Genome sequencing coupled with iPSC technology identifies GTDC1 as a novel candidate gene involved in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

We identified genomic structural alterations of six patients with signs of neurodevelopmental disorder (NDDs) that harbour chromosomal rearrangements using large-insert paired-end tag sequencing (DNA-PET). This technique allowed the refinement of chromosomal breakpoints and lead to the identification of seven disrupted genes (GNAQ, RBFOX3, UNC5D, TMEM47, NCAPG2, GTDC1 and XIAP). For one patient we filtered the entire panel of structural variations (SVs) with his parents and identified a unique SV that disrupted a single gene: GTDC1. We then validated the functional consequences of the chromosomal breakpoint disruption of GTDC1 by using patient-derived iPSCs. By differentiating these cells into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and neurons, we interrogated the disease process at the cellular level and observed defects in the proliferation and glycosylation status of NPCs and also defects in neuronal maturation and function. We compared these results with GTDC1-deficient wild-type human NPCs and neurons, and observed similar phenotypic features as in the patient-derived cells which confirm that GTDC1 is involved in the patient’s phenotype. We show here that the combination of genomic screening with iPSCs technology provides a mechanistic insight into possible contributory effects of candidate genes implicated in NDDs and for personalized medicine. Overall design: Structural variations were identified by long insert DNA paired-end tag (DNA-PET) sequencing, a mate-pair sequencing approach.