DNA methylation profiling in Kabuki syndrome: reclassification of germline KMT2D VUS and sensitivity in validating postzygotic mosaicism

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Marcello Niceta
  • Andrea Ciolfi
  • Marco Ferilli
  • Lucia Pedace
  • Camilla Cappelletti
  • Claudia Nardini
  • Mathis Hildonen
  • Luigi Chiriatti
  • Evelina Miele
  • Maria Lisa Dentici
  • Maria Gnazzo
  • Claudia Cesario
  • Elisa Pisaneschi
  • Anwar Baban
  • Antonio Novelli
  • Silvia Maitz
  • Angelo Selicorni
  • Gabriella Maria Squeo
  • Giuseppe Merla
  • Bruno Dallapiccola
  • Maria Cristina Digilio
  • Manuela Priolo
  • Marco Tartaglia

Autosomal dominant Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare multiple congenital anomalies/neurodevelopmental disorder caused by heterozygous inactivating variants or structural rearrangements of the lysine-specific methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D) gene. While it is often recognizable due to a distinctive gestalt, the disorder is clinically variable, and a phenotypic scoring system has been introduced to help clinicians to reach a clinical diagnosis. The phenotype, however, can be less pronounced in some patients, including those carrying postzygotic mutations. The full spectrum of pathogenic variation in KMT2D has not fully been characterized, which may hamper the clinical classification of a portion of these variants. DNA methylation (DNAm) profiling has successfully been used as a tool to classify variants in genes associated with several neurodevelopmental disorders, including KS. In this work, we applied a KS-specific DNAm signature in a cohort of 13 individuals with KMT2D VUS and clinical features suggestive or overlapping with KS. We succeeded in correctly classifying all the tested individuals, confirming diagnosis for three subjects and rejecting the pathogenic role of 10 VUS in the context of KS. In the latter group, exome sequencing allowed to identify the genetic cause underlying the disorder in three subjects. By testing five individuals with postzygotic pathogenic KMT2D variants, we also provide evidence that DNAm profiling has power to recognize pathogenic variants at different levels of mosaicism, identifying 15% as the minimum threshold for which DNAm profiling can be applied as an informative diagnostic tool in KS mosaics.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Journal of Human Genetics
ISSN1018-4813
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Society of Human Genetics 2024.

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