DNA methylation episignature and comparative epigenomic profiling for Pitt-Hopkins syndrome caused by TCF4 variants

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributed

Contributors

  • Liselot van der Laan - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Peter Lauffer - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Kathleen Rooney - , Western University (Author)
  • Ananília Silva - , Western University (Author)
  • Sadegheh Haghshenas - , London Health Sciences Centre (Author)
  • Raissa Relator - , London Health Sciences Centre (Author)
  • Michael A Levy - , London Health Sciences Centre (Author)
  • Slavica Trajkova - , University of Turin (Author)
  • Sylvia A Huisman - , University of Amsterdam, Emma Children's Hospital (Author)
  • Emilia K Bijlsma - , Leiden University (Author)
  • Tjitske Kleefstra - , Radboud University Medical Center (Author)
  • Bregje W van Bon - , Radboud University Medical Center (Author)
  • Özlem Baysal - , Radboud University Medical Center (Author)
  • Christiane Zweier - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, University of Bern (Author)
  • María Palomares-Bralo - , La Paz University Hospital (Author)
  • Jan Fischer - , Institute of Clinical Genetics (Author)
  • Katalin Szakszon - , University of Debrecen (Author)
  • Laurence Faivre - , Université de Bourgogne, Dijon University Hospital (CHU Dijon Bourgogne) (Author)
  • Amélie Piton - , University of Strasbourg (Author)
  • Simone Mesman - , University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Ron Hochstenbach - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Mariet W Elting - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Johanna M van Hagen - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Astrid S Plomp - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Marcel M A M Mannens - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Mariëlle Alders - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Mieke M van Haelst - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Giovanni B Ferrero - , University of Turin (Author)
  • Alfredo Brusco - , University of Turin (Author)
  • Peter Henneman - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • David A Sweetser - , Massachusetts General for Children (Author)
  • Bekim Sadikovic - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University (Author)
  • Antonio Vitobello - , Dijon University Hospital (CHU Dijon Bourgogne) (Author)
  • Leonie A Menke - , Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), University of Amsterdam, Emma Children's Hospital (Author)

Abstract

Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by pathogenic variants in TCF4, leading to intellectual disability, specific morphological features, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Epigenetic dysregulation has been implicated in PTHS, prompting the investigation of a DNA methylation (DNAm) "episignature" specific to PTHS for diagnostic purposes and variant reclassification and functional insights into the molecular pathophysiology of this disorder. A cohort of 67 individuals with genetically confirmed PTHS and three individuals with intellectual disability and a variant of uncertain significance (VUS) in TCF4 were studied. The DNAm episignature was developed with an Infinium Methylation EPIC BeadChip array analysis using peripheral blood cells. Support vector machine (SVM) modeling and clustering methods were employed to generate a DNAm classifier for PTHS. Validation was extended to an additional cohort of 11 individuals with PTHS. The episignature was assessed in relation to other neurodevelopmental disorders and its specificity was examined. A specific DNAm episignature for PTHS was established. The classifier exhibited high sensitivity for TCF4 haploinsufficiency and missense variants in the basic-helix-loop-helix domain. Notably, seven individuals with TCF4 variants exhibited negative episignatures, suggesting complexities related to mosaicism, genetic factors, and environmental influences. The episignature displayed degrees of overlap with other related disorders and biological pathways. This study defines a DNAm episignature for TCF4-related PTHS, enabling improved diagnostic accuracy and VUS reclassification. The finding that some cases scored negatively underscores the potential for multiple or nested episignatures and emphasizes the need for continued investigation to enhance specificity and coverage across PTHS-related variants.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number100289
Number of pages10
JournalHuman genetics and genomics advances : HGG advances
Volume5 (2024)
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 18 Jul 2024
Peer-reviewedNo

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC11087720
Scopus 85192008393

Keywords

Keywords

  • Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA Methylation, Epigenesis, Genetic, Epigenomics/methods, Facies, Female, Humans, Hyperkinesis/genetics, Hyperventilation/genetics, Intellectual Disability/genetics, Male, Transcription Factor 4/genetics, Young Adult