TY - JOUR
T1 - Whole exome sequencing of patients with varicella-zoster virus and herpes simplex virus induced acute retinal necrosis reveals rare disease-associated genetic variants
AU - Heinz, Johanna L.
AU - Swagemakers, Sigrid M.A.
AU - von Hofsten, Joanna
AU - Helleberg, Marie
AU - Thomsen, Michelle M.
AU - De Keukeleere, Kerstin
AU - de Boer, Joke H.
AU - Ilginis, Tomas
AU - Verjans, Georges M.G.M.
AU - van Hagen, Peter M.
AU - van der Spek, Peter J.
AU - Mogensen, Trine H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Heinz, Swagemakers, von Hofsten, Helleberg, Thomsen, De Keukeleere, de Boer, Ilginis, Verjans, van Hagen, van der Spek and Mogensen.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Purpose: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) are neurotropic human alphaherpesviruses endemic worldwide. Upon primary infection, both viruses establish lifelong latency in neurons and reactivate intermittently to cause a variety of mild to severe diseases. Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is a rare, sight-threatening eye disease induced by ocular VZV or HSV infection. The virus and host factors involved in ARN pathogenesis remain incompletely described. We hypothesize an underlying genetic defect in at least part of ARN cases. Methods: We collected blood from 17 patients with HSV-or VZV-induced ARN, isolated DNA and performed Whole Exome Sequencing by Illumina followed by analysis in Varseq with criteria of CADD score > 15 and frequency in GnomAD < 0.1% combined with biological filters. Gene modifications relative to healthy control genomes were filtered according to high quality and read-depth, low frequency, high deleteriousness predictions and biological relevance. Results: We identified a total of 50 potentially disease-causing genetic variants, including missense, frameshift and splice site variants and on in-frame deletion in 16 of the 17 patients. The vast majority of these genes are involved in innate immunity, followed by adaptive immunity, autophagy, and apoptosis; in several instances variants within a given gene or pathway was identified in several patients. Discussion: We propose that the identified variants may contribute to insufficient viral control and increased necrosis ocular disease presentation in the patients and serve as a knowledge base and starting point for the development of improved diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic applications.
AB - Purpose: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) are neurotropic human alphaherpesviruses endemic worldwide. Upon primary infection, both viruses establish lifelong latency in neurons and reactivate intermittently to cause a variety of mild to severe diseases. Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is a rare, sight-threatening eye disease induced by ocular VZV or HSV infection. The virus and host factors involved in ARN pathogenesis remain incompletely described. We hypothesize an underlying genetic defect in at least part of ARN cases. Methods: We collected blood from 17 patients with HSV-or VZV-induced ARN, isolated DNA and performed Whole Exome Sequencing by Illumina followed by analysis in Varseq with criteria of CADD score > 15 and frequency in GnomAD < 0.1% combined with biological filters. Gene modifications relative to healthy control genomes were filtered according to high quality and read-depth, low frequency, high deleteriousness predictions and biological relevance. Results: We identified a total of 50 potentially disease-causing genetic variants, including missense, frameshift and splice site variants and on in-frame deletion in 16 of the 17 patients. The vast majority of these genes are involved in innate immunity, followed by adaptive immunity, autophagy, and apoptosis; in several instances variants within a given gene or pathway was identified in several patients. Discussion: We propose that the identified variants may contribute to insufficient viral control and increased necrosis ocular disease presentation in the patients and serve as a knowledge base and starting point for the development of improved diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic applications.
KW - acute retinal necrosis (ARN)
KW - apoptosis
KW - autophagy
KW - interferon
KW - whole exome sequencing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85175804589&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1253040
DO - 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1253040
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38025266
AN - SCOPUS:85175804589
SN - 1662-5099
VL - 16
JO - Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
JF - Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
M1 - 1253040
ER -