Chromosomal microarray and exome sequencing in unexplained early infantile epileptic encephalopathies in a highly consanguineous population

Abstract

Aim

To identify genetic causes for early infantile epileptic encephalopathies (EIEE) in Turkish children with mostly consanguineous parents.

Methods

In a selected EIEE group (N = 59) based on results of nongenetic and initial genetic testing with unexplained etiology, 49 patients underwent array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and 49 patients underwent whole exome sequencing (WES) including 39 with negative aCGH results and 10 with WES-only.

Results

Diagnostic yield of aCGH and WES for pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants was 14.3% and 38.8%, respectively. Including de novo variants of uncertain significance linked to compatible phenotypes, increased the diagnostic yield of WES to 61.2%. Out of 38 positive variants, 18 (47.4%) were novel and 16 (42.1%) were de novo. Twenty-one (56.8%) patients had recessive variants inherited from mostly consanguineous healthy parents (85.7%). Fourteen (37.8%) of patients with diagnostic results had positive variants in established EIEE genes. Seizures started during neonatal period in 32.4% patients. Posture or movement disorders were comorbid with EIEE in 40.5% of diagnosed patients. We identified treatable metabolic disorders in 8.1% of patients and pathogenic variants in genes which support using targeted medicine in 19% of patients.

Conclusions

Detailed electro-clinical phenotyping led to expansion of some of the known phenotypes with non-neurological and neurological findings in addition to seizures, as well as suggestion of candidate genes (SEC24B, SLC16A2 and PRICKLE2) and a copy number variant (microduplication of Xp21.1p11.4). The high ratio of recessive inheritance could be important for family counseling.

Keywords:

• Early infantile epileptic encephalopathies
• chromosomal microarray
• whole exome sequencing
• candidate genes
• targeted therapy
• recessive inheritance

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey under grant number 214S62; and Marmara University Scientific Research Committee under grant number: SAG-B-120516-020.