Allelic Mutations of , Encoding KIT Ligand, Cause Asymmetric and Unilateral Hearing Loss and Waardenburg Syndrome Type 2

Linkage analysis combined with whole-exome sequencing in a large family with congenital and stable non-syndromic unilateral and asymmetric hearing loss (NS-UHL/AHL) revealed a heterozygous truncating mutation, c.286_303delinsT (p.Ser96Ter), in KITLG. This mutation co-segregated with NS-UHL/AHL as a dominant trait with reduced penetrance. By screening a panel of probands with NS-UHL/AHL, we found an additional mutation, c.200_202del (p.His67_Cys68delinsArg). In vitro studies revealed that the p.His67_Cys68delinsArg transmembrane isoform of KITLG is not detectable at the cell membrane, supporting pathogenicity.

Source: The American Journal of Human Genetics - October 29, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Celia Zazo Seco, Luciana Serrão de Castro, Josephine W. van Nierop, Matías Morín, Shalini Jhangiani, Eva J.J. Verver, Margit Schraders, Nadine Maiwald, Mieke Wesdorp, Hanka Venselaar, Liesbeth Spruijt, Jaap Oostrik, Jeroen Schoots, Baylor-Hopkins Tags: Article Source Type: research