Britt Johnson

Britt Johnson


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 December 2020 in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
EREric T. Rush
Eric T. Rush
BJBritt Johnson
Britt Johnson
SASwaroop Aradhya
Swaroop Aradhya
DBDaniel Beltran
Daniel Beltran
SBSara Bristow
Sara Bristow
KDKathryn Dahir
Kathryn Dahir
X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), a dominant disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the PHEX gene, affects both sexes of all ages and results in elevated serum FGF23 and below-normal serum phosphate. In XLH, rickets, osteomalacia, short stature and lower limb deformity may be present with muscle pain and/or weakness/fatigue, bone pain, joint pain/stiffness, hearing difficulty, enthesopathy, osteoarthritis, and dental abscesses. Invitae and Ultragenyx collaborated to provide a no-charge sponsored testing program using a 13-gene next-generation sequencing panel to confirm clinical XLH or aid diagnosis of suspected XLH/other genetic hypophosphatemia. Individuals aged ≥6 months with clinical XLH or suspected genetic hypophosphatemia were eligible. Of 831 unrelated individuals tested between February 2019 and June 2020 in this cross-sectional study, 519 (62.5%) individuals had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in PHEX (PHEX-positive). Among the 312 PHEX-negative individuals, 38 received molecular diagnoses in other genes, including ALPL, CYP27B1, ENPP1 and FGF23; the remaining 274 did not have a molecular diagnosis. Among 319 patients with a provider-reported clinical diagnosis of XLH, 88.7% (n=283) had a reportable PHEX variant; 81.5% (n=260) were PHEX-positive. The most common variant among PHEX-positive individuals was an allele with both the gain of exons 13-15 and c.*231A>G (3’UTR variant) (n=66/519). Importantly, over 80% of copy number variants would have been missed by traditional microarray analysis. A positive molecular diagnosis in 41 probands (4.9%; 29 PHEX positive, 12 non-PHEX positive) resulted in at least one family member receiving family testing. Additional clinical or family member information resulted in VUS reclassification to P/LP in 48 individuals, highlighting the importance of segregation and clinical data. In one of the largest XLH genetic studies to date, 65 novel PHEX variants were identified and a high XLH diagnostic yield demonstrated broad insight into the genetic basis of XLH.