Targeted sequencing identifies 91 neurodevelopmental-disorder risk genes with autism and developmental-disability biases

  • Nat Genet. 2017 Apr;49(4):515-526. doi: 10.1038/ng.3792.
Holly A F Stessman  1 ,  Bo Xiong  1  2 ,  Bradley P Coe  1 ,  Tianyun Wang  3 ,  Kendra Hoekzema  1 ,  Michaela Fenckova  4  5 ,  Malin Kvarnung  6  7 ,  Jennifer Gerdts  8 ,  Sandy Trinh  8 ,  Nele Cosemans  9 ,  Laura Vives  1 ,  Janice Lin  1 ,  Tychele N Turner  1 ,  Gijs Santen  10 ,  Claudia Ruivenkamp  10 ,  Marjolein Kriek  10 ,  Arie van Haeringen  10 ,  Emmelien Aten  10 ,  Kathryn Friend  11  12 ,  Jan Liebelt  13 ,  Christopher Barnett  13 ,  Eric Haan  11  13 ,  Marie Shaw  11 ,  Jozef Gecz  11  12  14 ,  Britt-Marie Anderlid  6  7 ,  Ann Nordgren  6  7 ,  Anna Lindstrand  6  7 ,  Charles Schwartz  15 ,  R Frank Kooy  16 ,  Geert Vandeweyer  16 ,  Celine Helsmoortel  16 ,  Corrado Romano  17 ,  Antonino Alberti  17 ,  Mirella Vinci  18 ,  Emanuela Avola  17 ,  Stefania Giusto  19 ,  Eric Courchesne  20 ,  Tiziano Pramparo  20 ,  Karen Pierce  20 ,  Srinivasa Nalabolu  20 ,  David G Amaral  21 ,  Ingrid E Scheffer  22  23  24 ,  Martin B Delatycki  22  25  26 ,  Paul J Lockhart  22  26 ,  Fereydoun Hormozdiari  27 ,  Benjamin Harich  4  5 ,  Anna Castells-Nobau  4  5 ,  Kun Xia  3 ,  Hilde Peeters  9 ,  Magnus Nordenskjöld  6  7 ,  Annette Schenck  4  5 ,  Raphael A Bernier  8 ,  Evan E Eichler  1  28
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 2. Department of Forensic Medicine and Institute of Brain Research, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • 3. State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.
  • 4. Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
  • 5. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
  • 6. Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 7. Department of Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 8. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 9. Centre for Human Genetics, KU Leuven and Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium.
  • 10. Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands.
  • 11. School of Medicine and the Robinson Research Institute, the University of Adelaide at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
  • 12. Genetics and Molecular Pathology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
  • 13. South Australian Clinical Genetics Service, SA Pathology (at the Women's and Children's Hospital), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
  • 14. South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
  • 15. Center for Molecular Studies, J.C. Self Research Institute of Human Genetics, Greenwood Genetic Center, Greenwood, South Carolina, USA.
  • 16. Department of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
  • 17. Unit of Pediatrics &Medical Genetics, IRCCS Associazione Oasi Maria Santissima, Troina, Italy.
  • 18. Laboratory of Medical Genetics, IRCCS Associazione Oasi Maria Santissima, Troina, Italy.
  • 19. Unit of Neurology, IRCCS Associazione Oasi Maria Santissima, Troina, Italy.
  • 20. Department of Neurosciences, UC San Diego Autism Center, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
  • 21. MIND Institute and the University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
  • 22. Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • 23. Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • 24. Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
  • 25. Victorian Clinical Genetics Services, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
  • 26. Bruce Lefroy Centre for Genetic Health Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
  • 27. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
  • 28. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Abstract

Gene-disruptive mutations contribute to the biology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), but most of the related pathogenic genes are not known. We sequenced 208 candidate genes from >11,730 cases and >2,867 controls. We identified 91 genes, including 38 new NDD genes, with an excess of de novo mutations or private disruptive mutations in 5.7% of cases. Drosophila functional assays revealed a subset with increased involvement in NDDs. We identified 25 genes showing a bias for autism versus intellectual disability and highlighted a network associated with high-functioning autism (full-scale IQ >100). Clinical follow-up for NAA15, KMT5B, and ASH1L highlighted new syndromic and nonsyndromic forms of disease.