Disruption of CTNND2, encoding delta-catenin, causes a penetrant attention deficit disorder and myopia

HGG Adv. 2020 Oct 22;1(1):100007. doi: 10.1016/j.xhgg.2020.100007. Epub 2020 Aug 25.

Abstract

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder with poorly understood pathophysiology and genetic mechanisms. A balanced chromosomal translocation interrupts CTNND2 in several members of a family with profound attentional deficit and myopia, and disruption of the gene was found in a separate unrelated individual with ADHD and myopia. CTNND2 encodes a brain-specific member of the adherens junction complex essential for postsynaptic and dendritic development, a site of potential pathophysiology in attentional disorders. Therefore, we propose that the severe and highly penetrant nature of the ADHD phenotype in affected individuals identifies CTNND2 as a potential gateway to ADHD pathophysiology similar to the DISC1 translocation in psychosis or AUTS2 in autism.