Intellectual disability
Gene: NR4A2

NR4A2 (nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 2)
EnsemblGeneIds (GRCh38): ENSG00000153234
EnsemblGeneIds (GRCh37): ENSG00000153234
OMIM: 601828, Gene2Phenotype
NR4A2 is in 6 panels

4 reviews

Sarah Leigh (Genomics England Curator)

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

Created: 9 Mar 2022, 3:40 p.m.
Last Modified: 9 Mar 2022, 3:40 p.m.
Panel version: 3.1510

Arina Puzriakova (Genomics England Curator)

Comment on list classification: This gene will be flagged for review at the date of next GMS panel update (added 'for-review' tag).

The recent paper flagged by Konstantinos Varvagiannis (PMID:32366965) includes 2 unrelated patients with severe ID and 2 with moderate-severe ID. This is within the scope of the panel and the number of cases now reach threshold for inclusion with a Green rating.
Created: 5 Oct 2020, 12:07 p.m. | Last Modified: 5 Oct 2020, 12:07 p.m.

Panel Version: 3.377

Created: 5 Oct 2020, 12:07 p.m.
Last Modified: 5 Oct 2020, 12:07 p.m.
Panel version: 3.377

Ivone Leong (Genomics England Curator)

Comment on list classification: New gene added by external expert and reviewed by curation team: After discussion with the Genomics England Clinical team, it was decided to give NR4A2 an amber gene rating. Although ID was reported the severity is mild-moderate and on this basis, not considered appropriate for green status on the ID panel. The "Autism Spectrum Disorder" tag has also been added.
Created: 18 Mar 2019, 11:06 a.m.

Created: 18 Mar 2019, 11:06 a.m.

Panel version: 2.785

Konstantinos Varvagiannis (Other)

Green List (high evidence)

Singh et al (2020 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-020-0815-4) provide details on the phenotype of 9 unrelated individuals with NR4A2 pathogenic variants (in almost all cases de novo).

Features included hypotonia (in 6/9), DD (9/9), varying levels of ID (mild to severe in 8/8 for whom this information was available), seizures (6/9 - variable epilepsy phenotypes), behavioral problems (5/9 - with autism reported for one). Less frequent features incl. hypermobility (in 3), ataxia/movement disorder (in 3).

8 total pLoF and missense variants were identified as de novo events following trio exome sequencing with Sanger validation (7/8 variants). For 1(/8) individual with a stopgain variant, a single parental sample was available. A 9th individual was found to harbor a ~3.7 Mb 2q deletion spanning also other genes (which might also contribute to his phenotype of epilepsy).

Only the effect of a variant affecting the splice-acceptor site was studied (c.865-1_865delGCinsAAAAAGGAGT - NM_006186.3) with RT-PCR demonstrating an out-of-frame skipping of exon 4. Another variant (NM_006186.3:c.325dup) found in a subject with DD, ID and epilepsy had also previously been reported in another individual with similar phenotype of epilepsy and ID (Ramos et al - PMID: 31428396 - the variant was de novo with other causes for his phenotype excluded).

As discussed by Singh et al, NR4A2 encodes a steroid-thyroid-retinoid receptor which acts as a nuclear receptor transcription factor. The authors summarize previous reports on NR4A2 haploinsufficiency (NR4A2 has a pLI of 1 and HI score of 1.28% - Z-score is 2.24).

The authors comment on mouse models suggesting a role of NR4A2 for dopaminergic neurons, and provide plausible explanations for the phenotype of ID/seizures.
Created: 9 May 2020, 7:50 p.m. | Last Modified: 9 May 2020, 7:50 p.m.

Panel Version: 3.39

In a study of 457 autism families (Feliciano et al. - doi.org/10.1101/516625) the authors provide phenotypic information on a further individual with ASD and ID. This subject (SP0041645 - SPARK cohort) harbored a de novo frameshift variant (p.G231fs using ENST00000409572.1 as reference). Table 2 includes also the individual previously reported by Iossifov et al. who also presented with ASD and ID (11172.p1 - SSC cohort - PMID and details discussed below).
Created: 13 Jan 2019, 9:53 a.m.

Recent publications provide several lines of evidence that pathogenic NR4A2 variants cause DD/ID and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Lévy et al. (PMID: 29770430) summarize the phenotype of 2q24.1 microdeletions spanning either only NR4A2 [2 new patients as well as an individual reported by Reuter et al (PMID: 28544326)] or both NR4A2 and GPD2 (1 patient from this study as well as 2 further from Leppa et al. (PMID: 27569545) and Barge-Schaapveld et al. (PMID: 23554088)]. All these CNVs had occurred as de novo events. Common features included - among others - language impairment (6/6), ID (6/6), ASD (3/4) or abnormal behaviour (4/4).

As the authors note, NR4A2 belongs to a subfamily of highly conserved transcription factors. The gene is involved in several developmental processes, among others in neuronal development. Previous studies have also shown high expression in human fetal brain as well as a role in the development of language-related brain regions.

The absence of CNVs in general population encompassing NR4A2 (and presence of such CNVs spanning GDP2) as well as the minimal deletions confined to NR4A2 suggest that happloinsufficiency of NR4A2 is responsible for the DD/ID/ASD phenotypes. This is also supported by the HI index of 1.28 as well as pLI of 0.99.

Guo et al. (PMID: 30504930) report on a patient with de novo frameshift variant (p.P201Rfs*82) and provide a summary of individuals with de novo missense variants (schematic overview in suppl. fig. S4) previously reported in larger DD/ID/ASD cohorts, namely :

- The DDD study (PMID: 28135719) : subjects DDD4K.00386 (R312Q - https://decipher.sanger.ac.uk/ddd/research-variant/1e7622c3a0ba1b506c5808ccea46e759#overview) and DDD4K.04161 (R289P - https://decipher.sanger.ac.uk/ddd/research-variant/673e8e570d28dd0c5797ddafb22e53eb#overview)

- By Lelieveld et al. (PMID: 27479843) : patient with ID and V307G

- By Iossifov et al. (PMID: 25363768) : subject with ASD and Y275H.

[All these appear to cluster in a region of missense constraint : https://decipher.sanger.ac.uk/gene/NR4A2#overview/protein-info]

NR4A2 is not associated with any phenotype in OMIM, nor in G2P.

The gene is included in gene panels for intellectual disability offered by diagnostic laboratories (incl. Radboudumc).

As a result, it could be considered for inclusion in this panel possibly as green (or amber).
Sources: Literature, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen
Created: 16 Dec 2018, 11:03 a.m.

Mode of inheritance
MONOALLELIC, autosomal or pseudoautosomal, imprinted status unknown

Phenotypes
Generalized hypotonia, Global developmental delay, Intellectual disability, Seizures, Behavioral abnormality, Abnormality of movement, Joint hypermobility

Publications

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-020-0815-4, 31428396, 29770430, 30504930, 28544326, 27569545, 23554088, 28135719, 27479843, 25363768

Variants in this GENE are reported as part of current diagnostic practice

Created: 16 Dec 2018, 11:03 a.m.

Panel version: 3.39

Details

Mode of Inheritance

MONOALLELIC, autosomal or pseudoautosomal, imprinted status unknown

Sources

Expert Review Green

Phenotypes

Intellectual developmental disorder with language impairment and early-onset DOPA-responsive dystonia-parkinsonism, OMIM:619911

Tags

Autism Spectrum Disorder

OMIM

601828

Clinvar variants

Variants in NR4A2

Penetrance

unknown

Publications

Panels with this gene

History Filter Activity

30 Jun 2022, Gel status: 3

Set Phenotypes

Sarah Leigh (Genomics England Curator)

Phenotypes for gene: NR4A2 were changed from Language impairment; Intellectual disability; Autism; Behavioral abnormality; No OMIM number to Intellectual developmental disorder with language impairment and early-onset DOPA-responsive dystonia-parkinsonism, OMIM:619911

30 Jun 2022, Gel status: 3

Removed Tag

Sarah Leigh (Genomics England Curator)

Tag gene-checked was removed from gene: NR4A2.

10 May 2022, Gel status: 3