Intellectual disability - microarray and sequencing
Gene: FAM50A Green List (high evidence)The rating of this gene has been updated following NHS Genomic Medicine Service approval.Created: 9 Mar 2022, 3:40 p.m. | Last Modified: 9 Mar 2022, 3:40 p.m.
Panel Version: 3.1510
Comment on list classification: New gene added by Konstantinos Varvagiannis. Based on the evidence provided in PMID:32703943, this gene should be promoted to Green at the next GMS panel update (added 'for-review' tag) - 6 individuals from 5 families, all exhibiting GDD/ID as the common presenting feature.Created: 19 Nov 2020, 2:30 p.m. | Last Modified: 19 Nov 2020, 2:30 p.m.
Panel Version: 3.552
Green List (high evidence)
Lee et al (2020 - PMID: 32703943) provide evidence that Armfield X-Linked intellectual disability syndrome is caused by monoallelic FAM50A pathogenic variants. The current review is based only on this reference.
The authors provide clinical details on 6 affected individuals from 5 families.
Features included postnatal growth delay, DD and ID (6/6 - also evident for those without formal IQ assesment), seizures (3/6 from 2 families), prominent forehead with presence of other facial features and variable head circumference (5th to >97th %le), ocular anomalies (5/6 - strabismus/nystagmus/Axenfeld-Rieger), cardiac (3/6 - ASD/Fallot) and genitourinary anomalies (3/6).
In the first of these families (Armfield et al 1999 - PMID: 10398235), linkage analysis followed by additional studies (Sanger, NGS of 718 genes on chrX, X-exome NGS - several refs provided) allowed the identification of a FAM50A variant. Variants in other families were identified by singleton (1 fam) or trio-ES (3 fam).
In affected individuals from 3 families, the variant had occurred de novo. Carrier females in the other families were unaffected (based on pedigrees and/or the original publication). XCI was rather biased in most obligate carrier females from the 1st family (although this ranged from 95:5 to 60:40).
Missense variants were reported in all affected subjects incl. Trp206Gly, Asp255Gly, Asp255Asn (dn), Glu254Gly (dn), Arg273Trp (dn) (NM_004699.3).
Previous studies have demonstrated that FAM50A has ubiquitous expression in human fetal and adult tissues (incl. brain in fetal ones).
Immunostaining suggests a nuclear localization for the protein (NIH/3T3 cells). Comparison of protein levels in LCLs from affected males and controls did not demonstrate significant differences. Protein localization for 3 variants (transfection of COS-7 cells) was shown to be similar to wt.
Complementation studies in zebrafish provided evidence that the identified variants confer partial loss of function (rescue of the morpholino phenotype with co-injection of wt but not mt mRNA). The zebrafish ko model seemed to recapitulate the abnormal development of cephalic structures and was indicative of diminished/defective neurogenesis. Transcriptional dysregulation was demonstrated in zebrafish (altered levels and mis-splicing). Upregulation of spliceosome effectors was demonstrated in ko zebrafish.
Similarly, mRNA expression and splicing defects were demonstrated in LCLs from affected individuals. FAM50A pulldown followed by mass spectrometry in transfected HEK293T cells demonstrated enrichment of binding proteins involved in RNA processing and co-immunoprecipitation assays (transfected U-87 cells) suggested that FAM50A interacts with spliceosome U5 and C-complex proteins.
Overall aberrant spliceosome C-complex function is suggested as the underlying pathogenetic mechanism.
Several other neurodevelopmental syndromes are caused by variants in genes encoding C-complex affiliated proteins (incl. EFTUD2, EIF4A3, THOC2, etc.).
Please consider inclusion in the ID panel with green rating and epilepsy panel with amber (seizures in individuals from 2 families).
Sources: LiteratureCreated: 8 Aug 2020, 11:26 a.m.
Mode of inheritance
X-LINKED: hemizygous mutation in males, monoallelic mutations in females may cause disease (may be less severe, later onset than males)
Phenotypes
Mental retardation syndrome, X-linked, Armfield type (MIM #300261)
Publications
Tag for-review was removed from gene: FAM50A.
Source Expert Review Green was added to FAM50A. Rating Changed from Amber List (moderate evidence) to Green List (high evidence)
Phenotypes for gene: FAM50A were changed from Mental retardation syndrome, X-linked, Armfield type (MIM #300261) to Mental retardation syndrome, X-linked, Armfield type, OMIM:300261; Armfield syndrome, MONDO:0010284
Gene: fam50a has been classified as Amber List (Moderate Evidence).
Tag for-review tag was added to gene: FAM50A.
gene: FAM50A was added gene: FAM50A was added to Intellectual disability. Sources: Literature Mode of inheritance for gene: FAM50A was set to X-LINKED: hemizygous mutation in males, monoallelic mutations in females may cause disease (may be less severe, later onset than males) Publications for gene: FAM50A were set to 32703943 Phenotypes for gene: FAM50A were set to Mental retardation syndrome, X-linked, Armfield type (MIM #300261) Penetrance for gene: FAM50A were set to unknown Review for gene: FAM50A was set to GREEN
If promoting or demoting a gene, please provide comments to justify a decision to move it.
Genes included in a Genomics England gene panel for a rare disease category (green list) should fit the criteria A-E outlined below.
These guidelines were developed as a combination of the ClinGen DEFINITIVE evidence for a causal role of the gene in the disease(a), and the Developmental Disorder Genotype-Phenotype (DDG2P) CONFIRMED DD Gene evidence level(b) (please see the original references provided below for full details). These help provide a guideline for expert reviewers when assessing whether a gene should be on the green or the red list of a panel.
A. There are plausible disease-causing mutations(i) within, affecting or encompassing an interpretable functional region(ii) of this gene identified in multiple (>3) unrelated cases/families with the phenotype(iii).
OR
B. There are plausible disease-causing mutations(i) within, affecting or encompassing cis-regulatory elements convincingly affecting the expression of a single gene identified in multiple (>3) unrelated cases/families with the phenotype(iii).
OR
C. As definitions A or B but in 2 or 3 unrelated cases/families with the phenotype, with the addition of convincing bioinformatic or functional evidence of causation e.g. known inborn error of metabolism with mutation in orthologous gene which is known to have the relevant deficient enzymatic activity in other species; existence of an animal model which recapitulates the human phenotype.
AND
D. Evidence indicates that disease-causing mutations follow a Mendelian pattern of causation appropriate for reporting in a diagnostic setting(iv).
AND
E. No convincing evidence exists or has emerged that contradicts the role of the gene in the specified phenotype.
(i)Plausible disease-causing mutations: Recurrent de novo mutations convincingly affecting gene function. Rare, fully-penetrant mutations - relevant genotype never, or very rarely, seen in controls. (ii) Interpretable functional region: ORF in protein coding genes miRNA stem or loop. (iii) Phenotype: the rare disease category, as described in the eligibility statement. (iv) Intermediate penetrance genes should not be included.
It’s assumed that loss-of-function variants in this gene can cause the disease/phenotype unless an exception to this rule is known. We would like to collect information regarding exceptions. An example exception is the PCSK9 gene, where loss-of-function variants are not relevant for a hypercholesterolemia phenotype as they are associated with increased LDL-cholesterol uptake via LDLR (PMID: 25911073).
If a curated set of known-pathogenic variants is available for this gene-phenotype, please contact us at [email protected]
We classify loss-of-function variants as those with the following Sequence Ontology (SO) terms:
Term descriptions can be found on the PanelApp homepage and Ensembl.
If you are submitting this evaluation on behalf of a clinical laboratory please indicate whether you report variants in this gene as part of your current diagnostic practice by checking the box
Standardised terms were used to represent the gene-disease mode of inheritance, and were mapped to commonly used terms from the different sources. Below each of the terms is described, along with the equivalent commonly-used terms.
A variant on one allele of this gene can cause the disease, and imprinting has not been implicated.
A variant on the paternally-inherited allele of this gene can cause the disease, if the alternate allele is imprinted (function muted).
A variant on the maternally-inherited allele of this gene can cause the disease, if the alternate allele is imprinted (function muted).
A variant on one allele of this gene can cause the disease. This is the default used for autosomal dominant mode of inheritance where no knowledge of the imprinting status of the gene required to cause the disease is known. Mapped to the following commonly used terms from different sources: autosomal dominant, dominant, AD, DOMINANT.
A variant on both alleles of this gene is required to cause the disease. Mapped to the following commonly used terms from different sources: autosomal recessive, recessive, AR, RECESSIVE.
The disease can be caused by a variant on one or both alleles of this gene. Mapped to the following commonly used terms from different sources: autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant, recessive or dominant, AR/AD, AD/AR, DOMINANT/RECESSIVE, RECESSIVE/DOMINANT.
A variant on one allele of this gene can cause the disease, however a variant on both alleles of this gene can result in a more severe form of the disease/phenotype.
A variant in this gene can cause the disease in males as they have one X-chromosome allele, whereas a variant on both X-chromosome alleles is required to cause the disease in females. Mapped to the following commonly used term from different sources: X-linked recessive.
A variant in this gene can cause the disease in males as they have one X-chromosome allele. A variant on one allele of this gene may also cause the disease in females, though the disease/phenotype may be less severe and may have a later-onset than is seen in males. X-linked inactivation and mosaicism in different tissues complicate whether a female presents with the disease, and can change over their lifetime. This term is the default setting used for X-linked genes, where it is not known definitately whether females require a variant on each allele of this gene in order to be affected. Mapped to the following commonly used terms from different sources: X-linked dominant, x-linked, X-LINKED, X-linked.
The gene is in the mitochondrial genome and variants within this can cause this disease, maternally inherited. Mapped to the following commonly used term from different sources: Mitochondrial.
Mapped to the following commonly used terms from different sources: Unknown, NA, information not provided.
For example, if the mode of inheritance is digenic, please indicate this in the comments and which other gene is involved.