Variants in GNAI1 cause a syndrome associated with variable features including developmental delay, seizures, and hypotonia
Open accessAbstract
Purpose Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) encompass a spectrum of genetically heterogeneous disorders with features that commonly include developmental delay, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorders. We sought to delineate the molecular and phenotypic spectrum of a novel neurodevelopmental disorder caused by variants in the GNAI1 gene.Methods Through large cohort trio-based exome sequencing and international data-sharing, we identified 24 unrelated individuals with NDD phenotypes and a variant in GNAI1, which encodes the inhibitory Gαi1 subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins. We collected detailed genotype and phenotype information for each affected individual.Results We identified 16 unique variants in GNAI1 in 24 affected individuals; 23 occurred de novo and 1 was inherited from a mosaic parent. Most affected individuals have a severe neurodevelopmental disorder. Core features include global developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, and epilepsy.Conclusion This collaboration establishes GNAI1 variants as a cause of NDDs. GNAI1-related NDD is most often characterized by severe to profound delays, hypotonia, epilepsy that ranges from self-limiting to intractable, behavior problems, and variable mild dysmorphic features.
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De novo pathogenic variants in GNAI1 in a series of 24 individuals caused developmental delay, substantial speech impairment, and seizures in 75% of individuals.
“De novo pathogenic variants in GNAI1 in a series of 24 individuals caused developmental delay, substantial speech impairment, and seizures in 75% of individuals 133 .”
From Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (2024) · cites this paper as [133]
The Results report developmental delay in all 24 individuals, substantial speech impairment, and epilepsy in 17 of 23 individuals with available data (74%, approximately 75%). However, the Results also state that one of the 24 variants was inherited from a mosaic parent, so the claim's description of the entire series as having de novo variants is not fully supported. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Muir, A. M., Gardner, J. F., van Jaarsveld, R. H., de Lange, I. M., van der Smagt, J. J., Wilson, G. N., Dubbs, H., Goldberg, E. M., Zitano, L., Bupp, C., Martinez, J., Srour, M., Accogli, A., Alhakeem, A., Meltzer, M., Gropman, A., Brewer, C., Caswell, R. C., Montgomery, T., McKenna, C., McKee, S., Powell, C., Vasudevan, P. C., Brady, A. F., Joss, S., Tysoe, C., Noh, G., Tarnopolsky, M., Brady, L., Zafar, M., Schrier Vergano, S. A., Murray, B., Sawyer, L., Hainline, B. E., Sapp, K., DeMarzo, D., Huismann, D. J., Wentzensen, I. M., Schnur, R. E., Monaghan, K. G., Juusola, J., Rhodes, L., Dobyns, W. B., Lecoquierre, F., Goldenberg, A., Polster, T., Axer-Schaefer, S., Platzer, K., Klöckner, C., Hoffman, T. L., MacArthur, D. G., O’Leary, M. C., VanNoy, G. E., England, E., Varghese, V. C., & Mefford, H. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Washington (US)
- Texas Tech University (US)
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
- Spectrum Health (US)
- University of South Alabama (US)
- Montreal Children's Hospital (CA)
- Children's National (US)
- Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Leicester Royal Infirmary (GB)
- Northwick Park Hospital (GB)
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GB)
- Kaiser Permanente (US)
- McMaster Children's Hospital (CA)
- Duke University Health System (US)
- Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (US)
- Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (US)
- Seattle Children's Hospital (US)
- Inserm (FR)
- Krankenhaus Mara (DE)
- University Hospital Leipzig (DE)
- Broad Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mefford, Heather C.
- ORCID
- Muir, Alison M.
- Wilson, Golder N.
- Dubbs, Holly
- Goldberg, Ethan M.
- Bupp, Caleb
- Srour, Myriam
- Accogli, Andrea
- Alhakeem, Afnan
- Gropman, Andrea
- Caswell, Richard C.
- McKenna, Caoimhe
- McKee, Shane
- Vasudevan, Pradeep C.
- Joss, Shelagh
- Noh, Grace
- Tarnopolsky, Mark
- Brady, Lauren
- Zafar, Muhammad
- Wentzensen, Ingrid M.
- Schnur, Rhonda E.
- Monaghan, Kristin G.
- Juusola, Jane
- Dobyns, William B.
- Goldenberg, Alice
- Polster, Tilman
- Platzer, Konrad
- Klöckner, Chiara
- Hoffman, Trevor L.
- MacArthur, Daniel G.
- O’Leary, Melanie C.
- VanNoy, Grace E.
- Varghese, Vinod C.
- Mefford, Heather C.
- Venue
- Genetics in Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-05
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 881-887
- ISSN
- 1098-3600 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8107131
- OpenAlex
- W3123712009
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 2.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Genetics in Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- Purdue University Indianapolis (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Royal Devon and Exeter Research Repository (Royal Devon and Exeter) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Regional Development Fund (RIN 2018)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genomics and Rare Diseases
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genomic variations and chromosomal abnormalities
- Keywords
- GNAI1, neurodevelopmental disorders, heterotrimeric G proteins, de novo mutations, intellectual disability, developmental delay, hypotonia, epilepsy, phenotypic spectrum, genotype-phenotype correlation, autism spectrum disorder
- MeSH terms
- Exome Sequencing, Child, Developmental Disabilities, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Muscle Hypotonia, Seizures, Neurodevelopmental Disorders
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