Treatment and genetic analysis of a child with Kabuki syndrome type 2 and secondary pulmonary infection due to a de novo variant of KDM6A gene / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the genetic basis of a child with recurrent infection, multiple malformation and dysmorphism.@*METHODS@#The child and his parents were subjected to trio whole exome sequencing.@*RESULTS@#The child had a complaint of fever and cough, with long and thin eye fissures and long eyelashes. Genetic testing revealed that the child has carried a non-triplet deletion of the KDM6A gene, which was unreported previously. The variant resulted in frameshift and premature termination of the translation. His parents were both of the wild type for the locus. After antibiotic and immunoglobulin treatment, the severe secondary pneumonia caused by immunodeficiency has improved.@*CONCLUSION@#With combined laboratory test, imaging examination and genetic testing, the child was ultimately diagnosed with Kabuki syndrome type 2. The characteristics of immunodeficiency of Kabuki syndrome may render conventional antibiotic treatment ineffective, which deserves clinical attention.

Clinical features and gene variant of a pedigree affected with X-linked recessive mental retardation Claes-Jensen type / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the genetic basis for a pedigree affected with X-linked recessive mental retardation Claes-Jensen type.@*METHODS@#Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the patient, his parents (phenotypically normal) and two elder brothers with similar clinical manifestations. Whole exome sequencing was carried out for the proband, and the result was verified by Sanger sequencing.@*RESULTS@#The proband was found to harbor a hemizygous c.1565C>T missense variant in exon 11 of the KDM5C gene. The transition has resulted in replacement of serine by phenylalanine at position 522 (p.Ser522Phe). Sanger sequencing showed that the patient's two elder brothers and mother carried the same variant, which was predicted to be probably damaging by SIFT, PolyPhen2 and Mutation_Taster. The three affected brothers presented with similar clinical phenotypes characterized by mental retardation, speech delay, behavioral problem, self-limited epilepsy responsible to medication, short stature and microcephaly. The mother only had mild cognitive impairment and learning disability. The same variant was not found in their father and was unreported previously.@*CONCLUSION@#The c.1565C>T (p.Ser522Phe) of the KDM5C gene probably underlay the X-linked recessive mental retardation Claes-Jensen type in this pedigree.

Epigenetic Role of Histone 3 Lysine Methyltransferase and Demethylase in Regulating Apoptosis Predicting the Recurrence of Atypical Meningioma

Alteration of apoptosis is related with progression and recurrence of atypical meningiomas (AMs). However, no comprehensive study has been conducted regarding histone modification regulating apoptosis in AMs. This study aimed to determine the prognostic values of certain apoptosis-associated factors, and examine the role of histone modification on apoptosis in AMs. The medical records of 67 patients with AMs, as diagnosed during recent 13 yr, were reviewed retrospectively. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on archived paraffin-embedded tissues for pro-apoptotic factors (CASP3, IGFBP, TRAIL-R1, BAX, and XAF1), anti-apoptotic factors (survivin, ERK, RAF1, MDM2, and BCL2), and the histone modifying enzymes (MLL2, RIZ, EZH1, NSD2, KDM5c, JMJD2a, UTX, and JMJD5). Twenty-six (38.8%) patients recurred during the follow-up period (mean duration 47.7 months). In terms of time-to-recurrence (TTR), overexpression of CASP3, TRAIL-R1, and BAX had a longer TTR than low expression, and overexpression of survivin, MDM2, and BCL2 had a shorter TTR than low expression (P<0.05). Additionally, overexpression of MLL2, UTX, and JMJ5 had shorter TTRs than low expression, and overexpression of KDM5c had a longer TTR than low expression. However, in the multi-variate analysis of predicting factors for recurrence, low expression of CASP3 (P<0.001), and BAX (P<0.001), and overexpression of survivin (P=0.007), and MDM2 (P=0.037) were associated with recurrence independently, but any enzymes modifying histone were not associated with recurrence. Conclusively, this study suggests certain apoptosis-associated factors should be associated with recurrence of AMs, which may be regulated epigenetically by histone modifying enzymes.