2. Academic Validation
  3. Joubert syndrome: a model for untangling recessive disorders with extreme genetic heterogeneity

Joubert syndrome: a model for untangling recessive disorders with extreme genetic heterogeneity

  • J Med Genet. 2015 Aug;52(8):514-22. doi: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103087.
R Bachmann-Gagescu 1,  J C Dempsey 2,  I G Phelps 2,  B J O'Roak 3,  D M Knutzen 4,  T C Rue 5,  G E Ishak 6,  C R Isabella 2,  N Gorden 7,  J Adkins 8,  E A Boyle 9,  N de Lacy 10,  D O'Day 2,  A Alswaid 11,  Radha Ramadevi A 12,  L Lingappa 13,  C Lourenço 14,  L Martorell 15,  À Garcia-Cazorla 16,  H Ozyürek 17,  G Haliloğlu 18,  B Tuysuz 19,  M Topçu 18,  University of Washington Center for Mendelian Genomics,  P Chance 2,  M A Parisi 20,  I A Glass 21,  J Shendure 9,  D Doherty 21
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute for Molecular Life Sciences and Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 2 Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 3 Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
  • 4 Department of Oncology, Franciscan Health System, Tacoma, Washington, USA.
  • 5 Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 6 Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 7 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
  • 8 Division of Integrated Cancer Genomics, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
  • 9 Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 10 Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 11 Department of Pediatrics, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  • 12 Rainbow Children's Hospital, Hyderabad, India.
  • 13 Department of Child Neurology, Rainbow Children Hospital, Hyderabad, India.
  • 14 Department of Neurosciences and Behavior Neurosciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • 15 Department of Genetica Molecular, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona, Spain.
  • 16 Department of Neurology, Neurometabolic Unit, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and CIBERER, ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain.
  • 17 Department of Pediatric Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
  • 18 Department of Pediatric Neurology, Hacettepe University Children's Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
  • 19 Department of Pediatric Genetics, Cerrahpasa Medical School, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • 20 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
  • 21 Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
PMID: 26092869 DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103087
Abstract

Background: Joubert syndrome (JS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by hypotonia, ataxia, cognitive impairment, abnormal eye movements, respiratory control disturbances and a distinctive mid-hindbrain malformation. JS demonstrates substantial phenotypic variability and genetic heterogeneity. This study provides a comprehensive view of the current genetic basis, phenotypic range and gene-phenotype associations in JS.

Methods: We sequenced 27 JS-associated genes in 440 affected individuals (375 families) from a cohort of 532 individuals (440 families) with JS, using molecular inversion probe-based targeted capture and next-generation Sequencing. Variant pathogenicity was defined using the Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion algorithm with an optimised score cut-off.

Results: We identified presumed causal variants in 62% of pedigrees, including the first B9D2 mutations associated with JS. 253 different mutations in 23 genes highlight the extreme genetic heterogeneity of JS. Phenotypic analysis revealed that only 34% of individuals have a 'pure JS' phenotype. Retinal disease is present in 30% of individuals, renal disease in 25%, coloboma in 17%, polydactyly in 15%, liver fibrosis in 14% and encephalocele in 8%. Loss of CEP290 function is associated with retinal dystrophy, while loss of TMEM67 function is associated with liver fibrosis and coloboma, but we observe no clear-cut distinction between JS subtypes.

Conclusions: This work illustrates how combining advanced Sequencing techniques with phenotypic data addresses extreme genetic heterogeneity to provide diagnostic and carrier testing, guide medical monitoring for progressive complications, facilitate interpretation of genome-wide Sequencing results in individuals with a variety of phenotypes and enable gene-specific treatments in the future.

Keywords

Joubert syndrome; ciliopathy; genetic heterogeneity; genotype-phenotype; next generation sequencing.

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