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Marchant RG, Bryen SJ, Bahlo M, Cairns A, Chao KR, Corbett A, Davis MR, Ganesh VS, Ghaoui R, Jones KJ, Kornberg AJ, Lek M, Liang C, MacArthur DG, Oates EC, O'Donnell-Luria A, O'Grady GL, Osei-Owusu IA, Rafehi H, Reddel SW, Roxburgh RH, Ryan MM, Sandaradura SA, Scott LW, Valkanas E, Weisburd B, Young H, Evesson FJ, Waddell LB, Cooper ST. Genome and RNA sequencing boost neuromuscular diagnoses to 62% from 34% with exome sequencing alone. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2024; 11:1250-1266. [PMID: 38544359 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.52041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/15/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Most families with heritable neuromuscular disorders do not receive a molecular diagnosis. Here we evaluate diagnostic utility of exome, genome, RNA sequencing, and protein studies and provide evidence-based recommendations for their integration into practice. METHODS In total, 247 families with suspected monogenic neuromuscular disorders who remained without a genetic diagnosis after standard diagnostic investigations underwent research-led massively parallel sequencing: neuromuscular disorder gene panel, exome, genome, and/or RNA sequencing to identify causal variants. Protein and RNA studies were also deployed when required. RESULTS Integration of exome sequencing and auxiliary genome, RNA and/or protein studies identified causal or likely causal variants in 62% (152 out of 247) of families. Exome sequencing alone informed 55% (83 out of 152) of diagnoses, with remaining diagnoses (45%; 69 out of 152) requiring genome sequencing, RNA and/or protein studies to identify variants and/or support pathogenicity. Arrestingly, novel disease genes accounted for <4% (6 out of 152) of diagnoses while 36.2% of solved families (55 out of 152) harbored at least one splice-altering or structural variant in a known neuromuscular disorder gene. We posit that contemporary neuromuscular disorder gene-panel sequencing could likely provide 66% (100 out of 152) of our diagnoses today. INTERPRETATION Our results emphasize thorough clinical phenotyping to enable deep scrutiny of all rare genetic variation in phenotypically consistent genes. Post-exome auxiliary investigations extended our diagnostic yield by 81% overall (34-62%). We present a diagnostic algorithm that details deployment of genomic and auxiliary investigations to obtain these diagnoses today most effectively. We hope this provides a practical guide for clinicians as they gain greater access to clinical genome and transcriptome sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhett G Marchant
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Samantha J Bryen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Melanie Bahlo
- Functional Neuromics, Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Population Health and Immunity, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anita Cairns
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Neurosciences Department, Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Katherine R Chao
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alastair Corbett
- Neurology Department, Repatriation General Hospital Concord, Concord, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mark R Davis
- Department of Diagnostic Genomics, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Vijay S Ganesh
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Neuromuscular Division, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Roula Ghaoui
- Department of Neurology, Central Adelaide Local Health Network/Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Department of Genetics & Molecular Pathology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Kristi J Jones
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Clinical Genetics, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrew J Kornberg
- Department of Neurology, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Monkol Lek
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Christina Liang
- Department of Neurology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia
- Neurogenetics, Northern Clinical School, Kolling Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Daniel G MacArthur
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Centre for Population Genomics, Garvan Institute of Medical Research/University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Population Genomics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Emily C Oates
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Anne O'Donnell-Luria
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gina L O'Grady
- Starship Children's Health, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ikeoluwa A Osei-Owusu
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Haloom Rafehi
- Functional Neuromics, Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Population Health and Immunity, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Stephen W Reddel
- Neurology Department, Repatriation General Hospital Concord, Concord, New South Wales, Australia
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard H Roxburgh
- Department of Neurology, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre of Brain Research Neurogenetics Research Clinic, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Monique M Ryan
- Department of Neurology, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sarah A Sandaradura
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Clinical Genetics, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Liam W Scott
- Functional Neuromics, Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Population Health and Immunity, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Elise Valkanas
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ben Weisburd
- Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Helen Young
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Paediatrics, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Frances J Evesson
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Leigh B Waddell
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sandra T Cooper
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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Waung MW, Ma F, Wheeler AG, Zai CC, So J. The Diagnostic Landscape of Adult Neurogenetic Disorders. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1459. [PMID: 38132285 PMCID: PMC10740572 DOI: 10.3390/biology12121459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Neurogenetic diseases affect individuals across the lifespan, but accurate diagnosis remains elusive for many patients. Adults with neurogenetic disorders often undergo a long diagnostic odyssey, with multiple specialist evaluations and countless investigations without a satisfactory diagnostic outcome. Reasons for these diagnostic challenges include: (1) clinical features of neurogenetic syndromes are diverse and under-recognized, particularly those of adult-onset, (2) neurogenetic syndromes may manifest with symptoms that span multiple neurological and medical subspecialties, and (3) a positive family history may not be present or readily apparent. Furthermore, there is a large gap in the understanding of how to apply genetic diagnostic tools in adult patients, as most of the published literature focuses on the pediatric population. Despite these challenges, accurate genetic diagnosis is imperative to provide affected individuals and their families guidance on prognosis, recurrence risk, and, for an increasing number of disorders, offer targeted treatment. Here, we provide a framework for recognizing adult neurogenetic syndromes, describe the current diagnostic approach, and highlight studies using next-generation sequencing in different neurological disease cohorts. We also discuss diagnostic pitfalls, barriers to achieving a definitive diagnosis, and emerging technology that may increase the diagnostic yield of testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maggie W. Waung
- Division of General Neurology, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Fion Ma
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Allison G. Wheeler
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Clement C. Zai
- Tanenbaum Centre for Pharmacogenetics, Molecular Brain Science, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Joyce So
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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