Long-read nanopore DNA sequencing can resolve complex intragenic duplication/deletion variants, providing information to enable preimplantation genetic diagnosis
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ABSTRACT: Nanopore sequencing to resolve an RB1 mutation
Project description:BackgroundThe adoption of massively parallel short-read DNA sequencing methods has greatly expanded the scope and availability of genetic testing for inherited diseases. Indeed, the power of these methods has encouraged the integration of whole genome sequencing, the most comprehensive single approach to genomic analysis, into clinical practice. Despite these advances, diagnostic techniques that incompletely resolve the precise molecular boundaries of pathogenic sequence variants continue to be routinely deployed. This can present a barrier for certain prenatal diagnostic approaches. For example, the pre-referral workup for couples seeking preimplantation genetic diagnosis requires intragenic dosage variants to be characterised at nucleotide resolution.ObjectiveWe sought to assess the use of long-read nanopore sequencing to rapidly characterise an apparent heterozygous RB1 exon 23 deletion that was initially identified by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), in a patient with bilateral retinoblastoma.MethodsTarget enrichment was performed by long-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification prior to Flongle sequencing on a MinION long-read sequencer.ResultsCharacterisation of the deletion breakpoint included an unexpected 85-bp insertion which duplicated RB1 exon 24 (and was undetected by MLPA). The long-read sequence permitted design of a multiplex PCR assay, which confirmed that the mutation arose de novo.ConclusionOur experience demonstrates the diagnostic utility of long-read technology for the precise characterisation of structural variants, and highlights how this technology can be efficiently deployed to enable onward referral to reproductive medicine services.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Kleefstra syndrome is characterized by intellectual disability, muscular hypotonia in childhood and typical facial features. It results from either a microdeletion of or a deleterious sequence variant in the gene euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 1 (EHMT1) on chromosome 9q34. RESULTS:We report on a 3-year-old girl with characteristic symptoms of Kleefstra syndrome. Array comparative genomic hybridization analysis revealed a 145 kilobases duplication spanning exons 2 to 10 of EHMT1. Sequence analysis characterized it as an intragenic tandem duplication leading to a frame shift with a premature stop codon in EHMT1. CONCLUSIONS:This is the first description of an intragenic duplication of EHMT1 resulting in Kleefstra syndrome.
Project description:ObjectivesIn a hereditary pancreatitis family from Denmark, we identified a novel intragenic duplication of 9 nucleotides in exon-2 of the human cationic trypsinogen (PRSS1) gene (c.63_71dup) which at the amino-acid level resulted in the insertion of 3 amino acids within the activation peptide of cationic trypsinogen (p.K23_I24insIDK). The aim of the present study was to characterize the effect of this unique genetic alteration on the function of human cationic trypsinogen.MethodsWild-type and mutant cationic trypsinogens were produced recombinantly and purified to homogeneity. Trypsinogen activation was followed by enzymatic assays and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Trypsinogen secretion was measured from transfected HEK 293T cells.ResultsRecombinant cationic trypsinogen carrying the p.K23_I24insIDK mutation exhibited greater than 10-fold increased autoactivation. Activation by human cathepsin B also was accelerated by 10-fold. Secretion of the p.K23_I24insIDK mutant from transfected cells was diminished, consistent with intracellular autoactivation.ConclusionsThis is the first report of an intragenic duplication within the PRSS1 gene causing hereditary pancreatitis. The accelerated activation of p.K23_I24insIDK by cathepsin B is a unique biochemical property not found in any other pancreatitis-associated trypsinogen mutant. In contrast, the robust autoactivation of the novel mutant confirms the notion that increased autoactivation is a disease-relevant mechanism in hereditary pancreatitis.
Project description:Intracerebral hemorrhage is rare in term born neonates. Besides several non-genetic risk factors, pathogenic variants in COL4A1 and COL4A2 have been described to play a role in the pathophysiology of neonatal intracerebral hemorrhage. To the best of our knowledge, no intragenic COL4A2 duplications have been reported in humans to date. We report a neonate with intracerebral hemorrhage and a de novo intragenic COL4A2 duplication. Although it is not clear yet whether this genetic factor fully explains the clinical phenotype, it may have contributed at least as a risk factor for cerebral hemorrhage. Screening for intragenic COL4A1 and COL4A2 duplications as part of collagen IV diagnostics should be considered as part of the fetal and neonatal work-up for unexplained cerebral hemorrhages and to collect more evidence of the pathogenicity of this genetic mechanism.
Project description:BackgroundKBG syndrome, a rare autosomal disorder characterised by distinctive craniofacial and skeletal features and developmental delay, is caused by haploinsufficiency of the ANKRD11 gene.ResultsHere we describe two siblings with multiple symptoms characteristic of KBG and their mother with a milder phenotype. In the siblings, array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) identified an intragenic microduplication affecting ANKRD11 that was absent from the parents' array CGH profiles. Microsatellite analysis revealed the maternal origin of the rearrangement and interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (i-FISH) experiments identified the rearrangement in low-level mosaicism in the mother. Molecular characterisation of the duplication allele demonstrated the presence of two mutant ANKRD11 transcripts containing a premature stop codon and predicting a truncated non-functional protein.ConclusionsSimilarly to deletions and point mutations, this novel pathogenetic rearrangement causes haploinsufficiency of ANKRD11, resulting in KBG syndrome.
Project description:In the present study, we report on a couple who underwent prenatal genetic diagnosis for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD).This healthy couple had previously had a healthy boy but had experienced two consecutive neonatal deaths due to respiratory distress resulting from pulmonary hypoplasia caused by oligohydramnios. The woman consulted our facility after she realized she was pregnant again. We promptly performed a carrier test for the PKHD1 gene by target exome sequencing of samples from the couple. A pathogenic mutation was identified only in the paternal allele (c.9008C>T, p.S3003F). The mutation was confirmed by Sanger sequencing of the DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, kidney tissue of the second neonate patient and was not found in the healthy sibling. We then performed haplotype analyses using microsatellite markers scattered throughout the PKHD1 gene. DNA from the amniocentesis was determined to belong to a carrier, and the couple decided to continue with the pregnancy, obtaining a healthy newborn. Subsequent detailed examination of the exome data suggested higher read depth at exons 45 and 46. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification allowed identification of duplication of these two exons. This case suggests the potential usefulness of target exome sequencing in the prenatal diagnosis of the PKHD1 gene in ARPKD.This is the first report of intragenic duplication in the PKHD1 gene in ARPKD.
Project description:Single nucleotide variants (SNVs) within and surrounding the complement receptor 1 (CR1) gene show some of the strongest genome-wide association signals with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Some studies have suggested that this association signal is due to a duplication allele (CR1-B) of a low copy repeat (LCR) within the CR1 gene, which increases the number of complement C3b/C4b-binding sites in the mature receptor. In this study, we develop a triplex paralogue ratio test assay for CR1 LCR copy number allowing large numbers of samples to be typed with a limited amount of DNA. We also develop a CR1-B allele-specific PCR based on the junction generated by an historical non-allelic homologous recombination event between CR1 LCRs. We use these methods to genotype CR1 and measure CR1-B allele frequency in both late-onset and early-onset cases and unaffected controls from the United Kingdom. Our data support an association of late-onset Alzheimer's disease with the CR1-B allele, and confirm that this allele occurs most frequently on the risk haplotype defined by SNV alleles. Furthermore, regression models incorporating CR1-B genotype provide a better fit to our data compared to incorporating the SNV-defined risk haplotype, supporting the CR1-B allele as the variant underlying the increased risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Project description:Transforming growth factor beta receptor Ⅱ (TGFBR2), a core member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway. To date, chicken TGFBR2 (cTGFBR2) genomic structure has not been fully explored. Here, the complete sequences of cTGFBR2 transcript isoforms were determined by 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5' & 3' RACE) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); the tissue expression profiling of cTGFBR2 transcript isoforms was performed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results showed that cTGFBR2 gene produced 3 transcript isoforms though alternative transcription initiation, splicing, and polyadenylation, which were designated as cTGFBR2-1, cTGFBR2-2, and cTGFBR2-3, respectively. These 3 cTGFBR2 transcript isoforms encoded 3 protein isoforms: cTGFBR2-1, cTGFBR2-2, and cTGFBR2-3. Duplication analysis revealed that, unlike other animal species, cTGFBR2 gene harbored a 5.5-kb intragenic tandem duplication. Tissue expression profiling in the 4-wk-old Arbor Acres (AA) broiler chickens showed that cTGFBR2-1 was ubiquitously expressed, with high expression in abdominal fat, subcutaneous fat, lung, gizzard, and muscle; cTGFBR2-2 was highly expressed in heart, kidney, gizzard, and muscle; cTGFBR2-3 was weakly expressed in all the tested chicken tissues. Tissue expression profiling in the 7-wk-old broiler chickens of the fat and lean lines of Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF) showed that cTGFBR2-1 was significantly differentially expressed in all the tested tissues except heart, cTGFBR2-2 was significantly differentially expressed in all the tested tissues except subcutaneous fat and liver, and cTGFBR2-3 was significantly differentially expressed in all the tested tissues between the lean and fat lines. Intriguingly, in the fat line, the 3 cTGFBR2 transcript isoforms were expressed to varying degrees in all the 3 tested fat tissues, while in the lean line, only cTGFBR2-1 was expressed in all the 3 tested fat tissues. This is the first report of intragenic tandem duplication within TGFBR2 gene. Our findings pave the way for further studies on the functions and regulation of cTGFBR2 gene.