Distinct gene-set burden patterns underlie common generalized and focal epilepsies

Epi25 Collaborative

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Analyses of few gene-sets in epilepsy showed a potential to unravel key disease associations. We set out to investigate the burden of ultra-rare variants (URVs) in a comprehensive range of biologically informed gene-sets presumed to be implicated in epileptogenesis. Methods: The burden of 12 URV types in 92 gene-sets was compared between cases and controls using whole exome sequencing data from individuals of European descent with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE, n = 1,003), genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE, n = 3,064), or non-acquired focal epilepsy (NAFE, n = 3,522), collected by the Epi25 Collaborative, compared to 3,962 ancestry-matched controls. Findings: Missense URVs in highly constrained regions were enriched in neuron-specific and developmental genes, whereas genes not expressed in brain were not affected. GGE featured a higher burden in gene-sets derived from inhibitory vs. excitatory neurons or associated receptors, whereas the opposite was found for NAFE, and DEE featured a burden in both. Top-ranked susceptibility genes from recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and gene-sets derived from generalized vs. focal epilepsies revealed specific enrichment patterns of URVs in GGE vs. NAFE. Interpretation: Missense URVs affecting highly constrained sites differentially impact genes expressed in inhibitory vs. excitatory pathways in generalized vs. focal epilepsies. The excess of URVs in top-ranked GWAS risk-genes suggests a convergence of rare deleterious and common risk-variants in the pathogenesis of generalized and focal epilepsies. Funding: DFG Research Unit FOR-2715 (Germany), FNR (Luxembourg), NHGRI (US), NHLBI (US), DAAD (Germany).

Original languageEnglish
Article number103588
JournalEBioMedicine
Volume72
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2021

Funding

FundersFunder number
GTEx Portalphs000424.v8.p2
National Centre of Excellence in Research on Parkinson's diseaseFNR11264123
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National Human Genome Research InstituteU01HG009088
National Human Genome Research Institute
Broad Institute5U01HG009088-02, UM1 HG008895
Broad Institute
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst57214224
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Fonds National de la Recherche LuxembourgSa434/6-1, He5415/7-1, No755/6-1, Le1030/16-1, We4896/4-1, INTER/DFG/17/11583046
Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg

    Keywords

    • Burden analysis
    • Epilepsy
    • Exome sequencing
    • Gene-sets
    • Ultra-rare variants

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