Activity

Filter

Cancel
Date Panel Item Activity
14 actions
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.491 PCYT2 Sarah Leigh Tag for-review was removed from gene: PCYT2.
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.491 PCYT2 Sarah Leigh commented on gene: PCYT2
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.490 PCYT2 Sarah Leigh Source Expert Review Green was added to PCYT2.
Rating Changed from Amber List (moderate evidence) to Green List (high evidence)
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.489 CHKA Konstantinos Varvagiannis gene: CHKA was added
gene: CHKA was added to Genetic epilepsy syndromes. Sources: Literature
Mode of inheritance for gene: CHKA was set to BIALLELIC, autosomal or pseudoautosomal
Publications for gene: CHKA were set to 35202461
Phenotypes for gene: CHKA were set to Abnormal muscle tone; Global developmental delay; Intellectual disability; Seizures; Microcephaly; Abnormality of movement; Abnormality of nervous system morphology; Short stature
Penetrance for gene: CHKA were set to Complete
Review for gene: CHKA was set to GREEN
Added comment: Klöckner (2022 - PMID: 35202461) describe the phenotype of 6 individuals (from 5 unrelated families) harboring biallelic CHKA variants.

Shared features incl. abnormal muscle tone(6/6 - hypertonia or hypotonia, 3/6 each), DD/ID (6/6,severe in 4, severe/profound in 2), epilepsy (6/6 - onset: infancy - 3y2m | epileptic spasms or GS at onset), microcephaly (6/6), movement disorders (3/6 - incl. dyskinesia, rigidity, choreoatetotic movements). 2/5 individuals exhibited MRI abnormalities, notably hypomyelination. Short stature was observed in 4/6.

Eventual previous genetic testing was not discussed.

Exome sequencing (quattro ES for 2 sibs, trio ES for 1 individual, singleton for 3 probands) revealed biallelic CHKA variants in all affected individuals. Sanger sequencing was performed for confirmation and segregation studies.

Other variants (in suppl.) were not deemed to be causative for the neurodevelopmental phenotype.

3 different missense, 1 start-loss and 1 truncating variant were identified, namely (NM_0012772.2):
- c.421C>T/p.(Arg141Trp) [3 hmz subjects from 2 consanguineous families],
- c.580C>T/p.Pro194Ser [1 hmz individual born to consanguineous parents],
- c.2T>C/p.(Met1?) [1 hmz individual born to related parents],
- c.14dup/p.(Cys6Leufs*19) in trans with c.1021T>C/p.(Phe341Leu) in 1 individual.

CHKA encodes choline kinase alpha, an enzyme catalyzing the first step of phospholipid synthesis in the Kennedy pathway. The pathway is involved in de novo synthesis of glycerophospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine being the most abundant in eukaryotic membranes.

CHKA with its paralog (CHKB) phosphorylates either choline or ethanolamine to phosphocholine or phosphoethanolamine respectively with conversion of ATP to ADP.

As the authors comment, biallelic pathogenic variants in CHKB cause a NDD with muscular dystrophy, hypotonia, ID, microcephaly and structural mitochondrial anomalies (MIM 602541). [Prominent mitochondrial patterning was observed in a single muscle biopsy available from an individual with biallelic CHKA variants].

Other disorders of the Kennedy pathway (due to biallelic PCYT2, SELENOI, PCYT1A variants) present with overlapping features incl. variable DD/ID (no-severe), microcephaly, seizures, visual impairment etc.

CHKA variants were either absent or observed once in gnomAD, affected highly conserved AAs with multiple in silico predictions in favor of a deleterious effect.

In silico modeling suggests structural effects for several of the missense variants (Arg141Trp, Pro194Ser presumably affect ADP binding, Phe341 lying close to the binding site of phosphocholine).

Each of the missense variants was expressed in yeast cells and W. Blot suggested expression at the expected molecular weight at comparative levels. The 3 aforementioned variants exhibited reduced catalytic activity (20%, 15%, 50% respectively).

NMD is thought to underly the deleterious effect of the frameshift one (not studied).

The start-loss variant is expected to result in significantly impaired expression and protein function as eventual utilization of the next possible start codon - occurring at position 123 - would remove 26% of the protein.

Chka(-/-) is embryonically lethal in mice, suggesting that complete loss is not compatible with life. Reduction of choline kinase activity by 30% in heterozygous mice did not appear to result in behavioral abnormalities although this was not studied in detail (PMID cited: 18029352). Finally, screening of 1566 mouse lines identified 198 genes whose disruption yields neuroanatomical phenotypes, Chka(+/-) mice being among these (PMID cited: 31371714).

There is no associated phenotype in OMIM, Gene2Phenotype or SysID.

Overall this gene can be considered for inclusion in the ID and epilepsy panes with green or amber rating (>3 individuals, >3 variants, variant studies, overlapping phenotype of disorders belonging to the same pathway, etc). Consider also inclusion in the microcephaly panel (where available this seemed to be of postnatal onset).
Sources: Literature
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.191 PCYT2 Arina Puzriakova Classified gene: PCYT2 as Amber List (moderate evidence)
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.191 PCYT2 Arina Puzriakova Added comment: Comment on list classification: Changed rating from Green to Amber so that Green genes on this panel reflect the NHS signed-off version. This will be reviewed at the next GMS panel update (added 'for-review' tag).
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.191 PCYT2 Arina Puzriakova Gene: pcyt2 has been classified as Amber List (Moderate Evidence).
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.190 PCYT2 Arina Puzriakova Tag for-review tag was added to gene: PCYT2.
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.50 PCYT2 Eleanor Williams Phenotypes for gene: PCYT2 were changed from Global developmental delay; Developmental regression; Intellectual disability; Spastic paraparesis; Seizures; Cerebral atrophy; Cerebellar atrophy to Global developmental delay; Developmental regression; Intellectual disability; Spastic paraparesis; Seizures; Cerebral atrophy; Cerebellar atrophy; Spastic paraplegia 82, autosomal recessive, 618770
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.49 PCYT2 Rebecca Foulger Classified gene: PCYT2 as Green List (high evidence)
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.49 PCYT2 Rebecca Foulger Added comment: Comment on list classification: Updated rating from Grey to Green. Gene was added to panel and rated Green by Konstantinos Varvagiannis. Green rating confirmed by Genomics England Clinical Team.
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v2.49 PCYT2 Rebecca Foulger Gene: pcyt2 has been classified as Green List (High Evidence).
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v1.497 PCYT2 Ellen McDonagh reviewed gene: PCYT2: Rating: GREEN; Mode of pathogenicity: None; Publications: ; Phenotypes: ; Mode of inheritance: BIALLELIC, autosomal or pseudoautosomal
Early onset or syndromic epilepsy v1.405 PCYT2 Konstantinos Varvagiannis gene: PCYT2 was added
gene: PCYT2 was added to Genetic epilepsy syndromes. Sources: Literature
Mode of inheritance for gene: PCYT2 was set to BIALLELIC, autosomal or pseudoautosomal
Publications for gene: PCYT2 were set to 31637422
Phenotypes for gene: PCYT2 were set to Global developmental delay; Developmental regression; Intellectual disability; Spastic paraparesis; Seizures; Cerebral atrophy; Cerebellar atrophy
Penetrance for gene: PCYT2 were set to Complete
Review for gene: PCYT2 was set to GREEN
Added comment: Vaz et al. (2019 - PMID: 31637422 - DDD study among the co-authors) report on 5 individuals - from 4 families - with biallelic PCYT2 mutations.

The phenotype corresponded to a complex hererditary paraplegia with global DD, regression (4/5), ID (mild in 3/5, severe in 2/5), spastic para-/tetraparesis, epilepsy (5/5 - variable onset 2-16 yrs - focal or tonic-clonic seizures) and progressive cerebral and cerebellar atrophy.

Exome sequencing in all revealed biallelic PCYT2 variants, confirmed with Sanger s. in probands and their parents (NM_001184917.2 - corresponding to the canonical transcript used as Ref below):
- P1 (Fam1) : 2 missense SNVs in trans configuration, c.730C>T or p.His244Tyr and c.920C>T or p.Pro307Leu
- P2 (Fam2 - consanguineous of White British origin), P3 (Fam3 - Consanguineous of Turkish origin), P4,5 (Fam4 - consanguineous, unspecified origin) : homozygosity for c.1129C>T or p.Arg377Ter) affecting the last exon of 8/12 transcripts, including the canonical one.

Individuals with the same genotype displayed variable degrees of ID (eg P3 - severe / P2, P4,5 - mild ID).

For sibs in Fam4, homozygosity for a missense SACS variant led to consideration of the respective disorder (AR spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay) though the variant was predicted to be tolerated in silico and notably the MRI images not suggestive.

All variants were absent from / had extremely low AF in public databases, with no homozygotes.

Posphatidylethanolamine (PE) is a membrane lipid, particularly enriched in human brain (45% of phospholypid fraction). PE is synthesized either via the CDP-ethanolamine pathway or by decarboxylation of phosphatidylserine in mitochondria. PCYT2 encodes CTP:phosophoethanolamine cytidyltransferase (ET) which is an ubiquitously expressed rate-limiting enzyme for PE biosynthesis in the former pathway.

In silico, the 2 missense variants - localizing in the CTP catalytic domain 2 - were predicted to be damaging, as well as to affect protein stability.

Fibroblasts of 3 patients (P1, P2, P3) representing all variants were studied:
- Enzymatic activity was shown to be significantly reduced (though not absent) compared to controls. Abnormalities were noted upon Western Blot incl. absence in all 3 patients studied of one of the 2 bands normally found in controls (probably representing the longer isoform), reduced intensity in all 3 of another band probably corresponding to a shorter isoform, and presence of an additional band of intermediate molec. mass in patients with the truncating variant.
- RT-PCR on mRNA from patient fibroblasts did not reveal (significant) reduction compared to controls.
- Lipidomic profile of patient fibroblasts was compatible with the location of the block in the phospholipid biosynthesis pathway and different from controls.

The lipidomic profile had similarities with what has been reported for EPT1 deficiency, the enzyme directly downstream of ET. The SELENO1-related phenotype (/EPT1 deficiency) is also highly overlapping.

CRISPR-Cas9 was used to generate pcyt2 partial or complete knockout (ko) zebrafish, targeting either the final (ex13) or another exon (ex3) respectively. mRNA expression was shown to be moderately reduced in the first case and severely reduced/absent in the second, compared to wt. Similarly, complete-ko (ex3) led to significantly lower survival, with impaired though somewhat better survival of partial-ko (ex13) zebrafish.

Complete knockout of Pcyt2 in mice is embryonically lethal (PMID cited: 17325045) while heterozygous mice develop features of metabolic syndrome (PMID cited: 22764088).

Given lethality in knockout zebrafish / mice and the residual activity (15-20%) in patient fibroblasts, the variants reported were thought to be hypomorphic and complete loss of function possibly incompatible with life.

PCYT2 is not associated with any phenotype in OMIM/G2P/SysID and not commonly included in gene panels for ID.

As a result this gene could included in the ID / epilepsy panels with green (~/>3 indiv/fam/variants with the nonsense found in different populations, consistent phenotype, lipidomics, in silico/in vitro/in vivo evidence) or amber rating.

[Please consider inclusion in other possibly relevant panels eg. for metabolic disorders, etc].
Sources: Literature