A truncating mutation in B3GNT1 causes severe Walker-Warburg syndrome

Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS) is a genetically heterogeneous form of congenital muscular dystrophy with significant brain and ocular involvement. In a multiplex consanguineous family with severe WWS phenotype, autozygome-guided sequencing of previously reported WWS genes was negative. Exome sequencing followed by autozygome filtration revealed a homozygous two-base pair insertion in B3GNT1 (NM_006876.2:c.821_822insTT), leading to premature truncation of the protein (p.Glu274Aspfs*94). Recently, two missense mutations in this gene have been reported as probably causal in a family with WWS. This report describes the first truncating mutation in B3GNT1 and confirms that this gene, which plays a role in αDG glycosylation, is a bona fide disease gene in WWS.