Publication
Title
Mutations in DDX3X Are a Common Cause of Unexplained Intellectual Disability with Gender-Specific Effects on Wnt Signaling
Author
Institution/Organisation
DDD Study
Abstract
Intellectual disability (ID) affects approximately 1%-3% of humans with a gender bias toward males. Previous studies have identified mutations in more than 100 genes on the X chromosome in males with ID, but there is less evidence for de novo mutations on the X chromosome causing ID in females. In this study we present 35 unique deleterious de novo mutations in DDX3X identified by whole exome sequencing in 38 females with ID and various other features including hypotonia, movement disorders, behavior problems, corpus callosum hypoplasia, and epilepsy. Based on our findings, mutations in DDX3X are one of the more common causes of ID, accounting for 1%-3% of unexplained ID in females. Although no de novo DDX3X mutations were identified in males, we present three families with segregating missense mutations in DDX3X, suggestive of an X-linked recessive inheritance pattern. In these families, all males with the DDX3X variant had ID, whereas carrier females were unaffected. To explore the pathogenic mechanisms accounting for the differences in disease transmission and phenotype between affected females and affected males with DDX3X missense variants, we used canonical Wnt defects in zebrafish as a surrogate measure of DDX3X function in vivo. We demonstrate a consistent loss-of-function effect of all tested de novo mutations on the Wnt pathway, and we further show a differential effect by gender. The differential activity possibly reflects a dose-dependent effect of DDX3X expression in the context of functional mosaic females versus one-copy males, which reflects the complex biological nature of DDX3X mutations.
Language
English
Source (journal)
The American journal of human genetics / American Society of Human Genetics [Bethesda, Md] - New York, N.Y., 1949, currens
Publication
New York, N.Y. : 2015
ISSN
0002-9297 [print]
1537-6605 [online]
DOI
10.1016/J.AJHG.2015.07.004
Volume/pages
97 :2 (2015) , p. 343-352
ISI
000359328800015
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
GENCODYS: Genetic and Epigenetic Networks in Cognitive Dysfunction
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.10.2015
Last edited 09.10.2023
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