Whole Genome Sequencing Improves the Identification of Pathogenic and Novel Variation in Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss.

BACKGROUND

Genetic testing is essential to the diagnosis of nonsyndromic bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (BSNHL), where pathogenic variants in GJB2 are the most common cause. Current testing strategies often fail to provide a comprehensive diagnosis and typically require the use of multiple testing methodologies. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of genome sequencing (GS) in a cohort with heterozygosity for GJB2 pathogenic variants and BSNHL.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort of 23 individuals with BSNHL and a heterozygous pathogenic variant in GJB2 underwent targeted GJB2 resequencing and variant reinterpretation. Those without biallelic GJB2 variants upon single gene reanalysis proceeded to exome sequencing (ES) using a large virtual panel of hearing loss-associated genes. Subjects with no definitive diagnosis from ES subsequently underwent GS. Variants were interpreted using hearing loss-specific ACMG guidelines and published literature.

RESULTS

Three individuals were diagnosed with biallelic pathogenic variants upon GJB2 single gene reanalysis. ES identified a definitive or likely diagnosis in five different hearing loss-related genes in 5/20 (25%) individuals, while two additional cases remained inconclusive due to novel or ambiguous variants in two other hearing loss-associated genes. GS of the remaining 15 cases yielded diagnoses in three individuals, including the identification of deletions in LOXHD1 and STRC, and a recently characterized 125 kb deletion overlapping CRYL1, which refines a critical upstream regulatory region associated with GJB2-related hearing loss. Overall, 11/23 (48%) individuals received a diagnosis with our stepwise testing approach, with GS providing sequencing coverage of all findings.

CONCLUSION

GS improves diagnostic yield in patients with BSNHL, capturing both SNVs and CNVs missed by ES and targeted testing, and supports its adoption as a comprehensive first-tier diagnostic test for nonsyndromic hearing loss.