Abstract
Full genome analysis of a young girl with deafness, dystonia, central
hypomyelination, refractory seizure, and fluctuating liver function
impairment revealed a heterozygous, de novo variant in the BCAP31 gene
on chromosome X28q (NC_000023.11(BCAP31_v001):c.92G>A),
mutations of which caused the X-linked recessive severe neurologic
disorder DDCH (Deafness, Dystonia, and Cerebral Hypomyelination,
OMIM#300475). Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) of the patient’s white
blood cells showed the absence of wild-type BCAP31 mRNA but the presence
of two novel BCAP31 mRNAs. The major alternatively-spliced mRNA is due
to exon 2 skipping and the utilization of a new initiation site in exon
3 that leads to a frameshift and truncated transcript while the minor
novel mRNA has a 110 nucleotide insertion to exon 2. Phasing studies
showed that the de novo variant arose in the paternal X chromosome. X
chromosome inactivation assay was done and confirmed that the patient’s
maternal X chromosome was preferentially inactivated, providing evidence
that the mutated BCAP31 gene was the predominantly expressed. According
to the ACMG guideline, this variant is deemed “pathogenic” (PS2, PS3,
PM2, PP3, PP4) and deleterious. This is the first reported female
patient in BCAP31-related syndrome resulted from skewed X-inactivation
and a de novo mutation in the active X chromosome.