To compare management and outcomes of infants with mandibulofacial dysostosis syndromes (Treacher Collins and Nager syndromes) admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to infants with other causes of micrognathia. The Children's Hospitals Neonatal Database from 2010 to 2023 was queried for infants with diagnoses of Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), Nager syndrome (NS), and other infants in NICUs with micrognathia (n = 4210). We identified 103 infants with TCS and 11 with NS to compare with the micrognathia cohort (n = 4210). Compared with infants with micrognathia, those with TCS were more likely to undergo tracheostomy (54% vs 11%) and gastrostomy tube placement (67% vs 35%) and were less likely to undergo mandibular distraction (9.7% vs 28.2%). The hospital mortality rate in TCS was lower than micrognathia cohort (1.9% vs 7.2%). Apgar scores were similar for TCS and micrognathia cohorts (6 and 8 vs 7 and 8, at 1 and 5 minutes, respectively) but lower for NS (2 and 6). Infants with NS had the highest rate of intubation at birth (91%) and tracheostomy placement (72.7%), and a higher mortality rate than TCS (27.3% vs 1.9%). Hospital length of stay was longer in TCS (47.5 days) and NS (43 days) than the micrognathia cohort (37 days). Infants with mandibulofacial dysostosis (TCS and NS) were more likely to have a tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube, and less likely to undergo mandibular distraction than infants with micrognathia from other causes. NS was most severe with highest mortality rate and lowest Apgar scores. Despite a higher rate of tracheostomy and longer length of stay, the mortality rate for TCS remained low.

PAX2-related disorders encompass renal coloboma syndrome (RCS) and hereditary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) type 7. We retrospectively analyzed 27 Korean patients with PAX2 pathogenic variants detected between 2004 and 2022 and conducted a literature review of 328 cases, including 301 previously reported. In our cohort, 19 had RCS, 4 had FSGS, and 4 had isolated congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract. Patients were classified by variant type into predicted loss of function (pLoF) and non-pLoF variant groups, and by variant location into paired domain and other sites group. pLoF variants were predominantly associated with RCS, observed in 82% of patients in both our data (18 of 22, P = 0.017) and the literature (140 of 171, P < 0.001). Kidney failure developed in 52% of Korean patients at a median age of 14.5 years, with no difference in kidney survival between variant types. However, the literature review indicated faster progression to kidney failure in patients with pLoF variants (11.0 vs. 24.0 years; pLoF, n = 138 vs. non-pLoF, n = 71; P = 0.002), with no significant difference by variant location. Ocular manifestations were more common, had earlier onset, and were more severe in the pLoF variants group in our cohort (P = 0.038). The literature confirmed a higher prevalence of ocular involvement in patients with pLoF variants (pLoF, n = 175 vs. non-pLoF, n = 88; P < 0.001) and in those with paired domain variants (P = 0.01). pLoF variants in PAX2 were associated with worse kidney and ocular outcomes. These findings support genotype-phenotype correlations, contributing to tailored management in patients with PAX2-related disorders.

Heterozygous pathogenic variants in POLR1A, which encodes the largest subunit of RNA Polymerase I, were previously identified as the cause of acrofacial dysostosis, Cincinnati-type. The predominant phenotypes observed in the cohort of 3 individuals were craniofacial anomalies reminiscent of Treacher Collins syndrome. We subsequently identified 17 additional individuals with 12 unique heterozygous variants in POLR1A and observed numerous additional phenotypes including neurodevelopmental abnormalities and structural cardiac defects, in combination with highly prevalent craniofacial anomalies and variable limb defects. To understand the pathogenesis of this pleiotropy, we modeled an allelic series of POLR1A variants in vitro and in vivo. In vitro assessments demonstrate variable effects of individual pathogenic variants on ribosomal RNA synthesis and nucleolar morphology, which supports the possibility of variant-specific phenotypic effects in affected individuals. To further explore variant-specific effects in vivo, we used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to recapitulate two human variants in mice. Additionally, spatiotemporal requirements for Polr1a in developmental lineages contributing to congenital anomalies in affected individuals were examined via conditional mutagenesis in neural crest cells (face and heart), the second heart field (cardiac outflow tract and right ventricle), and forebrain precursors in mice. Consistent with its ubiquitous role in the essential function of ribosome biogenesis, we observed that loss of Polr1a in any of these lineages causes cell-autonomous apoptosis resulting in embryonic malformations. Altogether, our work greatly expands the phenotype of human POLR1A-related disorders and demonstrates variant-specific effects that provide insights into the underlying pathogenesis of ribosomopathies.

Individuals with Kabuki syndrome type 1 (KS1) often have hearing loss recognized in middle childhood. Current clinical dogma suggests that this phenotype is caused by frequent infections due to the immune deficiency in KS1 and/or secondary to structural abnormalities of the ear. To clarify some aspects of hearing loss, we collected information on hearing status from 21 individuals with KS1 and found that individuals have both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, with the average age of presentation being 7 years. Our data suggest that while ear infections and structural abnormalities contribute to the observed hearing loss, these factors do not explain all loss. Using a KS1 mouse model, we found hearing abnormalities from hearing onset, as indicated by auditory brainstem response measurements. In contrast to mouse and human data for CHARGE syndrome, a disorder possessing overlapping clinical features with KS and a well-known cause of hearing loss and structural inner ear abnormalities, there are no apparent structural abnormalities of the cochlea in KS1 mice. The KS1 mice also display diminished distortion product otoacoustic emission levels, which suggests outer hair cell dysfunction. Combining these findings, our data suggests that KMT2D dysfunction causes sensorineural hearing loss compounded with external factors, such as infection.

CHARGE syndrome typically results from mutations in the gene encoding chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 7 (CHD7). CHD7 is involved in regulating neural crest development, which gives rise to tissues of the skull/face and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Individuals with CHARGE syndrome are frequently born with anomalies requiring multiple surgeries and often experience adverse events post-anesthesia, including oxygen desaturations, decreased respiratory rates, and heart rate abnormalities. Central congenital hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) affects ANS components that regulate breathing. Its hallmark feature is hypoventilation during sleep, clinically resembling observations in anesthetized CHARGE patients. Loss of PHOX2B (paired-like homeobox 2b) underlies CCHS. Employing a chd7-null zebrafish model, we investigated physiologic responses to anesthesia and compared these to loss of phox2b. Heart rates were lower in chd7 mutants compared to the wild-type. Exposure to tricaine, a zebrafish anesthetic/muscle relaxant, revealed that chd7 mutants took longer to become anesthetized, with higher respiratory rates during recovery. chd7 mutant larvae demonstrated unique phox2ba expression patterns. The knockdown of phox2ba reduced larval heart rates similar to chd7 mutants. chd7 mutant fish are a valuable preclinical model to investigate anesthesia in CHARGE syndrome and reveal a novel functional link between CHARGE syndrome and CCHS.