Browsing by Author "Gilling, M."
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- A 3.2 Mb deletion on 18q12 in a patient with childhood autism and high-grade myopiaPublication . Gilling, M.; Lauritsen, M.B.; Møller, M.; Henriksen, K.F.; Vicente, A.M.; Oliveira, G.; Cintin, C.; Eiberg, H.; Andersen, P.S.; Mors, O.; Rosenberg, T.; Brøndum-Nielsen, K.; Cotterill, R.M.; Lundsteen, C.; Ropers, H.H.; Ullmann, R.; Bache, I.; Tümer, Z.; Tommerup, N.Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with unknown aetiology. Even though ASDs are suggested to be among the most heritable complex disorders, only a few reproducible mutations leading to susceptibility for ASD have been identified. In an attempt to identify ASD susceptibility genes through chromosome rearrangements, we investigated a female patient with childhood autism and high-grade myopia, and an apparently balanced de novo translocation, t(5;18)(q34;q12.2). Further analyses revealed a 3.2 Mb deletion encompassing 17 genes at the 18q break point and an additional deletion of 1.27 Mb containing two genes on chromosome 4q35. Q-PCR analysis of 14 of the 17 genes deleted on chromosome 18 showed that 11 of these genes were expressed in the brain, suggesting that haploinsufficiency of one or more genes may have contributed to the childhood autism phenotype of the patient. Identification of multiple genetic changes in this patient with childhood autism agrees with the most frequently suggested genetic model of ASDs as complex, polygenic disorders.
- Dysfunction of the Heteromeric KV7.3/KV7.5 Potassium Channel is Associated with Autism Spectrum DisordersPublication . Gilling, M.; Rasmussen, H.B.; Calloe, K.; Sequeira, A.F.; Barreto, M.; Oliveira, G.; Almeida, J.; Lauritsen, M.B.; Ullmann, R.; Boonen, S.E.; Brondum-Nielsen, K.; Kalscheuer, V.M.; Tümer, Z.; Vicente, A.M.; Schmitt, N.; Tommerup, N.Heterozygous mutations in the KCNQ3 gene on chromosome 8q24 encoding the voltage-gated potassium channel KV7.3 subunit have previously been associated with rolandic epilepsy and idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) including benign neonatal convulsions. We identified a de novo t(3;8) (q21;q24) translocation truncating KCNQ3 in a boy with childhood autism. In addition, we identified a c.1720C > T [p.P574S] nucleotide change in three unrelated individuals with childhood autism and no history of convulsions. This nucleotide change was previously reported in patients with rolandic epilepsy or IGE and has now been annotated as a very rare SNP (rs74582884) in dbSNP. The p.P574S KV7.3 variant significantly reduced potassium current amplitude in Xenopus laevis oocytes when co-expressed with KV7.5 but not with KV7.2 or KV7.4. The nucleotide change did not affect trafficking of heteromeric mutant KV7.3/2, KV7.3/4, or KV7.3/5 channels in HEK 293 cells or primary rat hippocampal neurons. Our results suggest that dysfunction of the heteromeric KV7.3/5 channel is implicated in the pathogenesis of some forms of autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and possibly other psychiatric disorders and therefore, KCNQ3 and KCNQ5 are suggested as candidate genes for these disorders.