An OGT Missense Variant With Impaired Enzyme Activity in a Child With Severe Developmental Delay and Hepatoblastoma

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and its antagonist O-GlcNAcase (OGA) regulate protein O-GlcNAcylation, a highly conserved post-translational modification involved in metabolic sensing. Pathogenic variants in the OGT gene cause an X-linked congenital disorder of glycosylation (OGT-CDG) presenting developmental delay, hypotonia, intellectual disability, and dysmorphic features. Here, we report on a child with developmental delay, hypotonia, and dysmorphic features who was found to carry a hemizygous novel OGT variant. This child also developed hepatoblastoma by the age of 17 months. OGT-CDG was diagnosed by exome sequencing that identified a de novo missense variant in the OGT gene. Functional validation by Western blot on patient-derived fibroblasts showed reduced O-GlcNAcylation and OGA expression, while significantly reduced enzyme activity in vitro confirmed the pathogenicity of the variant. To date, no patients with OGT-CDGs have been reported with hepatoblastoma or other malignancies. Although the occurrence of hepatoblastoma in the proband might be coincidental, the role of O-GlcNAcylation in cancer suggests that the deficiency of OGT activity might be associated with increased cancer risk.