Correction to: FLAGS, frequently mutated genes in public exomes

SLC22A4 Gene in Hereditary Non-syndromic Hearing Loss: Recurrence and Incomplete Penetrance of the p.C113Y Mutation in Northwest Africa

Inherited hearing loss is extremely heterogeneous both clinically and genetically. In addition, the spectrum of deafness-causing genetic variants differs greatly among geographical areas and ethnicities. The identification of the causal mutation in affected families allows early diagnosis, clinical follow-up, and genetic counseling. A large consanguineous family of Moroccan origin affected by autosomal recessive sensorineural hearing loss (ARSNHL) was subjected to genome-wide linkage analysis and exome sequencing. Exome-wide variant analysis and prioritization identified the SLC22A4 p.C113Y missense variant (rs768484124) as the most likely cause of ARSNHL in the family, falling within the unique significant (LOD score>3) linkage region on chromosome 5. Indeed, the same variant was previously reported in two Tunisian ARSNHL pedigrees. The variant is present in the homozygous state in all six affected individuals, but also in one normal-hearing sibling, suggesting incomplete penetrance. The mutation is absent in about 1,000 individuals from the Greater Middle East Variome study cohort, including individuals from the North African population, as well as in an additional seven deaf patients from the same geographical area, recruited and screened for mutations in the SLC22A4 gene. This study represents the first independent replication of the involvement of SLC22A4 in ARSNHL, highlighting the importance of the gene, and of the p.C113Y mutation, at least in the Northwest African population.

Family-based quantitative trait meta-analysis implicates rare noncoding variants in DENND1A in polycystic ovary syndrome

CONTEXT

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is among the most common endocrine disorders of premenopausal women, affecting 5-15% of this population depending on the diagnostic criteria applied. It is characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovarian morphology. PCOS is highly heritable, but only a small proportion of this heritability can be accounted for by the common genetic susceptibility variants identified to date.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to test whether rare genetic variants contribute to PCOS pathogenesis.Design, Patients, and Methods: We performed whole-genome sequencing on DNA from 261 individuals from 62 families with one or more daughters with PCOS. We tested for associations of rare variants with PCOS and its concomitant hormonal traits using a quantitative trait meta-analysis.

RESULTS

We found rare variants in DENND1A (P=5.31×10-5, Padj=0.039) that were significantly associated with reproductive and metabolic traits in PCOS families.

CONCLUSIONS

Common variants in DENND1A have previously been associated with PCOS diagnosis in genome-wide association studies. Subsequent studies indicated that DENND1A is an important regulator of human ovarian androgen biosynthesis. Our findings provide additional evidence that DENND1A plays a central role in PCOS and suggest that rare noncoding variants contribute to disease pathogenesis.