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Franz L, Incognito A, Gallo C, Turolla L, Scquizzato E, Cenedese R, Matarazzo A, Savegnago D, Zanatta P, Genovese E, de Filippis C, Marioni G. Audiological Phenotypes of Connexin Gene Mutation Patterns: A Glance at Different GJB2/GJB6 Gene Mutation Profiles. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:194. [PMID: 38397306 PMCID: PMC10887074 DOI: 10.3390/children11020194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
GJB2 mutations are the most common cause of autosomal-recessive non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The available evidence shows large phenotypic variability across different genotypes and allelic variants. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and audiological features of a cohort of subjects with different GJB2/GJB6 gene mutation profiles from a tertiary referral center in Northeastern Italy. We considered 57 patients with GJB2/GJB6 mutations presenting with congenital, non-syndromic SNHL, mainly coming from the Veneto region (Italy). The samples were screened for mutations in exons 1 and 2 of the GJB2 gene and for the GJB6 gene deletion del (GJB6-D13S1830). Free-field and air-conduction frequency-specific thresholds and the pure-tone average (PTA) were considered in the statistical analysis. Five patients (8.87%) had connexin gene mutations in simple heterozygosis, 15 (26.31%) in compound heterozygosis, 34 (59.64%) in homozygosis, and 3 (5.26%) with digenic patterns. The frequency-specific air-conduction thresholds showed significantly different mean values across the different genotypes (Roy's largest-root test, p = 0.0473). Despite the evidence already available on genetic SNHL, many new insights are to be expected. Further large-scale prospective studies including different populations are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings about the clinical and audiological features of patients with different GJB2/GJB6 gene mutation patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Franz
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Alessandro Incognito
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Chiara Gallo
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Licia Turolla
- Medical Genetics Unit, Treviso Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy;
| | - Elisa Scquizzato
- Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Unit of Pathological Anatomy, Treviso Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy;
| | - Roberta Cenedese
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Alessandro Matarazzo
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Daniel Savegnago
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Paolo Zanatta
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Treviso Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy;
| | - Elisabetta Genovese
- Otorhinolaryngology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy;
| | - Cosimo de Filippis
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
| | - Gino Marioni
- Phoniatrics and Audiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience DNS, University of Padova, 35122 Treviso, Italy; (L.F.); (A.I.); (C.G.); (R.C.); (D.S.); (C.d.F.)
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Li Y, Liang L, Bai J, Zheng L, Qin T. Case report: Prenatal diagnosis in the fetus of a couple with both thalassemia and deafness genes. Front Genet 2023; 14:1258293. [PMID: 38146341 PMCID: PMC10749304 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1258293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling play an important role in preventing and controlling birth defects. No reports were found of prenatal diagnosis of couples carrying both the thalassemia and deafness genes. In this study, we presented the prenatal screening and diagnosis of a couple with both thalassemia and deafness genes, contributing to better genetic counseling. Case Report: A couple visited our hospital for a routine prenatal examination. As required by the policy in our region, they underwent screening and genetic diagnosis for thalassemia. Meanwhile, they did not accept the recommendation to test for spinal muscular atrophy and deafness genes. The female was confirmed to be a Hb Quong Sze (Hb QS) carrier (αQSα/αα, βN/βN), and the male had Hb H disease combined with β-thalassemia (--SEA/αCSα, βCDs41-42 (-TTCT)/βN). A prenatal diagnosis of the fetus revealed a Hb CS heterozygote. Subsequent complementary testing showed that the male was a double heterozygote of the GJB2 gene c.299_300delAT combined with c.109G>A, and Sanger sequencing confirmed that the female was a carrier of c.508_511dup in the GJB2. Fortunately, the chorionic villi results indicated that the fetus was only a carrier of deafness. Conclusion: Since both partners carried thalassemia and deafness genes, the couple required prenatal diagnosis for the respective mutations. Expanded carrier screening (ECS) is a more advanced technology that can detect multiple disease genes simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youqiong Li
- Center for Medical Genetics and Prenatal Diagnosis, People’s Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, Guangxi, China
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Posukh OL, Maslova EA, Danilchenko VY, Zytsar MV, Orishchenko KE. Functional Consequences of Pathogenic Variants of the GJB2 Gene (Cx26) Localized in Different Cx26 Domains. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1521. [PMID: 37892203 PMCID: PMC10604905 DOI: 10.3390/biom13101521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the most common forms of genetic deafness has been predominantly associated with pathogenic variants in the GJB2 gene, encoding transmembrane protein connexin 26 (Cx26). The Cx26 molecule consists of an N-terminal domain (NT), four transmembrane domains (TM1-TM4), two extracellular loops (EL1 and EL2), a cytoplasmic loop, and a C-terminus (CT). Pathogenic variants in the GJB2 gene, resulting in amino acid substitutions scattered across the Cx26 domains, lead to a variety of clinical outcomes, including the most common non-syndromic autosomal recessive deafness (DFNB1A), autosomal dominant deafness (DFNA3A), as well as syndromic forms combining hearing loss and skin disorders. However, for rare and poorly documented variants, information on the mode of inheritance is often lacking. Numerous in vitro studies have been conducted to elucidate the functional consequences of pathogenic GJB2 variants leading to amino acid substitutions in different domains of Cx26 protein. In this work, we summarized all available data on a mode of inheritance of pathogenic GJB2 variants leading to amino acid substitutions and reviewed published information on their functional effects, with an emphasis on their localization in certain Cx26 domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga L. Posukh
- Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (E.A.M.); (V.Y.D.); (M.V.Z.); (K.E.O.)
- Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Ekaterina A. Maslova
- Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (E.A.M.); (V.Y.D.); (M.V.Z.); (K.E.O.)
- Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Valeriia Yu. Danilchenko
- Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (E.A.M.); (V.Y.D.); (M.V.Z.); (K.E.O.)
- Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Marina V. Zytsar
- Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (E.A.M.); (V.Y.D.); (M.V.Z.); (K.E.O.)
| | - Konstantin E. Orishchenko
- Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (E.A.M.); (V.Y.D.); (M.V.Z.); (K.E.O.)
- Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
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