Novel Phenotypes and Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in a Large Clinical Cohort of Patients With Kleefstra Syndrome.

Clinical genetics
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Abstract

Kleefstra syndrome (KLEFS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by haploinsufficiency of EHMT1. The full spectrum of clinical features and genotype-phenotype correlations is currently not fully understood. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with KLEFS evaluated at the Boston Children's Hospital Kleefstra Clinic. There were 65 individuals (40 females, 25 males, mean age 9.3 years). 17% had large 9q34 deletions (≥ 1 Mb), 29% had small 9q34 deletions (< 1 Mb), and 54% had sequence variants. Global developmental delay (GDD) or intellectual disability (ID) was present in 77%. Behavioral disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (38%), were common. Epilepsy affected 15%. Systemic health issues included structural cardiac defects (40%), hearing loss (32%), and constipation (31%). Novel features including subgroups with significant motor impairment (24%) and refractory epilepsy (9%), as well as small numbers with opsoclonus-like eye movements (n = 2), thrombocytopenia (n = 2), progressive cerebral atrophy (n = 1), and adrenal carcinoma (n = 1). 9q34 deletion subgroups had higher rates of GDD/ID (p = 0.037), significant motor impairment (p = 0.01), epilepsy (p = 0.004), and cortical visual impairment (p = 0.003) compared to the subgroup with sequence variants. This information may be used to improve clinical care as well as inform research and future therapeutic initiatives.

Year of Publication
2025
Journal
Clinical genetics
Date Published
01/2025
ISSN
1399-0004
DOI
10.1111/cge.14697
PubMed ID
39746677
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