Objective: To detect additional variants for newborn carriers of single heterozygous variants of the GJB2 or SLC26A4 gene by genechip analysis in Changsha area, and explore the variation spectrum of deafness-related genes in this region.
Methods: For 462 newborns carrying single heterozygous variants of the GJB2 or SLC26A4 gene, all exons of the genes were subjected to Sanger sequencing. The pathogenicity of the variants was analyzed by database and literature search.
Results: For 305 newborns carrying a heterozygous GJB2 variant, 143 (46.49%) were found to carry additional variants, including 29 (9.51%) with c.109G>A likely pathogenic variant, and 1 (6.48%) with c.551G>A pathogenic variant. Among 153 newborns carrying single heterozygous variant of the SLC26A4 gene, 2 (1.31%) were found with a c.281C>T variant, and 1 (0.65%) with a c.1547_1548ins pathogenic variant. Among 4 newborns simultaneously carrying GJB2 and SLC26A4 variants, two were found to carry c.109G>A and c.844T>C variants (clinical significance unknown), respectively.
Conclusion: For newborns carrying single heterozygous variants of the GJB2 or SLC26A4 gene by genechip analysis, the detection rate for other variants is quite high. Sanger sequencing can significantly improve the detection rate of high-risk newborns and enrich the variant spectrum of deafness genes.