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Gijs Santen and colleagues report mutations in the SWI/SNF subunit gene ARID1B in Coffin-Siris syndrome. We identified de novo truncating mutations in ARID1B in three individuals with Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS) by exome sequencing. Array-based copy-number variation (CNV) analysis in 2,000 individuals with intellectual disability revealed deletions encompassing ARID1B in 3 subjects with phenotypes partially overlapping that of CSS. Taken together with published data, these results indicate that haploinsufficiency of the ARID1B gene, which encodes an epigenetic modifier of chromatin structure, is an important cause of CSS and is potentially a common cause of intellectual disability and speech impairment.

Failure to thrive, feeding difficulties, variable forms of infantile epilepsy or psychomotor developmental delay and hypotonia were the most frequent clinical disease presentations in eight children with combined oxidative phosphorylation enzyme complex deficiencies carrying mutations in the polymerase gamma (POLG1) gene. Five out of eight patients developed severe liver dysfunction during the course of the disease. Three of these patients fulfilled the disease criteria for Alpers syndrome. Most children showed deficiencies of respiratory chain enzyme complexes I and III, in combination with complex II, complex IV and/or PDHc in muscle, whereas in fibroblasts normal enzyme activities were measured. All children carried homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the POLG1 gene, including two novel mutations in association with mtDNA depletion. Conclusion We suggest performing POLG1 mutation analysis in children with combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiencies in muscle, even if the clinical picture is not Alpers syndrome.