Loss-of-Function Mutation in APC2 Causes Sotos Syndrome Features

Abstract

Sotos syndrome, characterized by intellectual disability and characteristic facial features, is caused by haploinsufficiency in the NSD1 gene. We conducted an etiological study on two siblings with Sotos features without mutations in NSD1 and detected a homozygous frameshift mutation in the APC2 gene by whole-exome sequencing, which resulted in the loss of function of cytoskeletal regulation in neurons. Apc2-deficient (Apc2−/−) mice exhibited impaired learning and memory abilities along with an abnormal head shape. Endogenous Apc2 expression was downregulated by the knockdown of Nsd1, indicating that APC2 is a downstream effector of NSD1 in neurons. Nsd1 knockdown in embryonic mouse brains impaired the migration and laminar positioning of cortical neurons, as observed in Apc2−/− mice, and this defect was rescued by the forced expression of Apc2. Thus, APC2 is a crucial target of NSD1, which provides an explanation for the intellectual disability associated with Sotos syndrome.