Expanding the Spectrum of BAF-Related Disorders: De Novo Variants in SMARCC2 Cause a Syndrome with Intellectual Disability and Developmental Delay
Publication year
2019Author(s)
Source
American Journal of Human Genetics, 104, 1, (2019), pp. 164-178ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
Human Genetics
Journal title
American Journal of Human Genetics
Volume
vol. 104
Issue
iss. 1
Page start
p. 164
Page end
p. 178
Subject
Radboudumc 11: Renal disorders RIMLS: Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences; Radboudumc 7: Neurodevelopmental disorders DCMN: Donders Center for Medical NeuroscienceAbstract
SMARCC2 (BAF170) is one of the invariable core subunits of the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling BAF (BRG1-associated factor) complex and plays a crucial role in embryogenesis and corticogenesis. Pathogenic variants in genes encoding other components of the BAF complex have been associated with intellectual disability syndromes. Despite its significant biological role, variants in SMARCC2 have not been directly associated with human disease previously. Using whole-exome sequencing and a web-based gene-matching program, we identified 15 individuals with variable degrees of neurodevelopmental delay and growth retardation harboring one of 13 heterozygous variants in SMARCC2, most of them novel and proven de novo. The clinical presentation overlaps with intellectual disability syndromes associated with other BAF subunits, such as Coffin-Siris and Nicolaides-Baraitser syndromes and includes prominent speech impairment, hypotonia, feeding difficulties, behavioral abnormalities, and dysmorphic features such as hypertrichosis, thick eyebrows, thin upper lip vermilion, and upturned nose. Nine out of the fifteen individuals harbor variants in the highly conserved SMARCC2 DNA-interacting domains (SANT and SWIRM) and present with a more severe phenotype. Two of these individuals present cardiac abnormalities. Transcriptomic analysis of fibroblasts from affected individuals highlights a group of differentially expressed genes with possible roles in regulation of neuronal development and function, namely H19, SCRG1, RELN, and CACNB4. Our findings suggest a novel SMARCC2-related syndrome that overlaps with neurodevelopmental disorders associated with variants in BAF-complex subunits.
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- Academic publications [227437]
- Electronic publications [107154]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [86157]
- Open Access publications [76289]
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