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Ciliopathy variant burden and developmental delay in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Gabrielle C Geddes1, Karl Stamm2, Michael Mitchell2
1Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Insights
Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and developmental delay exhibit a significantly higher burden of ciliopathy gene variants. This finding suggests a potential genetic link between HLHS, developmental delay, and ciliopathies.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Developmental Biology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a complex congenital heart defect.
- Developmental delay can be associated with genetic disorders.
- Ciliopathies are a group of genetic disorders affecting cilia function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between ciliopathy gene variant burden and developmental delay in patients with HLHS.
- To test if a higher summative C-score in ciliopathy genes correlates with developmental delay in HLHS patients.
Main Methods:
- A summative C-score was calculated for 14 ciliopathy genes in 24 children with HLHS.
- Mean summative C-scores were compared between children with and without developmental delay.
- Randomized gene sets were used for scoring control.
Main Results:
- Children with developmental delay had a mean summative C-score of 4.05 in ciliopathy genes.
- Children without developmental delay had a mean summative C-score of 2.02.
- The observed difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Summative C-scores in ciliopathy genes can assess phenotypic risk in genetically complex disorders.
- Further replication may lead to a diagnostic panel for identifying developmental delay risk in infants with congenital heart disease.
Purpose:
To test the hypothesis that patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and developmental delay will have a higher average summative C-score in ciliopathy genes than patients with HLHS without developmental delay.
Methods:
Ciliopathy gene variant burden was determined utilizing a summative C-score for 14 ciliopathy genes in children with HLHS (n = 24). Mean summative C-scores were compared between children with and without developmental delay. Genome-wide randomizing gene sets were evaluated as a scoring control.
Results:
Children with developmental delay had a mean summative C-score of 4.05 in ciliopathy genes as compared to a mean summative C-score of 2.02 for children without developmental delay. This difference in means was higher than 99.1% (empirical P value <0.01) of 2 million random lists of 14 genes.
Conclusion:
Genetically complex disorders such as ciliopathies can be assessed to determine phenotypic risk with summative C-score in appropriately chosen gene sets. If these results are replicated in subsequent cohorts, a diagnostic gene panel could identify risk for developmental delay and other ciliopathy-related comorbidities in infants with congenital heart disease.Genet Med advance online publication 27 October 2016Genetics in Medicine (2016); doi:10.1038/gim.2016.167.
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