Homozygous STIL mutation causes holoprosencephaly and microcephaly in two siblings

PLoS One. 2015 Feb 6;10(2):e0117418. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117418. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a frequent congenital malformation of the brain characterized by impaired forebrain cleavage and midline facial anomalies. Heterozygous mutations in 14 genes have been identified in HPE patients that account for only 30% of HPE cases, suggesting the existence of other HPE genes. Data from homozygosity mapping and whole-exome sequencing in a consanguineous Turkish family were combined to identify a homozygous missense mutation (c.2150G>A; p.Gly717Glu) in STIL, common to the two affected children. STIL has a role in centriole formation and has previously been described in rare cases of microcephaly. Rescue experiments in U2OS cells showed that the STIL p.Gly717Glu mutation was not able to fully restore the centriole duplication failure following depletion of endogenous STIL protein indicating the deleterious role of the mutation. In situ hybridization experiments using chick embryos demonstrated that expression of Stil was in accordance with a function during early patterning of the forebrain. It is only the second time that a STIL homozygous mutation causing a recessive form of HPE was reported. This result also supports the genetic heterogeneity of HPE and increases the panel of genes to be tested for HPE diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Cell Line
  • Centrioles
  • Chick Embryo
  • Chickens / metabolism
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Female
  • Holoprosencephaly / genetics*
  • Holoprosencephaly / pathology
  • Homozygote
  • Humans
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Microcephaly / genetics*
  • Microcephaly / pathology
  • Mutation, Missense
  • Prosencephalon / metabolism
  • Radiography
  • Siblings

Substances

  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • STIL protein, human

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Agence de la Biomédecine (to V. David) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant no. ANR-12-BSV1-0007-01 (to V. Dupé). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.