X-Linked Hydrocephalus with New L1CAM Pathogenic Variants: Review of the Most Prevalent Molecular and Phenotypic Features

Introduction: The underlying molecular defects of congenital hydrocephalus are heterogeneous and many isolated forms of hydrocephalus remain unsolved at the molecular level. Congenital hydrocephalus in males associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum is a notable characteristic of L1CAM gene which is by far the most common genetic etiology of congenital hydrocephalus.

Methods and results: Sequencing of the L1CAM gene on 25 male patients/fetuses who had been presented with hydrocephalus revealed 6 patients and two fetuses with different hemizygous pathogenic variants. Our study identified 4 novel variants and 4 previously reported. The detection rate was 32%, and all the variants were shown to be maternally inherited. Nonsense variants were detected in 3 patients, while missense variants were detected in 2 patients. Frameshift, silent, and splicing variant, each was detected in 1 patient. The clinical manifestations of the patients are in line with those frequently observed including communicating hydrocephalus and agenesis of the corpus callosum. Moreover, rippled ventricles with subdural collection and asymmetry of ventricles after shunt operation were seen in 1 patient and 2 patients, respectively. In addition, abnormal basal ganglia were found in 4 patients which seems to be an additional distinct new finding. We also describe a patient with novel nonsense variant with the rare association of Hirschsprung's disease. This patient displayed additionally multiple porencephalic cysts and encephalomalacia secondary to hemorrhage due to repeated infections after shunt operation. The patients with the missense variants showed long survival, while those with truncating variants showed poor prognosis.

Conclusion: This report adds knowledge of novel pathogenic variants to the L1CAM variant database. Furthermore, we evaluated the clinical and imaging data of these patients.