Genetic Etiology of Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy in a Turkish Cohort: A Single-Center Study with Targeted Gene Panel and Whole Exome Sequencing
Genes, cilt.16, sa.10, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 16 Sayı: 10
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.3390/genes16101152
- Dergi Adı: Genes
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Anahtar Kelimeler: CTBP1, epileptic encephalopathy, NALCN, PIEZO2, TSC1, TSC2, whole exome sequencing
- Kocaeli Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background: Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy (DEE) is a severe and heterogeneous neurological disorder in infancy/early childhood. DEE’s genetic and phenotypic variability complicates diagnosis and treatment. This retrospective study aimed to identify genetic variants and explore genotype–phenotype correlations in children with DEE using a targeted epilepsy gene panel (TGP) and Whole Exome Sequencing (WES). Patients and Methods: Medical records of children who underwent custom-designed 55-gene TGP and WES were reviewed. The diagnostic yield of each method was determined based on the detection of pathogenic (P) and likely pathogenic (LP) variants. Results: A total of 129 patients (66 males, 63 females) underwent TGP, which identified P/LP variants in 29 cases (22.48%). Variants were detected in SCN1A, KCNQ2, STXBP1, CDKL5, PCDH19, PLCB1, WWOX, SCN2A, FGF12, HCN1, SCN8A, and SLC35A2. WES further identified several variants in children with West syndrome. A TSC1 variant was detected in a patient without cutaneous stigmata of tuberous sclerosis complex. The NALCN variant in a patient was linked to Infantile Hypotonia with Psychomotor Retardation and Characteristic Facies 1. A CTBP1 variant associated with extremely rare Hypotonia, Ataxia, Developmental Delay, and Tooth Enamel Defect Syndrome was detected in another patient. A PIEZO2 variant—associated with Marden–Walker syndrome—was found in a child with Early Infantile Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy. Conclusions: These findings highlight the extensive genetic heterogeneity and phenotypic variability of DEE. WES demonstrates substantial value in identifying novel gene-disease associations and may be considered as a first-tier diagnostic tool in epilepsy and DEE.