Mutations in TMEM231 cause Meckel-Gruber syndrome

Background Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS) is a genetically heterogeneous severe ciliopathy characterised by early lethality, occipital encephalocele, polydactyly, and polycystic kidney disease. Purpose To report genetic analysis results in two families in which all known MKS diseases genes have been excluded. Methods In two consanguineous families with classical MKS in which autozygome-guided sequencing of previously reported MKS genes was negative, we performed exome sequencing followed by autozygome filtration. Results We identified one novel splicing mutation in TMEM231, which led to complete degradation of the mutant transcript in one family, and a novel missense mutation in the other, both in the homozygous state. Conclusions TMEM231 represents a novel MKS locus. The very recent identification of TMEM231 mutations in Joubert syndrome supports the growing appreciation of the overlap in the molecular pathogenesis between these two ciliopathies.