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BackgroundDetecting mutations in disease genes by full gene sequence analysis is common in clinical diagnostic laboratories. Sanger dideoxy terminator sequencing allows for rapid development and implementation of sequencing assays in the clinical laboratory, but it has limited throughput, and due to cost constraints, only allows analysis of one or at most a few genes in a patient. Next-generation sequencing (NGS), on the other hand, has evolved rapidly, although to date it has mainly been used for large-scale genome sequencing projects and is beginning to be used in the clinical diagnostic testing. One advantage of NGS is that many genes can be analyzed easily at the same time, allowing for mutation detection when there are many possible causative genes for a specific phenotype. In addition, regions of a gene typically not tested for mutations, like deep intronic and promoter mutations, can also be detected.ResultsHere we use 20 previously characterized Sanger-sequenced positive controls in disease-causing genes to demonstrate the utility of NGS in a clinical setting using standard PCR based amplification to assess the analytical sensitivity and specificity of the technology for detecting all previously characterized changes (mutations and benign SNPs). The positive controls chosen for validation range from simple substitution mutations to complex deletion and insertion mutations occurring in autosomal dominant and recessive disorders. The NGS data was 100% concordant with the Sanger sequencing data identifying all 119 previously identified changes in the 20 samples.ConclusionsWe have demonstrated that NGS technology is ready to be deployed in clinical laboratories. However, NGS and associated technologies are evolving, and clinical laboratories will need to invest significantly in staff and infrastructure to build the necessary foundation for success.

Purpose Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a heterogeneous group of disorders caused by deficient glycosylation, primarily affecting the N-linked pathway. It is estimated that over 40% of CDG patients lack a confirmatory molecular diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to improve molecular diagnosis for CDG by developing and validating a next generation sequencing (NGS) panel for comprehensive mutation detection in 24 genes known to cause CDG. Methods NGS validation was performed on 12 positive control CDG patients. These samples were blinded as to the disease causing mutations. Both RainDance and Fluidigm platforms were used for sequence enrichment and targeted amplification. The SOLiD platform was used for sequencing the amplified products. Bioinformatic analysis was performed using NextGENe® software. Results The disease causing mutations were identified by NGS for all 12 positive controls. Additional variants were also detected in three controls that are known or predicted to impair gene function and may contribute to the clinical phenotype. Conclusions We conclude that development of NGS panels in the diagnostic laboratory where multiple genes are implicated in a disorder is more cost-effective and will result in improved and faster patient diagnosis compared with a gene-by-gene approach. Recommendations are also provided for data analysis from the NGS-derived data in the clinical laboratory, which will be important for the widespread use of this technology.

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are inherited autosomal-recessive diseases that impair N-glycosylation. Approximately 20% of patients do not survive beyond the age of 5 years old as a result of widespread organ dysfunction. Although most patients receive a CDG diagnosis based on abnormal glycosylation of transferrin, this test cannot provide a genetic diagnosis; indeed, many patients with abnormal transferrin do not have mutations in any known CDG genes. Here, we combined biochemical analysis with whole-exome sequencing (WES) to identify the genetic defect in an untyped CDG patient, and we found a 22 bp deletion and a missense mutation in DDOST, whose product is a component of the oligosaccharyltransferase complex that transfers the glycan chain from a lipid carrier to nascent proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen. Biochemical analysis with three biomarkers revealed that N-glycosylation was decreased in the patient's fibroblasts. Complementation with wild-type-DDOST cDNA in patient fibroblasts restored glycosylation, indicating that the mutations were pathological. Our results highlight the power of combining WES and biochemical studies, including a glyco-complementation system, for identifying and confirming the defective gene in an untyped CDG patient. This approach will be very useful for uncovering other types of CDG as well.

Purpose: To develop a high resolution microarray based method to detect single-and multiexons gene deletions and duplications. Methods: We have developed a high-resolution comparative genomic hybridization array to detect single-and multiexon deletions and duplications in a large set of genes on a single microarray, using the NimbleGen 385K array with an exon-centric design. Results: We have successfully developed, validated, and implemented a targeted gene comparative genomic hybridization arrays for detecting single-and multiexon deletions and duplication in autosomal and X-linked diseaseassociated genes. Conclusion: The comparative genomic hybridization arrays can be adopted readily by clinical molecular diagnostic laboratories as a rapid, cost-effective, highly sensitive, and accurate approach for the detection of single-and multiexon deletions or duplications, particularly in cases where direct sequencing fails to identify a mutation. Genet Med 2009:11(4):232-240.

Sequencing individual genes by Sanger sequencing is a time-consuming and costly approach to resolve clinically heterogeneous genetic disorders. Panel testing offers the ability to efficiently and cost-effectively screen all of the genes for a particular genetic disorder. We assessed the analytical sensitivity and specificity of two different enrichment technologies, solution-based hybridization and microdroplet-based PCR target enrichment, in conjunction with next-generation sequencing (NGS), to identify mutations in 321 exons representing 12 different genes involved with congenital muscular dystrophies. Congenital muscular dystrophies present diagnostic challenges due to phenotypic variability, lack of standard access to and inherent difficulties with muscle immunohistochemical stains, and a general lack of clinician awareness. NGS results were analyzed across several parameters, including sequencing metrics and genotype concordance with Sanger sequencing. Genotyping data showed that both enrichment technologies produced suitable calls for use in clinical laboratories. However, microdroplet-based PCR target enrichment is more appropriate for a clinical laboratory, due to excellent sequence specificity and uniformity, reproducibility, high coverage of the target exons, and the ability to distinguish the active gene versus known pseudogenes. Regardless of the method, exons with highly repetitive and high GC regions are not well enriched and require Sanger sequencing for completeness. Our study demonstrates the successful application of targeted sequencing in conjunction with NGS to screen for mutations in hundreds of exons in a genetically heterogeneous human disorder.

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