Expansion of the allelic and phenotypic spectrum of MED25-related developmental disorder: novel compound heterozygous variants with structural domain implications.

Abstract

MED25-related developmental disorder (Basel-Vanagaite-Smirin-Yosef syndrome) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder, defined by severe neurodevelopmental delay, corpus callosum abnormalities, ocular involvement, epilepsy, and marked facial appearance. MED25 pathogenic variants interfere with the functioning of the Mediator complex, which is responsible for RNA polymerase II transcription. We report a 9-year-old girl who presents with significant global developmental delay, agenesis of the corpus callosum, congenital cataracts, epilepsy, hypotonia, musculoskeletal abnormalities, and typical craniofacial features. Trio-based whole-exome sequencing revealed compound heterozygous variants in MED25: a maternally transmitted truncating variant (c.1366 C > T; p.Gln456*) and a paternally inherited missense variant (c.430 C > T; p.Leu144Phe). The new classification of the missense variant as potentially pathogenic is supported by a systematic ACMG re-evaluation supported by segregation analysis, phenotypic specificity, computational prediction, and structural localization in the MED25 Activator Interaction Domain (ACID). Comparative phenotypic analyses show strong agreement with reported cases but add more data to fine-tune clinical spectrum. This article broadens the allelic and phenotypic spectrum of MED25-related developmental disorder and highlights the need for comprehensive evaluation across molecular, structural, and phenotypic pathways to elucidate variant signature in rare genetic disease models correctly.