A novel de novo TP63 mutation in whole‐exome sequencing of a Syrian family with Oral cleft and ectrodactyly

BACKGROUND: Oral clefts and ectrodactyly are common, heterogeneous birth defects. We performed whole‐exome sequencing (WES) analysis in a Syrian family. The proband presented with both orofacial clefting and ectrodactyly but not ectodermal dysplasia as typically seen in ectrodactyly, ectodermal dysplasia, and cleft lip/palate syndrome‐3. A paternal uncle with only an oral cleft was deceased and unavailable for analysis. METHODS: Variant annotation, Mendelian inconsistencies, and novel variants in known cleft genes were examined. Candidate variants were validated using Sanger sequencing, and pathogenicity assessed by knocking out the tp63 gene in zebrafish to evaluate its role during zebrafish development. RESULTS: Twenty‐eight candidate de novo events were identified, one of which is in a known oral cleft and ectrodactyly gene, TP63 (c.956G > T, p.Arg319Leu), and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. CONCLUSION: TP63 mutations are associated with multiple autosomal dominant orofacial clefting and limb malformation disorders. The p.Arg319Leu mutation seen in this patient is de novo but also novel. Two known mutations in the same codon (c.956G > A, p.(Arg319His; rs121908839, c.955C > T), p.Arg319Cys) cause ectrodactyly, providing evidence that mutating this codon is deleterious. While this TP63 mutation is the best candidate for the patient's clinical presentation, whether it is responsible for the entire phenotype is unclear. Generation and characterization of tp63 knockout zebrafish showed necrosis and rupture of the head at 3 days post‐fertilization (dpf). The embryonic phenotype could not be rescued by injection of zebrafish or human messenger RNA (mRNA). Further functional analysis is needed to determine what proportion of the phenotype is due to this mutation.