Identification of PKD1 and PKD2 gene variants in a cohort of 125 Asian Indian patients of ADPKD

CENTOGENE considers its global positioning a key aspect for generating truly novel knowledge. The company’s involvement in a recent large-scale epidemiological study in India nicely exemplifies the success of this approach. Upon genetic screening of Indian patients with chronic liver disease, many pathogenic PKD1 variants were shown to be specific to this under-investigated ethnic group. The findings were published ahead of print in Journal of Human Genetics on February 28th.  

J Hum Genet. 2019 Feb 28. doi: 10.1038/s10038-019-0582-8. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) accounts for 2.6% of the patients with chronic kidney disease in India. ADPKD is caused by pathogenic variants in either PKD1 or PKD2 gene. There is no comprehensive genetic data from Indian subcontinent. We aimed to identify the pathogenic variants in the heterogeneous Indian population. PKD1 and PKD2 variants were identified by direct gene sequencing and/or multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) in 125 unrelated patients of ADPKD. The pathogenic potential of the variants was evaluated computationally and were classified according to ACMG guidelines. Overall 300 variants were observed in PKD1 and PKD2 genes, of which 141 (47%) have been reported previously as benign. The remaining 159 variants were categorized into different classes based on their pathogenicity. Pathogenic variants were observed in 105 (84%) of 125 patients, of which 99 (94.3%) were linked to PKD1 gene and 6 (6.1%) to PKD2 gene. Of 159 variants, 97 were novel variants, of which 43 (44.33%) were pathogenic, and 10 (10.31%) were of uncertain significance. Our data demonstrate the diverse genotypic makeup of single gene disorders in India as compared to the West. These data would be valuable in counseling and further identification of probable donors among the relatives of patients with ADPKD.