Studies Of Hereditary Neurological Disease: Disease Gene Identification

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The purpose of this research program is to investigate the causes of hereditary neurological diseases, with the goal of developing effective treatments for these disorders. A genetic outreach program allows the identification and characterization of patients and families with hereditary neurological diseases. Specific research accomplishments in the past year include collaboration in genetic studies in Mali and in a review of procedures for reporting of secondary genomic findings from exome sequencing. Through the Mali collaboration, over 120 families have been evaluated, with more than 17 different genetic diagnoses in 24 families. Our current focus is on the remaining families with phenotypes of interest, autosomal recessive inheritance & consanguinity. Exome sequencing and segregation analysis are done through NISC for candidate gene identification. We evaluated a Malian family in which three individuals had hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and distal muscle atrophy and sensory loss. HSP panel testing identified a novel heterozygous missense mutation in KIF5A (c.1086G>C, p.Lys362Asn) that segregated with the disease (SPG10). Lys362 is highly conserved across species and Lys362Asn is predicted to be damaging. This study shows that HSPs are present in sub-Saharan Africa, although likely underdiagnosed. Increasing efficiency and decreasing costs of DNA sequencing will make it more feasible to diagnose HSPs in developing countries.