Diagnosis of Shashi-Pena Syndrome Caused by Chromosomal Rearrangement Using Nanopore Sequencing

Abstract

Background and ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to uncover the genetic cause of delayed psychomotor development and variable intellectual disability in a proband whose previous genetic analyses, including chromosome microarray and whole exome sequencing, had been negative.MethodsLong-read sequencing Oxford Nanopore Technology and RNA-seq analysis were performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Genes with a fold change ≥ 1.5 and p ≤ 0.05 were identified as differentially expressed.ResultsClinical examinations showed that the proband's features were similar to a rare autosomal-dominant neurodevelopmental syndrome, Shashi-Pena syndrome (MIM #617190). Karyotyping showed that a chromosomal balanced translocation t(2; 11) (p23; q23) was detected in the proband, her father, and her grandmother. Meanwhile, long-read sequencing identified 102 balanced translocations and 145 inversions affecting ASXL2 at an average of 15×. Combined with the family's RNA-seq results, the average mRNA expression of ASXL2 decreased in the patients.DiscussionWe identified a complex chromosomal rearrangement affecting ASXL2 as a pathogenic mechanism of Shashi-Pena syndrome in a Chinese family. This case study suggests that nanopore sequencing is suitable for pathogenic analysis of complex rearrangements, providing new avenues for the diagnosis of genetic diseases.