Transcriptome Sequencing of Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Reveals Novel Splice-Altering Variants in MYBPC3

Background: Transcriptome sequencing can improve genetic diagnosis of Mendelian diseases but requires access to tissue expressing disease-relevant transcripts. We explored genetic testing of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using transcriptome sequencing of patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). We also explored whether antisense oligonucleotides (AOs) could inhibit aberrant mRNA splicing in hiPSC-CMs.

Methods: We derived hiPSC-CMs from patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy due to MYBPC3 splice-gain variants, or an unresolved genetic cause. We used transcriptome sequencing of hiPSC-CM RNA to identify pathogenic splicing and used AOs to inhibit this splicing.

Results: Transcriptome sequencing of hiPSC-CMs confirmed aberrant splicing in 2 people with previously identified MYBPC3 splice-gain variants (c.1090+453C>T and c.1224-52G>A). In a patient with an unresolved genetic cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy following genome sequencing, transcriptome sequencing of hiPSC-CMs revealed diverse cryptic exon splicing due to an MYBPC3 c.1928-569G>T variant, and this was confirmed in cardiac tissue from an affected sibling. Antisense oligonucleotide treatment demonstrated almost complete inhibition of cryptic exon splicing in one patient-specific hiPSC-CM line.

Conclusions: Transcriptome sequencing of patient specific hiPSC-CMs solved a previously undiagnosed genetic cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and may be a useful adjunct approach to genetic testing. Antisense oligonucleotide inhibition of cryptic exon splicing is a potential future personalized therapeutic option.