels, membrane recruitment, and localization were not impaired, suggesting a functional alteration of the AP-2 complex as the underlying disease mechanism. We establish a recurrent pathogenic variant in AP2M1 as a cause of DEEs with distinct phenotypic features, and we implicate dysfunction of the early steps of endocytosis as a disease mechanism in epilepsy. [less ▲]

Intestinal-Cell Kinase and Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.

in New England Journal of Medicine (2019), 380(16), 24

With regard to the article by Bailey et al. (March 15, 2018, issue) on the potential role of variants in the gene encoding intestinal cell kinase (ICK) in genetic generalized epilepsies, including ... [more ▼]

With regard to the article by Bailey et al. (March 15, 2018, issue) on the potential role of variants in the gene encoding intestinal cell kinase (ICK) in genetic generalized epilepsies, including juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: We attempted replication by rechecking for enrichment of ICK variants in two previously published analyses of mainly familial cases of genetic generalized epilepsy, which included a total of 1149 cases of genetic generalized epilepsy and 5911 ethnically matched controls. We analyzed the burden of single-gene rare variants with the use of whole exome sequencing data, applying population stratification and both sample and variant quality control. We found no evidence of an enrichment of ICK variants in genetic generalized epilepsies or juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. Specifically, we did not detect a nonsynonymous variant in 357 persons with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy at a minor allele frequency at or below 0.1%. Although we cannot exclude the possibility that ICK variants may be population-specific risk factors for juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, the lack of validation in our cohorts does not support a true disease association but rather suggests that the authors’ results may be due to chance, possibly owing to methodologic issues (see the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of this letter at NEJM.org). [less ▲]

Functional Interpretation of Single Amino Acid Substitutions in 1,330 Disease-Associated Genes

in Biophysical Journal (2019, February 15), 116(3), 420-421

Elucidating molecular consequences of amino-acid-altering missense variants at scale is challenging. In this work, we explored whether features derived from three-dimensional (3D) protein structures can ... [more ▼]

Elucidating molecular consequences of amino-acid-altering missense variants at scale is challenging. In this work, we explored whether features derived from three-dimensional (3D) protein structures can characterize patient missense variants across different protein classes with similar molecular level activities. The identified disease-associated features can advance our understanding of how a single amino acid substitution can lead to the etiology of monogenic disorders. For 1,330 disease-associated genes (>80%, 1,077/1,330 implicated in Mendelian disorders), we collected missense variants from the general population (gnomAD database, N=164,915) and patients (ClinVar and HGMD databases, N=32,923). We in silico mapped the variant positions onto >14k human protein 3D structures. We annotated the protein positions of variants with 40 structural, physiochemical, and functional features. We then grouped the genes into 24 protein classes based on their molecular functions and performed statistical association analyses with the features of population and patient variants. We identified 18 (out of 40) features that are associated with patient variants in general. Specifically, patient variants are less exposed to solvent (p<1.0e-100), enriched on b-sheets (p<2.37e-39), frequently mutate aromatic residues (p<1.0e-100), occur in ligand binding sites (p<1.0e-100) and are spatially close to phosphorylation sites (p<1.0e-100). We also observed differential protein-class-specific features. For three protein classes (signaling molecules, proteases and hydrolases), patient variants significantly perturb the disulfide bonds (p<1.0e-100). Only in immunity proteins, patient variants are enriched in flexible coils (p<1.65e-06). Kinases and cell junction proteins exhibit enrichment of patient variants around SUMOylation (p<1.0e-100) and methylation sites (p<9.29e-11), respectively. In summary, we studied shared and unique features associated with patient variants on protein structure across 24 protein classes, providing novel mechanistic insights. We generated an online resource that contains amino-acid-wise feature annotation-track for 1,330 genes, summarizes the patient-variant-associated features on residue level, and can guide variant interpretation. [less ▲]

Clinical spectrum of STX1B-related epileptic disorders

in Neurology (2019), 92

Objective: The aim of this study was to expand the spectrum of epilepsy syndromes related to STX1B, encoding the presynaptic protein syntaxin-1B, and to establish genotype-phenotype correlations by ... [more ▼]

Objective: The aim of this study was to expand the spectrum of epilepsy syndromes related to STX1B, encoding the presynaptic protein syntaxin-1B, and to establish genotype-phenotype correlations by identifying further disease-related variants. Methods: We used next generation sequencing in the framework of research projects and diagnostic testing. Clinical data and EEGs were reviewed, including already published cases. To estimate the pathogenicity of the variants, we used established and newly developed in silico prediction tools. Results: We describe fifteen new variants in STX1B which are distributed across the whole gene. We discerned four different phenotypic groups across the newly identified and previously published patients (49 in 23 families): 1) Six sporadic patients or families (31 affected individuals) with febrile and afebrile seizures with a benign course, generally good drug response, normal development and without permanent neurological deficits; 2) two patients of genetic generalized epilepsy without febrile seizures and cognitive deficits; 3) thirteen patients or families with intractable seizures, developmental regression after seizure onset and additional neuropsychiatric symptoms; 4) two patients with focal epilepsy. Nonsense mutations were found more often in benign syndromes, whereas missense variants in the SNARE motif of syntaxin-1B were associated with more severe phenotypes. Conclusion: These data expand the genetic and phenotypic spectrum of STX1B-related epilepsies to a diverse range of epilepsies that span the ILAE classification. Variants in STX1B are protean, and able to contribute to many different epilepsy phenotypes, similar to SCN1A, the most important gene associated with fever-associated epilepsies. [less ▲]

BSA4Yeast: Web-based quantitative trait locus linkage analysis and bulk segregant analysis of yeast sequencing data

in GigaScience (2019), 8(6), 060

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping using bulk segregants is an effective approach for identifying genetic variants associated with phenotypes of interest in model organisms. By exploiting next ... [more ▼]

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping using bulk segregants is an effective approach for identifying genetic variants associated with phenotypes of interest in model organisms. By exploiting next-generation sequencing technology, the QTL mapping accuracy can be improved significantly, providing a valuable means to annotate new genetic variants. However, setting up a comprehensive analysis framework for this purpose is a time-consuming and error prone task, posing many challenges for scientists with limited experience in this domain. Findings: Here, we present BSA4Yeast, a comprehensive web-application for QTL mapping via bulk segregant analysis of yeast sequencing data. The software provides an automated and efficiency-optimized data processing, up-to-date functional annotations, and an interactive web-interface to explore identified QTLs. Conclusion: BSA4Yeast enables researchers to identify plausible candidate genes in QTL regions efficiently in order to validate their genetic variations experimentally as causative for a phenotype of interest. BSA4Yeast is freely available at https://bsa4yeast.lcsb.uni.lu. [less ▲]