1
|
Smolin N, Dombrovski M, Hina BW, Moreno-Sanchez A, Gossart R, Carmona CR, Rehan A, Hussein RH, Mirshahidi P, Ausborn J, Kurmangaliyev YZ, von Reyn CR. Neuronal identity control at the resolution of a single transcription factor isoform. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.14.598883. [PMID: 38915533 PMCID: PMC11195191 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.14.598883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
The brain exhibits remarkable neuronal diversity which is critical for its functional integrity. From the sheer number of cell types emerging from extensive transcriptional, morphological, and connectome datasets, the question arises of how the brain is capable of generating so many unique identities. 'Terminal selectors' are transcription factors hypothesized to determine the final identity characteristics in post-mitotic cells. Which transcription factors function as terminal selectors and the level of control they exert over different terminal characteristics are not well defined. Here, we establish a novel role for the transcription factor broad as a terminal selector in Drosophila melanogaster. We capitalize on existing large sequencing and connectomics datasets and employ a comprehensive characterization of terminal characteristics including Perturb-seq and whole-cell electrophysiology. We find a single isoform broad-z4 serves as the switch between the identity of two visual projection neurons LPLC1 and LPLC2. Broad-z4 is natively expressed in LPLC1, and is capable of transforming the transcriptome, morphology, and functional connectivity of LPLC2 cells into LPLC1 cells when perturbed. Our comprehensive work establishes a single isoform as the smallest unit underlying an identity switch, which may serve as a conserved strategy replicated across developmental programs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Smolin
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Mark Dombrovski
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Bryce W. Hina
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Anthony Moreno-Sanchez
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Ryan Gossart
- Brandeis University, Department of Biology, Waltham, MA
| | | | - Aadil Rehan
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Roni H. Hussein
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Parmis Mirshahidi
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Jessica Ausborn
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | | | - Catherine R. von Reyn
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hu W, Wang M, Sun G, Zhang L, Lu H. Early B Cell Factor 3 (EBF3) attenuates Parkinson's disease through directly regulating contactin-associated protein-like 4 (CNTNAP4) transcription: An experimental study. Cell Signal 2024; 118:111139. [PMID: 38479556 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2024.111139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a gradually debilitating neurodegenerative syndrome. Here, we analyzed GSE7621 chip data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to explore the pathogenesis of PD. Early B Cell Factor 3 (EBF3), a member of the highly evolutionarily conserved EBF-transcription factor family, is involved in neuronal development. EBF3 expression is low in the substantia nigra of patients with PD. However, whether EBF3 is implicated in dopaminergic neuron death during PD has not yet been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to reveal the potential anti-apoptotic effect and molecular mechanism of EBF3 in PD. We established a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mouse model in vivo and a 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+)-induced SH-SY5Y cell model in vitro. EBF3 was downregulated in the substantia nigra of PD mice and SH-SY5Y cells treated with MPP+, and the m6A methylation modification level was low. Fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) siRNA upregulated m6A methylation modification of EBF3 and extended the EBF3 mRNA half-life. Functionally, as demonstrated by the results of the open-field test, pole test and gait analysis, EBF3 overexpression ameliorated MPTP-induced behavioral disorder. Further, EBF3 overexpression suppressed neuronal apoptosis in vivo, as evidenced by decreased TUNEL+ cells, and the increased activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Similar results were obtained in vitro, as reflected by increased cell viability, decreased LDH activity and restored mitochondrial function, collectively protecting SH-SY5Y cells from MPP+-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, the results of luciferase reporter, ch-IP and DNA pull-down assays confirmed that, as a transcription factor, EBF3 bound to the promoter of CNTNAP4 (a protein associated with neuronal differentiation) and directly regulated CNTNAP4 transcription. Strikingly, CNTNAP4 knockdown markedly abolished the effect of EBF3 on cell apoptosis, thus aggravating PD. In conclusion, the low level of m6A methylation modification may contribute to the low expression of EBF3 during PD. Additionally, EBF3 attenuates PD by activating CNTNAP4 transcription, suggesting that EBF3 may be a novel therapeutic target in PD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wentao Hu
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, China.
| | - Menghan Wang
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, China
| | - Guifang Sun
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, China
| | - Limin Zhang
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, China
| | - Hong Lu
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Morgan AT, Amor DJ, St John MD, Scheffer IE, Hildebrand MS. Genetic architecture of childhood speech disorder: a review. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:1281-1292. [PMID: 38366112 PMCID: PMC11189821 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02409-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Severe speech disorders lead to poor literacy, reduced academic attainment and negative psychosocial outcomes. As early as the 1950s, the familial nature of speech disorders was recognized, implying a genetic basis; but the molecular genetic basis remained unknown. In 2001, investigation of a large three generational family with severe speech disorder, known as childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), revealed the first causative gene; FOXP2. A long hiatus then followed for CAS candidate genes, but in the past three years, genetic analysis of cohorts ascertained for CAS have revealed over 30 causative genes. A total of 36 pathogenic variants have been identified from 122 cases across 3 cohorts in this nascent field. All genes identified have been in coding regions to date, with no apparent benefit at this stage for WGS over WES in identifying monogenic conditions associated with CAS. Hence current findings suggest a remarkable one in three children have a genetic variant that explains their CAS, with significant genetic heterogeneity emerging. Around half of the candidate genes identified are currently supported by medium (6 genes) to strong (9 genes) evidence supporting the association between the gene and CAS. Despite genetic heterogeneity; many implicated proteins functionally converge on pathways involved in chromatin modification or transcriptional regulation, opening the door to precision diagnosis and therapies. Most of the new candidate genes for CAS are associated with previously described neurodevelopmental conditions that include intellectual disability, autism and epilepsy; broadening the phenotypic spectrum to a distinctly milder presentation defined by primary speech disorder in the setting of normal intellect. Insights into the genetic bases of CAS, a severe, rare speech disorder, are yet to translate to understanding the heritability of more common, typically milder forms of speech or language impairment such as stuttering or phonological disorder. These disorders likely follow complex inheritance with polygenic contributions in many cases, rather than the monogenic patterns that underly one-third of patients with CAS. Clinical genetic testing for should now be implemented for individuals with CAS, given its high diagnostic rate, which parallels many other neurodevelopmental disorders where this testing is already standard of care. The shared mechanisms implicated by gene discovery for CAS highlight potential new targets for future precision therapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angela T Morgan
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
- Speech Pathology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
- Speech Pathology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - David J Amor
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Miya D St John
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Speech Pathology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Ingrid E Scheffer
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Epilepsy Research Centre, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Michael S Hildebrand
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Epilepsy Research Centre, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Yamada S, Ou T, Nachadalingam S, Yang S, Johnson AN. An in vivo platform to identify pathogenic loci. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.01.565153. [PMID: 37961172 PMCID: PMC10635058 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.01.565153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Rare genetic disease discovery efforts typically lead to the identification of new disease genes. PreMIER ( Pre cision M edicine Integrated E xperimental R esources) is a collaborative platform designed to facilitate functional evaluation of human genetic variants in model systems, and to date the PreMIER Consortium has evaluated over 50 variants in patients with genetic disorders. To understand if Drosophila could be used to identify pathogenic disease loci as part of the PreMIER Consortium, we used tissue-specific gene knockdown in the fly as a proof of principle experiment. Tissue-specific knockdown of seven conserved disease genes caused significant changes in viability, longevity, behavior, motor function, and neuronal survival arguing a set of defined assays can be used to determine if a gene of uncertain significance (GUS) regulates specific physiological processes. This study highlights the utility of a tissue-specific knockdown platform in Drosophila to characterize GUS, which may provide the first genephenotype correlations for patients with idiopathic genetic disorders.
Collapse
|
5
|
Destain H, Prahlad M, Kratsios P. Maintenance of neuronal identity in C. elegans and beyond: Lessons from transcription and chromatin factors. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2024; 154:35-47. [PMID: 37438210 PMCID: PMC10592372 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2023.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Neurons are remarkably long-lived, non-dividing cells that must maintain their functional features (e.g., electrical properties, chemical signaling) for extended periods of time - decades in humans. How neurons accomplish this incredible feat is poorly understood. Here, we review recent advances, primarily in the nematode C. elegans, that have enhanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that enable post-mitotic neurons to maintain their functionality across different life stages. We begin with "terminal selectors" - transcription factors necessary for the establishment and maintenance of neuronal identity. We highlight new findings on five terminal selectors (CHE-1 [Glass], UNC-3 [Collier/Ebf1-4], LIN-39 [Scr/Dfd/Hox4-5], UNC-86 [Acj6/Brn3a-c], AST-1 [Etv1/ER81]) from different transcription factor families (ZNF, COE, HOX, POU, ETS). We compare the functions of these factors in specific neuron types of C. elegans with the actions of their orthologs in other invertebrate (D. melanogaster) and vertebrate (M. musculus) systems, highlighting remarkable functional conservation. Finally, we reflect on recent findings implicating chromatin-modifying proteins, such as histone methyltransferases and Polycomb proteins, in the control of neuronal terminal identity. Altogether, these new studies on transcription factors and chromatin modifiers not only shed light on the fundamental problem of neuronal identity maintenance, but also outline mechanistic principles of gene regulation that may operate in other long-lived, post-mitotic cell types.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Honorine Destain
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Committee on Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Chicago Neuroscience Institute, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Manasa Prahlad
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Committee on Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Chicago Neuroscience Institute, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Paschalis Kratsios
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Committee on Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Committee on Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Chicago Neuroscience Institute, Chicago, IL, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Paul MS, Michener SL, Pan H, Chan H, Pfliger JM, Rosenfeld JA, Lerma VC, Tran A, Longley MA, Lewis RA, Weisz-Hubshman M, Bekheirnia MR, Bekheirnia N, Massingham L, Zech M, Wagner M, Engels H, Cremer K, Mangold E, Peters S, Trautmann J, Mester JL, Guillen Sacoto MJ, Person R, McDonnell PP, Cohen SR, Lusk L, Cohen ASA, Le Pichon JB, Pastinen T, Zhou D, Engleman K, Racine C, Faivre L, Moutton S, Denommé-Pichon AS, Koh HY, Poduri A, Bolton J, Knopp C, Julia Suh DS, Maier A, Toosi MB, Karimiani EG, Maroofian R, Schaefer GB, Ramakumaran V, Vasudevan P, Prasad C, Osmond M, Schuhmann S, Vasileiou G, Russ-Hall S, Scheffer IE, Carvill GL, Mefford H, Bacino CA, Lee BH, Chao HT. A syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by rare variants in PPFIA3. Am J Hum Genet 2024; 111:96-118. [PMID: 38181735 PMCID: PMC10806447 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
PPFIA3 encodes the protein-tyrosine phosphatase, receptor-type, F-polypeptide-interacting-protein-alpha-3 (PPFIA3), which is a member of the LAR-protein-tyrosine phosphatase-interacting-protein (liprin) family involved in synapse formation and function, synaptic vesicle transport, and presynaptic active zone assembly. The protein structure and function are evolutionarily well conserved, but human diseases related to PPFIA3 dysfunction are not yet reported in OMIM. Here, we report 20 individuals with rare PPFIA3 variants (19 heterozygous and 1 compound heterozygous) presenting with developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, dysmorphisms, microcephaly or macrocephaly, autistic features, and epilepsy with reduced penetrance. Seventeen unique PPFIA3 variants were detected in 18 families. To determine the pathogenicity of PPFIA3 variants in vivo, we generated transgenic fruit flies producing either human wild-type (WT) PPFIA3 or five missense variants using GAL4-UAS targeted gene expression systems. In the fly overexpression assays, we found that the PPFIA3 variants in the region encoding the N-terminal coiled-coil domain exhibited stronger phenotypes compared to those affecting the C-terminal region. In the loss-of-function fly assay, we show that the homozygous loss of fly Liprin-α leads to embryonic lethality. This lethality is partially rescued by the expression of human PPFIA3 WT, suggesting human PPFIA3 function is partially conserved in the fly. However, two of the tested variants failed to rescue the lethality at the larval stage and one variant failed to rescue lethality at the adult stage. Altogether, the human and fruit fly data reveal that the rare PPFIA3 variants are dominant-negative loss-of-function alleles that perturb multiple developmental processes and synapse formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maimuna S Paul
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sydney L Michener
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hongling Pan
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hiuling Chan
- Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA; Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, USA; Summer Undergraduate Research Training (SMART) Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jessica M Pfliger
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Graduate Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jill A Rosenfeld
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Vanesa C Lerma
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Alyssa Tran
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Megan A Longley
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Richard A Lewis
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Monika Weisz-Hubshman
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mir Reza Bekheirnia
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Renal Genetics Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nasim Bekheirnia
- Renal Genetics Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Lauren Massingham
- Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Michael Zech
- Institute of Neurogenomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, School of Medicine, Technical University, Munich, Germany; Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
| | - Matias Wagner
- Institute of Neurogenomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, School of Medicine, Technical University, Munich, Germany; Division of Pediatric Neurology, Developmental Neurology and Social Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Munich, Germany
| | - Hartmut Engels
- Institute of Human Genetics, School of Medicine, University Hospital Bonn, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Kirsten Cremer
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Developmental Neurology and Social Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Munich, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Mangold
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Developmental Neurology and Social Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Munich, Germany
| | - Sophia Peters
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Developmental Neurology and Social Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Munich, Germany
| | - Jessica Trautmann
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Developmental Neurology and Social Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Munich, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Pamela P McDonnell
- Epilepsy NeuroGenetics Initiative (ENGIN), Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Stacey R Cohen
- Epilepsy NeuroGenetics Initiative (ENGIN), Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Laina Lusk
- Epilepsy NeuroGenetics Initiative (ENGIN), Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ana S A Cohen
- Children's Mercy Kansas City, Genomic Medicine Center, The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | | | - Tomi Pastinen
- Children's Mercy Kansas City, Genomic Medicine Center, The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA; Children's Mercy Research Institute, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Dihong Zhou
- Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | | | - Caroline Racine
- University Hospital, Dijon, France; INSERM UMR1231 GAD "Génétique des Anomalies Du Développement," FHU-TRANSLAD, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France; Functional Unit for Diagnostic Innovation in Rare Diseases, FHU-TRANSLAD, Dijon Bourgogne, France
| | - Laurence Faivre
- Functional Unit for Diagnostic Innovation in Rare Diseases, FHU-TRANSLAD, Dijon Bourgogne, France; Department of Genetics and Reference Center for Development Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities, FHU-TRANSLAD and GIMI Institute, Dijon Bourgogne University Hospital, Dijon, France
| | - Sébastien Moutton
- Functional Unit for Diagnostic Innovation in Rare Diseases, FHU-TRANSLAD, Dijon Bourgogne, France; Department of Genetics and Reference Center for Development Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities, FHU-TRANSLAD and GIMI Institute, Dijon Bourgogne University Hospital, Dijon, France
| | - Anne-Sophie Denommé-Pichon
- University Hospital, Dijon, France; INSERM UMR1231 GAD "Génétique des Anomalies Du Développement," FHU-TRANSLAD, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France; Functional Unit for Diagnostic Innovation in Rare Diseases, FHU-TRANSLAD, Dijon Bourgogne, France
| | - Hyun Yong Koh
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Annapurna Poduri
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Bolton
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cordula Knopp
- Institute for Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH, Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Dong Sun Julia Suh
- Institute for Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH, Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Andrea Maier
- Medical Treatment Center for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and/or Severe Multiple Disabilities (MZEB), RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mehran Beiraghi Toosi
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Neuroscience Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Ehsan Ghayoor Karimiani
- Department of Medical Genetics, Next Generation Genetic Polyclinic, Mashhad, Iran; Molecular and Clinical Sciences Institute, St. George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK
| | - Reza Maroofian
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | | | | | - Pradeep Vasudevan
- LNR Genomics Medicine, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Chitra Prasad
- London Health Sciences Centre, and Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Matthew Osmond
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah Schuhmann
- Institute of Human Genetics, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Georgia Vasileiou
- Institute of Human Genetics, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sophie Russ-Hall
- Epilepsy Research Centre, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin Health, VIC, Australia
| | - Ingrid E Scheffer
- Epilepsy Research Centre, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin Health, VIC, Australia; Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Florey and Murdoch Children's Research Institutes, VIC, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gemma L Carvill
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Heather Mefford
- Center for Pediatric Neurological Disease Research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Carlos A Bacino
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Brendan H Lee
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hsiao-Tuan Chao
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; McNair Medical Institute, The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, Houston, TX, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Saleh O, Albakri K, Altiti A, Abutair I, Shalan S, Mohd OB, Negida A, Mushtaq G, Kamal MA. The Role of Non-coding RNAs in Alzheimer's Disease: Pathogenesis, Novel Biomarkers, and Potential Therapeutic Targets. CNS & NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS DRUG TARGETS 2024; 23:731-745. [PMID: 37211844 DOI: 10.2174/1871527322666230519113201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs) are regulatory RNA transcripts that have recently been associated with the onset of many neurodegenerative illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several IncRNAs have been found to be associated with AD pathophysiology, each with a distinct mechanism. In this review, we focused on the role of IncRNAs in the pathogenesis of AD and their potential as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Searching for relevant articles was done using the PubMed and Cochrane library databases. Studies had to be published in full text in English in order to be considered. Some IncRNAs were found to be upregulated, while others were downregulated. Dysregulation of IncRNAs expression may contribute to AD pathogenesis. Their effects manifest as the synthesis of beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques increases, thereby altering neuronal plasticity, inducing inflammation, and promoting apoptosis. Despite the need for more investigations, IncRNAs could potentially increase the sensitivity of early detection of AD. Until now, there has been no effective treatment for AD. Hence, InRNAs are promising molecules and may serve as potential therapeutic targets. Although several dysregulated AD-associated lncRNAs have been discovered, the functional characterization of most lncRNAs is still lacking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Othman Saleh
- Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Khaled Albakri
- Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
- Medical Research Group of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
| | | | - Iser Abutair
- Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Suhaib Shalan
- Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | | | - Ahmed Negida
- Medical Research Group of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 641 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
- Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Gohar Mushtaq
- Center for Scientific Research, Faculty of Medicine, Idlib University, Idlib, Syria
| | - Mohammad A Kamal
- Institutes for Systems Genetics, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China
- King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Daffodil International University, Daffodil Smart City, Birulia 1216, Bangladesh
- Enzymoics, 7 Peterlee place, Hebersham, NSW 2770, Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebersham, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Yamamoto S, Kanca O, Wangler MF, Bellen HJ. Integrating non-mammalian model organisms in the diagnosis of rare genetic diseases in humans. Nat Rev Genet 2024; 25:46-60. [PMID: 37491400 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-023-00633-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Next-generation sequencing technology has rapidly accelerated the discovery of genetic variants of interest in individuals with rare diseases. However, showing that these variants are causative of the disease in question is complex and may require functional studies. Use of non-mammalian model organisms - mainly fruitflies (Drosophila melanogaster), nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) - enables the rapid and cost-effective assessment of the effects of gene variants, which can then be validated in mammalian model organisms such as mice and in human cells. By probing mechanisms of gene action and identifying interacting genes and proteins in vivo, recent studies in these non-mammalian model organisms have facilitated the diagnosis of numerous genetic diseases and have enabled the screening and identification of therapeutic options for patients. Studies in non-mammalian model organisms have also shown that the biological processes underlying rare diseases can provide insight into more common mechanisms of disease and the biological functions of genes. Here, we discuss the opportunities afforded by non-mammalian model organisms, focusing on flies, worms and fish, and provide examples of their use in the diagnosis of rare genetic diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shinya Yamamoto
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Oguz Kanca
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Michael F Wangler
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Hugo J Bellen
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Batie SF, Ashbrook CQ, Coco CT, Baker LA, Stanasel I. Urologic manifestations of hypotonia, ataxia, and delayed development syndrome (HADDS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. J Pediatr Urol 2023; 19:751.e1-751.e9. [PMID: 37718233 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Early B-cell factor 3 (EBF3) is a transcription factor involved in neuronal differentiation and maturation. Pathogenic variants are associated with hypotonia, ataxia, and delayed development syndrome (HADDS) (MIM#617330). Urologic manifestations are common and may have implications regarding long term renal function. OBJECTIVE To review all known patients with pathogenic variants of the EBF3 gene resulting in HADDS with urologic manifestations. We hypothesize a high rate of bladder dysfunction secondary to the EBF3 variant's impact on relaxation of the urinary sphincter leading to detrusor sphincter dyssynergia (DSD). METHODS The PubMed database was queried for publications of the EBF3 mutation between January 2017 and January 2023. Search terms were "EBF3 mutation OR HADDS AND urology OR phenotype". Retrospective analysis of HADDS patients cared for in our institution was performed. Demographic and clinical information was collected. RESULTS We identified 52 patients (33F:19M) through literature (28F:18M) and retrospective review (5F:1M). There was a high prevalence of genitourinary physical exam abnormalities, history of urinary tract infection, vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), and diagnosis of neurogenic bladder. Within the literature review cohort, 67% had a urologic diagnosis. Females were disproportionately affected with urologic manifestations. In our cohort, four of six children were diagnosed with VUR and severe voiding dysfunction consistent with neurogenic bladder (67%). These children were managed with a vesicostomy. Five children had bowel dysfunction requiring therapy. Urodynamics suggested a high prevalence of external sphincter dyssynergia. Less severe forms of DSD were felt to be implicated in the abnormal voiding parameters in children who presented later in life based on non-invasive flow studies. DISCUSSION There is significant variability in the phenotypic presentation of patients with HADDS. While EBF3 plays a clear role in neurodevelopment, it also impacts muscle development and may impact muscle relaxation. The location of the genetic variant may impact the degree of DSD, with more severe forms leading to earlier presentations. Initial work-up should include a renal ultrasound (RUS) and post void residual (PVR). Consideration can be given to obtaining a VCUG, DMSA scan or urodynamic studies. Yearly screening should be pursued with an RUS and PVR in those with an initial unremarkable work-up given the variable timing and severity of presentation. CONCLUSION Urologic manifestations of HADDS include high rates of bladder dysfunction secondary to DSD, vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract infection, and cryptorchidism. These patients are at risk of renal deterioration if urinary abnormalities are not properly diagnosed and managed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shane F Batie
- Division of Pediatric Urology, Children's Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
| | - Caleb Q Ashbrook
- Division of Pediatric Urology, Children's Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Caitlin T Coco
- Division of Pediatric Urology, Children's Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Linda A Baker
- Division of Pediatric Urology, Children's Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Irina Stanasel
- Division of Pediatric Urology, Children's Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
McFadden JR, Tolete CDP, Huang Y, Macnamara E, Sept D, Nesterova G, Gahl WA, Sackett DL, Malicdan MCV. Clinical, genetic, and structural characterization of a novel TUBB4B tubulinopathy. Mol Genet Metab Rep 2023; 36:100990. [PMID: 37448631 PMCID: PMC10336574 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgmr.2023.100990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Microtubules are cytoskeletal polymers of ⍺/β-tubulin heterodimers essential for a wide range of cellular processes. Pathogenic variations in microtubule-encoding genes (e.g., TUBB4B, which encodes the β-4B tubulin isotype) are responsible for a wide spectrum of cerebral malformations, collectively referred to as "tubulinopathies." The phenotypic manifestation of TUBB4B-associated tubulinopathy is Leber congenital amaurosis with early-onset deafness (LCAEOD), an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by photoreceptor and cochlear cell loss; all known patients have pathogenic variations in amino acid R391. We present the clinical and molecular genetics findings of a 16-year-old female with a de novo missense variant in exon 1 of TUBB4B, c.32 A > G (p.Gln11Arg; Q11R). In addition to hearing loss and hyperopia without retinal abnormalities, our proband presented with two phenotypes of unknown genetic etiology, i.e., renal tubular Fanconi Syndrome (FS) and hypophosphatemic rickets (HR). The Q11R variant expands the genetic basis of early sensory hearing loss; its consequences with respect to microtubule structure are described. A mechanistic explanation for the FS and rickets, involving microtubule-mediated translocation of transporter proteins to and from the apical membrane of renal proximal tubular cells, is proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jason R. McFadden
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Christina Deanne P. Tolete
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yan Huang
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ellen Macnamara
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - David Sept
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Galina Nesterova
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - William A. Gahl
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1851, USA
| | - Dan L. Sackett
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - May Christine V. Malicdan
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1851, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Cacheiro P, Smedley D. Essential genes: a cross-species perspective. Mamm Genome 2023; 34:357-363. [PMID: 36897351 PMCID: PMC10382395 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-023-09984-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Protein coding genes exhibit different degrees of intolerance to loss-of-function variation. The most intolerant genes, whose function is essential for cell or/and organism survival, inform on fundamental biological processes related to cell proliferation and organism development and provide a window on the molecular mechanisms of human disease. Here we present a brief overview of the resources and knowledge gathered around gene essentiality, from cancer cell lines to model organisms to human development. We outline the implications of using different sources of evidence and definitions to determine which genes are essential and highlight how information on the essentiality status of a gene can inform novel disease gene discovery and therapeutic target identification.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Cacheiro
- William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Damian Smedley
- William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Yankee TN, Oh S, Winchester EW, Wilderman A, Robinson K, Gordon T, Rosenfeld JA, VanOudenhove J, Scott DA, Leslie EJ, Cotney J. Integrative analysis of transcriptome dynamics during human craniofacial development identifies candidate disease genes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4623. [PMID: 37532691 PMCID: PMC10397224 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40363-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Craniofacial disorders arise in early pregnancy and are one of the most common congenital defects. To fully understand how craniofacial disorders arise, it is essential to characterize gene expression during the patterning of the craniofacial region. To address this, we performed bulk and single-cell RNA-seq on human craniofacial tissue from 4-8 weeks post conception. Comparisons to dozens of other human tissues revealed 239 genes most strongly expressed during craniofacial development. Craniofacial-biased developmental enhancers were enriched +/- 400 kb surrounding these craniofacial-biased genes. Gene co-expression analysis revealed that regulatory hubs are enriched for known disease causing genes and are resistant to mutation in the normal healthy population. Combining transcriptomic and epigenomic data we identified 539 genes likely to contribute to craniofacial disorders. While most have not been previously implicated in craniofacial disorders, we demonstrate this set of genes has increased levels of de novo mutations in orofacial clefting patients warranting further study.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tara N Yankee
- Graduate Program in Genetics and Developmental Biology, UConn Health, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Sungryong Oh
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | | | - Andrea Wilderman
- Graduate Program in Genetics and Developmental Biology, UConn Health, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Kelsey Robinson
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Tia Gordon
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Jill A Rosenfeld
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Baylor Genetics Laboratory, Houston, TX, 77021, USA
| | - Jennifer VanOudenhove
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Daryl A Scott
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Leslie
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Justin Cotney
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA.
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Ciaccio C, Pantaleoni C, Moscatelli M, Chiapparini L, Nigro V, Valente EM, Sciacca F, Canafoglia L, Bulgheroni S, D'Arrigo S. Neurologic, Neuropsychologic, and Neuroradiologic Features of EBF3-Related Syndrome. NEUROLOGY GENETICS 2023; 9:e200049. [PMID: 37090941 PMCID: PMC10117703 DOI: 10.1212/nxg.0000000000200049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Background and ObjectivesHeterozygous mutations or deletions of theEBF3gene are known to cause a syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, neurodevelopmental disorders, facial dysmorphisms, hypotonia, and ataxia; the latter is quite common despite in most patients brain MRI is reported to be normal. Despite the predominant neurologic involvement ofEBF3-related syndrome, a systematic definition of neurologic, cognitive/behavioral, and neuroradiologic features is lacking.MethodsWe report on 6 patients (2 females and 4 males, age range 2–12 years), of whom 4 carrying a heterozygous point mutation of theEBF3gene and 2 with 10q26 deletion encompassing the gene, diagnosed at Carlo Besta Neurologic Institute of Milan, Italy. Clinical evaluation was performed by a pediatric neurologist and pediatric dysmorphologist; ataxia severity was rated by Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA); brain MRIs were reviewed by expert neuroradiologists; general quotient levels were obtained through standardized Griffiths Mental Development Scales. Patients carrying a 10q26.3 deletion were diagnosed by array-CGH, whereasEBF3variants were detected by whole exome sequencing.ResultsPhenotype was consistent in all patients, but with wide variability in severity. Developmental milestones were invariably delayed and resulted in an extremely variable cognitive impairment. All patients showed ataxic signs, as confirmed by SARA scores, often associated with hypotonia. Brain MRI revealed in all children a cerebellar malformation with vermis hypoplasia and a peculiar foliation anomaly characterized by a radial disposition of cerebellar folia (dandelion sign). Neurophysiologic examinations were unremarkable.DiscussionEBF3-related syndrome has been so far described as a neurodevelopmental condition with dysmorphic traits, with limited emphasis on the neurologic features; we highlight the predominant neurologic involvement of these patients, which can be explained at least in part by the underlying cerebellar malformation. We therefore propose thatEBF3-related syndrome should be classified and treated as a congenital, nonprogressive ataxia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Ciaccio
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Pantaleoni
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Moscatelli
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Luisa Chiapparini
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Nigro
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Enza Maria Valente
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Sciacca
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Canafoglia
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Bulgheroni
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano D'Arrigo
- Department of Pediatric Neurosciences (C.C., C.P., S.B., S.D.A.), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Neuroradiology Unit (M.M., Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano; Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (M.M.), University of Milan; Neuroradiology Unit (Luisa Chiapparini), Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) (V.N.), Pozzuoli; Department of Precision Medicine (V.N.), Università Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples; Department of Molecular Medicine (E.M.V.), University of Pavia, Pavia; Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics Lab-Neurogenetics Research Center (E.M.V.), IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia; Laboratory of Cytogenetics (F.S.), Unit of Neurological Biochemistry and Neuropharmacology, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan; and Integrated Diagnostics for Epilepsy (Laura Canafoglia), Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Paul MS, Michener SL, Pan H, Pfliger JM, Rosenfeld JA, Lerma VC, Tran A, Longley MA, Lewis RA, Weisz-Hubshman M, Bekheirnia MR, Bekheirnia N, Massingham L, Zech M, Wagner M, Engels H, Cremer K, Mangold E, Peters S, Trautmann J, Mester JL, Guillen Sacoto MJ, Person R, McDonnell PP, Cohen SR, Lusk L, Cohen ASA, Pichon JBL, Pastinen T, Zhou D, Engleman K, Racine C, Faivre L, Moutton S, Pichon ASD, Schuhmann S, Vasileiou G, Russ-Hall S, Scheffer IE, Carvill GL, Mefford H, Network UD, Bacino CA, Lee BH, Chao HT. Rare variants in PPFIA3 cause delayed development, intellectual disability, autism, and epilepsy. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.03.27.23287689. [PMID: 37034625 PMCID: PMC10081396 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.27.23287689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
PPFIA3 encodes the Protein-Tyrosine Phosphatase, Receptor-Type, F Polypeptide-Interacting Protein Alpha-3 (PPFIA3), which is a member of the LAR protein-tyrosine phosphatase-interacting protein (liprin) family involved in synaptic vesicle transport and presynaptic active zone assembly. The protein structure and function are well conserved in both invertebrates and vertebrates, but human diseases related to PPFIA3 dysfunction are not yet known. Here, we report 14 individuals with rare mono-allelic PPFIA3 variants presenting with features including developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, autism, and epilepsy. To determine the pathogenicity of PPFIA3 variants in vivo , we generated transgenic fruit flies expressing either human PPFIA3 wildtype (WT) or variant protein using GAL4-UAS targeted gene expression systems. Ubiquitous expression with Actin-GAL4 showed that the PPFIA3 variants had variable penetrance of pupal lethality, eclosion defects, and anatomical leg defects. Neuronal expression with elav-GAL4 showed that the PPFIA3 variants had seizure-like behaviors, motor defects, and bouton loss at the 3 rd instar larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Altogether, in the fly overexpression assays, we found that the PPFIA3 variants in the N-terminal coiled coil domain exhibited stronger phenotypes compared to those in the C-terminal region. In the loss-of-function fly assay, we show that the homozygous loss of fly Liprin- α leads to embryonic lethality. This lethality is partially rescued by the expression of human PPFIA3 WT, suggesting human PPFIA3 protein function is partially conserved in the fly. However, the PPFIA3 variants failed to rescue lethality. Altogether, the human and fruit fly data reveal that the rare PPFIA3 variants are dominant negative loss-of-function alleles that perturb multiple developmental processes and synapse formation.
Collapse
|
15
|
Paul MS, Duncan AR, Genetti CA, Pan H, Jackson A, Grant PE, Shi J, Pinelli M, Brunetti-Pierri N, Garza-Flores A, Shahani D, Saneto RP, Zampino G, Leoni C, Agolini E, Novelli A, Blümlein U, Haack TB, Heinritz W, Matzker E, Alhaddad B, Abou Jamra R, Bartolomaeus T, AlHamdan S, Carapito R, Isidor B, Bahram S, Ritter A, Izumi K, Shakked BP, Barel O, Ben Zeev B, Begtrup A, Carere DA, Mullegama SV, Palculict TB, Calame DG, Schwan K, Aycinena ARP, Traberg R, Douzgou S, Pirt H, Ismayilova N, Banka S, Chao HT, Agrawal PB. Rare EIF4A2 variants are associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disability, hypotonia, and epilepsy. Am J Hum Genet 2023; 110:120-145. [PMID: 36528028 PMCID: PMC9892767 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic initiation factor-4A2 (EIF4A2) is an ATP-dependent RNA helicase and a member of the DEAD-box protein family that recognizes the 5' cap structure of mRNAs, allows mRNA to bind to the ribosome, and plays an important role in microRNA-regulated gene repression. Here, we report on 15 individuals from 14 families presenting with global developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, epilepsy, and structural brain anomalies, all of whom have extremely rare de novo mono-allelic or inherited bi-allelic variants in EIF4A2. Neurodegeneration was predominantly reported in individuals with bi-allelic variants. Molecular modeling predicts these variants would perturb structural interactions in key protein domains. To determine the pathogenicity of the EIF4A2 variants in vivo, we examined the mono-allelic variants in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) and identified variant-specific behavioral and developmental defects. The fruit fly homolog of EIF4A2 is eIF4A, a negative regulator of decapentaplegic (dpp) signaling that regulates embryo patterning, eye and wing morphogenesis, and stem cell identity determination. Our loss-of-function (LOF) rescue assay demonstrated a pupal lethality phenotype induced by loss of eIF4A, which was fully rescued with human EIF4A2 wild-type (WT) cDNA expression. In comparison, the EIF4A2 variant cDNAs failed or incompletely rescued the lethality. Overall, our findings reveal that EIF4A2 variants cause a genetic neurodevelopmental syndrome with both LOF and gain of function as underlying mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maimuna S Paul
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Anna R Duncan
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Neonatology and Newborn Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Casie A Genetti
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hongling Pan
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Adam Jackson
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK; Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Patricia E Grant
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jiahai Shi
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Michele Pinelli
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Italy; Department of Translational Medicine, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Nicola Brunetti-Pierri
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Italy; Department of Translational Medicine, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | | | - Dave Shahani
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Cook Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, TX 76104, USA
| | - Russell P Saneto
- Neuroscience Institute, Center for Integrative Brain Research, Departments of Pediatric Neurology and Neurology Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Giuseppe Zampino
- Center for Rare Diseases and Birth Defects, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy; Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Leoni
- Center for Rare Diseases and Birth Defects, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy
| | - Emanuele Agolini
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Translational Cytogenomics Research Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Novelli
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Translational Cytogenomics Research Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Ulrike Blümlein
- Department of Pediatrics, Carl-Thiem-Klinikum Cottbus, Cottbus, Germany
| | - Tobias B Haack
- Institute of Human Genetics, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | | | - Eva Matzker
- Department of Pediatrics, Carl-Thiem-Klinikum Cottbus, Cottbus, Germany
| | - Bader Alhaddad
- Institute of Human Genetics, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Rami Abou Jamra
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Bartolomaeus
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Raphael Carapito
- Laboratoire 'ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Plateforme GENOMAX, INSERM UMR_S 1109, Faculté de Médecine, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire OMICARE, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), ITI TRANSPLANTEX NG, Université de Strasbourg, 67085 Strasbourg, France; Service d'Immunologie Biologique, Plateau Technique de Biologie, Pôle de Biologie, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 Place de l'Hôpital, 67091, Strasbourg, France
| | - Bertrand Isidor
- Service de Génétique Médicale, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Seiamak Bahram
- Laboratoire 'ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Plateforme GENOMAX, INSERM UMR_S 1109, Faculté de Médecine, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire OMICARE, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), ITI TRANSPLANTEX NG, Université de Strasbourg, 67085 Strasbourg, France; Service d'Immunologie Biologique, Plateau Technique de Biologie, Pôle de Biologie, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 Place de l'Hôpital, 67091, Strasbourg, France
| | - Alyssa Ritter
- Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kosuke Izumi
- Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ben Pode Shakked
- Pediatric Neurology Department, The Edmond and Lilly Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Ortal Barel
- Pediatric Neurology Department, The Edmond and Lilly Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
| | - Bruria Ben Zeev
- Pediatric Neurology Department, The Edmond and Lilly Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Amber Begtrup
- Clinical Genomics Program, GeneDx, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, USA
| | | | | | | | - Daniel G Calame
- Section of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | | | - Rasa Traberg
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kauno klinikos, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Sofia Douzgou
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK; Department of Medical Genetics, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Harrison Pirt
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK
| | - Naila Ismayilova
- Department of Paediatric Neurology, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Siddharth Banka
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK; Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Hsiao-Tuan Chao
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; McNair Medical Institute, The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Pankaj B Agrawal
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Fragoso-Bargas N, Page CM, Joubert BR, London SJ, Lee-Ødegård S, Opsahl JO, Sletner L, Jenum AK, Qvigstad E, Prasad RB, Moen GH, Birkeland KI, Sommer C. Epigenome-wide association study of serum folate in maternal peripheral blood leukocytes. Epigenomics 2023; 15:39-52. [PMID: 36974632 PMCID: PMC10072132 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2022-0427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: To perform an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of serum folate in maternal blood. Methods: Cross-ancestry (Europeans = 302, South Asians = 161) and ancestry-specific EWAS in the EPIPREG cohort were performed, followed by methyl quantitative trait loci analysis and association with cardiometabolic phenotypes. Replication was attempted using maternal folate intake and blood methylation data from the MoBa study and verified if the findings were significant in a previous EWAS of maternal serum folate in cord blood. Results & conclusion: cg19888088 (cross-ancestry) in EBF3, cg01952260 (Europeans) and cg07077240 (South Asians) in HERC3 were associated with serum folate. cg19888088 and cg01952260 were associated with diastolic blood pressure. cg07077240 was associated with variants in CASC15. The findings were not replicated and were not significant in cord blood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Fragoso-Bargas
- Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity & Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 0424, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christian M Page
- Centre for Fertility & Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0403, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics & Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, 0315, Oslo, Norway
| | - Bonnie R Joubert
- Department of Health & Human Services, Population Health Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC 27709, USA
| | - Stephanie J London
- Department of Health & Human Services, Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Sindre Lee-Ødegård
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
| | - Julia O Opsahl
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
| | - Line Sletner
- Department of Pediatric & Adolescents Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, 1478, Lørenskog, Norway
| | - Anne K Jenum
- Department of General Practice, Institute of Health & Society, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elisabeth Qvigstad
- Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity & Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 0424, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
| | - Rashmi B Prasad
- Lund University Diabetes Centre, 214 28, Malmö, Sweden
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM, Helsinki University, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Gunn-Helen Moen
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
- Department of Public Health & Nursing, K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
- The Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, 4102, Woolloongabba, Australia
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, BS8 1QU, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Kåre I Birkeland
- Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity & Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 0424, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0318, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christine Sommer
- Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity & Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 0424, Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Zhu J, Li W, Yu S, Lu W, Xu Q, Wang S, Qian Y, Guo Q, Xu S, Wang Y, Zhang P, Zhao X, Ni Q, Liu R, Li X, Wu B, Zhou S, Wang H. Further delineation of EBF3-related syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder in twelve Chinese patients. Front Pediatr 2023; 11:1091532. [PMID: 36937983 PMCID: PMC10020332 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2023.1091532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) have heterogeneity in both clinical characteristics and genetic factors. EBF3 is a recently discovered gene associated with a syndromic form of NDDs characterized by hypotonia, ataxia and facial features. In this study, we report twelve unrelated individuals with EBF3 variants using next-generation sequencing. Five missense variants (four novel variants and one known variant) and seven copy number variations (CNVs) of EBF3 gene were identified. All of these patients exhibited developmental delay/intellectual disability. Ataxia was observed in 33% (6/9) of the patients, and abnormal muscle tone was observed in 55% (6/11) of the patients. Aberrant MRI reports were noted in 64% (7/11) of the patients. Four novel missense variants were all located in the DNA-binding domain. The pathogenicity of these variants was validated by in vitro experiments. We found that the subcellular protein localization of the R152C and F211L mutants was changed, and the distribution pattern of the R163G mutant was changed from even to granular. Luciferase assay results showed that the four EBF3 mutants' transcriptional activities were all significantly decreased (p < 0.01). Our study further expanded the gene mutation spectrum of EBF3-related NDD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jitao Zhu
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenhui Li
- Neurology Department, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Sha Yu
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Lu
- Department of Endocrinology and Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiong Xu
- Department of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Sujuan Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanyan Qian
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiufang Guo
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Suzhen Xu
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Yao Wang
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Ping Zhang
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuemei Zhao
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Qi Ni
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Renchao Liu
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Xu Li
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Bingbing Wu
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
- Correspondence: Bingbing Wu Shuizhen Zhou Huijun Wang
| | - Shuizhen Zhou
- Neurology Department, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
- Correspondence: Bingbing Wu Shuizhen Zhou Huijun Wang
| | - Huijun Wang
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics Research Institute, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
- Correspondence: Bingbing Wu Shuizhen Zhou Huijun Wang
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Barish S, Senturk M, Schoch K, Minogue AL, Lopergolo D, Fallerini C, Harland J, Seemann JH, Stong N, Kranz PG, Kansagra S, Mikati MA, Jasien J, El-Dairi M, Galluzzi P, Ariani F, Renieri A, Mari F, Wangler MF, Arur S, Jiang YH, Yamamoto S, Shashi V, Bellen HJ. The microRNA processor DROSHA is a candidate gene for a severe progressive neurological disorder. Hum Mol Genet 2022; 31:2934-2950. [PMID: 35405010 PMCID: PMC9433733 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
DROSHA encodes a ribonuclease that is a subunit of the Microprocessor complex and is involved in the first step of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis. To date, DROSHA has not yet been associated with a Mendelian disease. Here, we describe two individuals with profound intellectual disability, epilepsy, white matter atrophy, microcephaly and dysmorphic features, who carry damaging de novo heterozygous variants in DROSHA. DROSHA is constrained for missense variants and moderately intolerant to loss-of-function (o/e = 0.24). The loss of the fruit fly ortholog drosha causes developmental arrest and death in third instar larvae, a severe reduction in brain size and loss of imaginal discs in the larva. Loss of drosha in eye clones causes small and rough eyes in adult flies. One of the identified DROSHA variants (p.Asp1219Gly) behaves as a strong loss-of-function allele in flies, while another variant (p.Arg1342Trp) is less damaging in our assays. In worms, a knock-in that mimics the p.Asp1219Gly variant at a worm equivalent residue causes loss of miRNA expression and heterochronicity, a phenotype characteristic of the loss of miRNA. Together, our data show that the DROSHA variants found in the individuals presented here are damaging based on functional studies in model organisms and likely underlie the severe phenotype involving the nervous system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Scott Barish
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Mumine Senturk
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, BCM, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Kelly Schoch
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Amanda L Minogue
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Diego Lopergolo
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Chiara Fallerini
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Jake Harland
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jacob H Seemann
- Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Nicholas Stong
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Peter G Kranz
- Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Duke Health, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Sujay Kansagra
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Duke Health, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Mohamad A Mikati
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Duke Health, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Joan Jasien
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Duke Health, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Mays El-Dairi
- Department of Ophthalmology, Duke Health, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Paolo Galluzzi
- Department of Medical Genetics, NeuroImaging and NeuroInterventional Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera e Universitaria, Senese, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Francesca Ariani
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Alessandra Renieri
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Francesca Mari
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Michael F Wangler
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Swathi Arur
- Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yong-Hui Jiang
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Vandana Shashi
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Hugo J Bellen
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, BCM, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Early B cell factor 4 modulates FAS-mediated apoptosis and promotes cytotoxic function in human immune cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2208522119. [PMID: 35939714 PMCID: PMC9388157 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208522119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Apoptosis is a genetically regulated program of cell death that plays a key role in immune disease processes. We identified EBF4, a little-studied member of the early B cell factor (EBF) family of transcription factors, in a whole-genome CRISPR screen for regulators of Fas/APO-1/CD95-mediated T cell death. Loss of EBF4 increases the half-life of the c-FLIP protein, and its presence in the Fas signaling complex impairs caspase-8 cleavage and apoptosis. Transcriptome analysis revealed that EBF4 regulates molecules such as TBX21, EOMES, granzyme, and perforin that are important for human natural killer (NK) and CD8+ T cell functions. Proximity-dependent biotin identification (Bio-ID) mass spectrometry analyses showed EBF4 binding to STAT3, STAT5, and MAP kinase 3 and a strong pathway relationship to interleukin-2 regulated genes, which are known to govern cytotoxicity pathways. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and DNA sequencing analysis defined a canonical EBF4 binding motif, 5'-CCCNNGG/AG-3', closely related to the EBF1 binding site; using a luciferase-based reporter, we found a dose-dependent transcriptional response of this motif to EBF4. We also conducted assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing in EBF4-overexpressing cells and found increased chromatin accessibility upstream of granzyme and perforin and in topologically associated domains in human lymphocytes. Finally, we discovered that the EBF4 has basal expression in human but not mouse NK cells and CD8+ T cells and vanishes following activating stimulation. Together, our data reveal key features of a previously unknown transcriptional regulator of human cytotoxic immune function.
Collapse
|
20
|
Ramirez M, Wu J, Liu M, Wu D, Weeden D, Goldowitz D. The Cerebellar Gene Database: a Collective Database of Genes Critical for Cerebellar Development. THE CEREBELLUM 2022; 21:606-614. [PMID: 35857265 PMCID: PMC9325837 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-022-01445-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This report presents the first comprehensive database that specifically compiles genes critical for cerebellar development and function. The Cerebellar Gene Database details genes that, when perturbed in mouse models, result in a cerebellar phenotype according to available data from both Mouse Genome Informatics and PubMed, as well as references to the corresponding studies for further examination. This database also offers a compilation of human genetic disorders with a cerebellar phenotype and their associated gene information from the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. By comparing and contrasting the mouse and human datasets, we observe that only a small proportion of human mutant genes with a cerebellar phenotype have been studied in mouse knockout models. Given the highly conserved nature between mouse and human genomes, this surprising finding highlights how mouse genetic models can be more frequently employed to elucidate human disease etiology. On the other hand, many mouse genes identified in the present study that are known to lead to a cerebellar phenotype when perturbed have not yet been found to be pathogenic in the cerebellum of humans. This database furthers our understanding of human cerebellar disorders with yet-to-be-identified genetic causes. It is our hope that this gene database will serve as an invaluable tool for gathering background information, generating hypotheses, and facilitating translational research endeavors. Moreover, we encourage continual inputs from the research community in making this compilation a living database, one that remains up-to-date with the advances in cerebellar research.
Collapse
|
21
|
Deisseroth CA, Lerma VC, Magyar CL, Pfliger JM, Nayak A, Bliss ND, LeMaire AW, Narayanan V, Balak C, Zanni G, Valente EM, Bertini E, Benke PJ, Wangler MF, Chao HT. An Integrated Phenotypic and Genotypic Approach Reveals a High-Risk Subtype Association for EBF3 Missense Variants Affecting the Zinc Finger Domain. Ann Neurol 2022; 92:138-153. [PMID: 35340043 DOI: 10.1002/ana.26359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Collier/Olf/EBF (COE) transcription factors have distinct expression patterns in the developing and mature nervous system. To date, a neurological disease association has been conclusively established for only the Early B-cell Factor-3 (EBF3) COE family member through the identification of heterozygous loss-of-function variants in individuals with autism spectrum/neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Here, we identify a symptom severity risk association with missense variants primarily disrupting the zinc finger domain (ZNF) in EBF3-related NDD. METHODS A phenotypic assessment of 41 individuals was combined with a literature meta-analysis for a total of 83 individuals diagnosed with EBF3-related NDD. Quantitative diagnostic phenotypic and symptom severity scales were developed to compare EBF3 variant type and location to identify genotype-phenotype correlations. To stratify the effects of EBF3 variants disrupting either the DNA-binding domain (DBD) or the ZNF, we used in vivo fruit fly UAS-GAL4 expression and in vitro luciferase assays. RESULTS We show that patient symptom severity correlates with EBF3 missense variants perturbing the ZNF, which is a key protein domain required for stabilizing the interaction between EBF3 and the target DNA sequence. We found that ZNF-associated variants failed to restore viability in the fruit fly and impaired transcriptional activation. However, the recurrent variant EBF3 p.Arg209Trp in the DBD is capable of partially rescuing viability in the fly and preserved transcriptional activation. INTERPRETATION We describe a symptom severity risk association with ZNF perturbations and EBF3 loss-of-function in the largest reported cohort to date of EBF3-related NDD patients. This analysis should have potential predictive clinical value for newly identified patients with EBF3 gene variants. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:138-153.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cole A Deisseroth
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Vanesa C Lerma
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christina L Magyar
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jessica Mae Pfliger
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Development, Disease Models, and Therapeutics Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Aarushi Nayak
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Nathan D Bliss
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Ashley W LeMaire
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Vinodh Narayanan
- Center for Rare Childhood Disorders, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Christopher Balak
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ginevra Zanni
- Department of Neurosciences, Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Bambino Gesu Children's Research Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Enza Maria Valente
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Neurogenetics Research Centre, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Enrico Bertini
- Department of Neurosciences, Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Bambino Gesu Children's Research Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Paul J Benke
- Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, FL, USA
| | - Michael F Wangler
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hsiao-Tuan Chao
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- McNair Medical Institute, The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, Houston, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Kepler LD, McDiarmid TA, Rankin CH. Rapid assessment of the temporal function and phenotypic reversibility of neurodevelopmental disorder risk genes in Caenorhabditis elegans. Dis Model Mech 2022; 15:dmm049359. [PMID: 35363276 PMCID: PMC9092656 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have indicated that some phenotypes caused by decreased function of select neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) risk genes can be reversed by restoring gene function in adulthood. However, few of the hundreds of risk genes have been assessed for adult phenotypic reversibility. We developed a strategy to rapidly assess the temporal requirements and phenotypic reversibility of NDD risk gene orthologs using a conditional protein degradation system and machine-vision phenotypic profiling in Caenorhabditis elegans. We measured how degrading and re-expressing orthologs of EBF3, BRN3A and DYNC1H1 at multiple periods throughout development affect 30 morphological, locomotor, sensory and learning phenotypes. We found that phenotypic reversibility was possible for each gene studied. However, the temporal requirements of gene function and degree of rescue varied by gene and phenotype. This work highlights the critical need to assess multiple windows of degradation and re-expression and a large number of phenotypes to understand the many roles a gene can have across the lifespan. This work also demonstrates the benefits of using a high-throughput model system to prioritize NDD risk genes for re-expression studies in other organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lexis D. Kepler
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Troy A. McDiarmid
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Foege Building S-250 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Catharine H. Rankin
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Lange LM, Gonzalez-Latapi P, Rajalingam R, Tijssen MAJ, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Gabbert C, Ganos C, Ghosh R, Kumar KR, Lang AE, Rossi M, van der Veen S, van de Warrenburg B, Warner T, Lohmann K, Klein C, Marras C. Nomenclature of Genetic Movement Disorders: Recommendations of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Task Force - An Update. Mov Disord 2022; 37:905-935. [PMID: 35481685 DOI: 10.1002/mds.28982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2016, the Movement Disorder Society Task Force for the Nomenclature of Genetic Movement Disorders presented a new system for naming genetically determined movement disorders and provided a criterion-based list of confirmed monogenic movement disorders. Since then, a substantial number of novel disease-causing genes have been described, which warrant classification using this system. In addition, with this update, we further refined the system and propose dissolving the imaging-based categories of Primary Familial Brain Calcification and Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation and reclassifying these genetic conditions according to their predominant phenotype. We also introduce the novel category of Mixed Movement Disorders (MxMD), which includes conditions linked to multiple equally prominent movement disorder phenotypes. In this article, we present updated lists of newly confirmed monogenic causes of movement disorders. We found a total of 89 different newly identified genes that warrant a prefix based on our criteria; 6 genes for parkinsonism, 21 for dystonia, 38 for dominant and recessive ataxia, 5 for chorea, 7 for myoclonus, 13 for spastic paraplegia, 3 for paroxysmal movement disorders, and 6 for mixed movement disorder phenotypes; 10 genes were linked to combined phenotypes and have been assigned two new prefixes. The updated lists represent a resource for clinicians and researchers alike and they have also been published on the website of the Task Force for the Nomenclature of Genetic Movement Disorders on the homepage of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (https://www.movementdisorders.org/MDS/About/Committees--Other-Groups/MDS-Task-Forces/Task-Force-on-Nomenclature-in-Movement-Disorders.htm). © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson Movement Disorder Society.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lara M Lange
- Institute of Neurogenetics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Paulina Gonzalez-Latapi
- The Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease and The Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorder Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Rajasumi Rajalingam
- The Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease and The Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorder Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Marina A J Tijssen
- UMCG Expertise Centre Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Carolin Gabbert
- Institute of Neurogenetics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christos Ganos
- Department of Neurology, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rhia Ghosh
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kishore R Kumar
- Molecular Medicine Laboratory and Department of Neurology, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Anthony E Lang
- The Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease and The Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorder Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Malco Rossi
- Movement Disorders Section, Neuroscience Department, Raul Carrea Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sterre van der Veen
- UMCG Expertise Centre Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Bart van de Warrenburg
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Center of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Tom Warner
- Department of Clinical & Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Katja Lohmann
- Institute of Neurogenetics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christine Klein
- Institute of Neurogenetics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Connie Marras
- The Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease and The Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorder Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Passos-Bueno MR, Costa CIS, Zatz M. Dystrophin genetic variants and autism. DISCOVER MENTAL HEALTH 2022; 2:4. [PMID: 37861890 PMCID: PMC10501027 DOI: 10.1007/s44192-022-00008-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Loss-of-function variants in the dystrophin gene, a well-known cause of muscular dystrophies, have emerged as a mutational risk mechanism for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which in turn is a highly prevalent (~ 1%) genetically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. Although the association of intellectual disability with the dystrophinopathies Duchenne (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) has been long established, their association with ASD is more recent, and the dystrophin genotype-ASD phenotype correlation is unclear. We therefore present a review of the literature focused on the ASD prevalence among dystrophinopathies, the relevance of the dystrophin isoforms, and most particularly the relevance of the genetic background to the etiology of ASD in these patients. Four families with ASD-DMD/BMD patients are also reported here for the first time. These include a single ASD individual, ASD-discordant and ASD-concordant monozygotic twins, and non-identical ASD triplets. Notably, two unrelated individuals, which were first ascertained because of the ASD phenotype at ages 15 and 5 years respectively, present rare dystrophin variants still poorly characterized, suggesting that some dystrophin variants may compromise the brain more prominently. Whole exome sequencing in these ASD-DMD/BMD individuals together with the literature suggest, although based on preliminary data, a complex and heterogeneous genetic architecture underlying ASD in dystrophinopathies, that include rare variants of large and medium effect. The need for the establishment of a consortia for genomic investigation of ASD-DMD/BMD patients, which may shed light on the genetic architecture of ASD, is discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Rita Passos-Bueno
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Centro de Estudos do Genoma Humano e Células-Tronco, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Claudia Ismania Samogy Costa
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Centro de Estudos do Genoma Humano e Células-Tronco, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Mayana Zatz
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Centro de Estudos do Genoma Humano e Células-Tronco, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Chung HL, Rump P, Lu D, Glassford MR, Mok JW, Fatih J, Basal A, Marcogliese PC, Kanca O, Rapp M, Fock JM, Kamsteeg EJ, Lupski JR, Larson A, Haninbal MC, Bellen H, Harel T. De novo variants in EMC1 lead to neurodevelopmental delay and cerebellar degeneration and affect glial function in Drosophila. Hum Mol Genet 2022; 31:3231-3244. [PMID: 35234901 PMCID: PMC9523557 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-membrane protein complex (EMC) is a multi-protein transmembrane complex composed of 10 subunits that functions as a membrane-protein chaperone. Variants in EMC1 lead to neurodevelopmental delay and cerebellar degeneration. Multiple families with biallelic variants have been published, yet to date, only a single report of a monoallelic variant has been described, and functional evidence is sparse. METHODS Exome sequencing was used to investigate the genetic cause underlying severe developmental delay in three unrelated children. EMC1 variants were modeled in Drosophila, using loss-of-function (LoF) and overexpression studies. Glial-specific and neuronal-specific assays were used to determine whether the dysfunction was specific to one cell type. RESULTS Exome sequencing identified de novo variants in EMC1 in three individuals affected by global developmental delay, hypotonia, seizures, visual impairment and cerebellar atrophy. All variants were located at Pro582 or Pro584. Drosophila studies indicated that imbalance of EMC1-either overexpression or knockdown-results in pupal lethality and suggest that the tested homologous variants are LoF alleles. In addition, glia-specific gene dosage, overexpression or knockdown, of EMC1 led to lethality, whereas neuron-specific alterations were tolerated. DISCUSSION We establish de novo monoallelic EMC1 variants as causative of a neurological disease trait by providing functional evidence in a Drosophila model. The identified variants failed to rescue the lethality of a null allele. Variations in dosage of the wild-type EMC1, specifically in glia, lead to pupal lethality, which we hypothesize results from the altered stoichiometry of the multi-subunit protein complex EMC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hyung-Lok Chung
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Patrick Rump
- University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Groningen 9700 RB, The Netherlands
| | - Di Lu
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Megan R Glassford
- Division of Pediatric Genetics, Metabolism & Genomic Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jung-Wan Mok
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jawid Fatih
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Adily Basal
- Department of Genetics, Hadassah Medical Organization, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel
| | - Paul C Marcogliese
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Oguz Kanca
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Michele Rapp
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 60045, USA
| | - Johanna M Fock
- University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Neurology, Groningen 9700 RB, The Netherlands
| | - Erik-Jan Kamsteeg
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen 6500 HB, The Netherlands
| | - James R Lupski
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA,Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Austin Larson
- University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 60045, United States
| | - Mark C Haninbal
- Division of Pediatric Genetics, Metabolism & Genomic Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Hugo Bellen
- To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Genetics, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, POB 12000, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel. Tel: +(972)-2-6776329; Fax: +(972)-2-6777618; ; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Tel: +1 832824-8750; Fax: +1832825-1240;
| | - Tamar Harel
- To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Genetics, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, POB 12000, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel. Tel: +(972)-2-6776329; Fax: +(972)-2-6777618; ; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Tel: +1 832824-8750; Fax: +1832825-1240;
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Ignatius E, Puosi R, Palomäki M, Forsbom N, Pohjanpelto M, Alitalo T, Anttonen AK, Avela K, Haataja L, Carroll CJ, Lönnqvist T, Isohanni P. Duplication/triplication mosaicism of EBF3 and expansion of the EBF3 neurodevelopmental disorder phenotype. Eur J Paediatr Neurol 2022; 37:1-7. [PMID: 34999443 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2021.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Deleterious variants in the transcription factor early B-cell factor 3 (EBF3) are known to cause a neurodevelopmental disorder (EBF3-NDD). We report eleven individuals with EBF3 variants, including an individual with a duplication/triplication mosaicism of a region encompassing EBF3 and a phenotype consistent with EBF3-NDD, which may reflect the importance of EBF3 gene-dosage for neurodevelopment. The phenotype of individuals in this cohort was quite mild compared to the core phenotype of previously described individuals. Although ataxia tended to wane with age, we show that cognitive difficulties may increase, and we recommend that individuals with EBF3-NDD have systematic neuropsychological follow-up.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erika Ignatius
- Department of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Research Programs Unit, Stem Cells and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Riina Puosi
- Department of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Maarit Palomäki
- Department of Radiology, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Noora Forsbom
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Max Pohjanpelto
- Research Programs Unit, Stem Cells and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tiina Alitalo
- Laboratory of Genetics, HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anna-Kaisa Anttonen
- Laboratory of Genetics, HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Clinical Genetics, HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kristiina Avela
- Department of Clinical Genetics, HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Leena Haataja
- Department of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Christopher J Carroll
- Genetics Research Centre, Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tuula Lönnqvist
- Department of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pirjo Isohanni
- Department of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Research Programs Unit, Stem Cells and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Lee JH. Invertebrate Model Organisms as a Platform to Investigate Rare Human Neurological Diseases. Exp Neurobiol 2022; 31:1-16. [PMID: 35256540 PMCID: PMC8907251 DOI: 10.5607/en22003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients suffering from rare human diseases often go through a painful journey for finding a definite molecular diagnosis prerequisite of appropriate cures. With a novel variant isolated from a single patient, determination of its pathogenicity to end such "diagnostic odyssey" requires multi-step processes involving experts in diverse areas of interest, including clinicians, bioinformaticians and research scientists. Recent efforts in building large-scale genomic databases and in silico prediction platforms have facilitated identification of potentially pathogenic variants causative of rare human diseases of a Mendelian basis. However, the functional significance of individual variants remains elusive in many cases, thus requiring incorporation of versatile and rapid model organism (MO)-based platforms for functional analyses. In this review, the current scope of rare disease research is briefly discussed. In addition, an overview of invertebrate MOs for their key features relevant to rare neurological diseases is provided, with the characteristics of two representative invertebrate MOs, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as the challenges against them. Finally, recently developed research networks integrating these MOs in collaborative research are portraited with an array of bioinformatical analyses embedded. A comprehensive survey of MO-based research activities provided in this review will help us to design a wellstructured analysis of candidate genes or potentially pathogenic variants for their roles in rare neurological diseases in future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Hye Lee
- Department of Oral Pathology & Life Science in Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea.,Dental Life Science Institute, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea.,Periodontal Disease Signaling Network Research Center, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Ecovoiu AA, Ratiu AC, Micheu MM, Chifiriuc MC. Inter-Species Rescue of Mutant Phenotype-The Standard for Genetic Analysis of Human Genetic Disorders in Drosophila melanogaster Model. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:2613. [PMID: 35269756 PMCID: PMC8909942 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) is arguably a superstar of genetics, an astonishing versatile experimental model which fueled no less than six Nobel prizes in medicine. Nowadays, an evolving research endeavor is to simulate and investigate human genetic diseases in the powerful D. melanogaster platform. Such a translational experimental strategy is expected to allow scientists not only to understand the molecular mechanisms of the respective disorders but also to alleviate or even cure them. In this regard, functional gene orthology should be initially confirmed in vivo by transferring human or vertebrate orthologous transgenes in specific mutant backgrounds of D. melanogaster. If such a transgene rescues, at least partially, the mutant phenotype, then it qualifies as a strong candidate for modeling the respective genetic disorder in the fruit fly. Herein, we review various examples of inter-species rescue of relevant mutant phenotypes of the fruit fly and discuss how these results recommend several human genes as candidates to study and validate genetic variants associated with human diseases. We also consider that a wider implementation of this evolutionist exploratory approach as a standard for the medicine of genetic disorders would allow this particular field of human health to advance at a faster pace.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandru Al. Ecovoiu
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 060101 Bucharest, Romania;
| | - Attila Cristian Ratiu
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 060101 Bucharest, Romania;
| | - Miruna Mihaela Micheu
- Department of Cardiology, Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, 014461 Bucharest, Romania;
| | - Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc
- The Research Institute of the University of Bucharest and Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania;
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Lan Z, Chen Y, Jin J, Xu Y, Zhu X. Long Non-coding RNA: Insight Into Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 14:821002. [PMID: 35095418 PMCID: PMC8795976 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.821002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD), a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder, is the most common cause of dementia accounting for an estimated 60–80% of cases. The pathogenesis of AD remains unclear, and no curative treatment is available so far. Increasing evidence has revealed a vital role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), in AD. LncRNAs contribute to the pathogenesis of AD via modulating amyloid production, Tau hyperphosphorylation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, synaptic impairment and neuroinflammation. This review describes the biological functions and mechanisms of lncRNAs in AD, indicating that lncRNAs may provide potential therapeutic targets for the diagnosis and treatment of AD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Lan
- Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yanting Chen
- The State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiali Jin
- The State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Xu
- Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- The State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Institute of Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Nanjing Neuropsychiatry Clinic Medical Center, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaolei Zhu
- Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- The State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Institute of Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Nanjing Neuropsychiatry Clinic Medical Center, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaolei Zhu
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Ding S, Wang X, Lv D, Tao Y, Liu S, Chen C, Huang Z, Zheng S, Wei Y, Kang T, Xia Y. EBF3 reactivation by inhibiting the EGR1/EZH2/HDAC9 complex promotes metastasis via transcriptionally enhancing vimentin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer Lett 2021; 527:49-65. [PMID: 34906623 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Metastasis is the major reason for treatment failure and accounts for cancer-related death in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, the genetic alterations and molecular mechanisms that cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis are elusive. Herein, we performed RNA sequencing in patients with or without metastasis, and found that the early B-cell factor 3 (EBF3) was significantly elevated in the samples with metastasis. Mechanistically, EBF3 promoted metastasis by directly combining with the promoter of Vimentin and transcriptionally upregulating it. In addition, EBF3 was epigenetically silenced by EGR1/EZH2/HDAC9 complexes via sustaining the high level of H3K27-Me3 at its promoter. Clinically, there was a positive correlation between EBF3 and Vimentin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues. Moreover, high expression of EBF3 or Vimentin was correlated with poor overall survival, while the combination of high EBF3 and Vimentin expression was associated with more significant poor prognosis. Therefore, specific agents targeting EBF3 or stabilizing the EGR1/EZH2/HDAC9 complex could be novel therapeutic strategies for cancer metastasis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shirong Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China; Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China; The Department of Liver Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dongming Lv
- Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yalan Tao
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Songran Liu
- Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zilu Huang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuohan Zheng
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yinghong Wei
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tiebang Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Yunfei Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China; Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, Guangzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Mukherjee S, Cogan JD, Newman JH, Phillips JA, Hamid R, Meiler J, Capra JA. Identifying digenic disease genes via machine learning in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. Am J Hum Genet 2021; 108:1946-1963. [PMID: 34529933 PMCID: PMC8546038 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Rare diseases affect millions of people worldwide, and discovering their genetic causes is challenging. More than half of the individuals analyzed by the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) remain undiagnosed. The central hypothesis of this work is that many of these rare genetic disorders are caused by multiple variants in more than one gene. However, given the large number of variants in each individual genome, experimentally evaluating combinations of variants for potential to cause disease is currently infeasible. To address this challenge, we developed the digenic predictor (DiGePred), a random forest classifier for identifying candidate digenic disease gene pairs by features derived from biological networks, genomics, evolutionary history, and functional annotations. We trained the DiGePred classifier by using DIDA, the largest available database of known digenic-disease-causing gene pairs, and several sets of non-digenic gene pairs, including variant pairs derived from unaffected relatives of UDN individuals. DiGePred achieved high precision and recall in cross-validation and on a held-out test set (PR area under the curve > 77%), and we further demonstrate its utility by using digenic pairs from the recent literature. In contrast to other approaches, DiGePred also appropriately controls the number of false positives when applied in realistic clinical settings. Finally, to enable the rapid screening of variant gene pairs for digenic disease potential, we freely provide the predictions of DiGePred on all human gene pairs. Our work enables the discovery of genetic causes for rare non-monogenic diseases by providing a means to rapidly evaluate variant gene pairs for the potential to cause digenic disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Souhrid Mukherjee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Joy D Cogan
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - John H Newman
- Pulmonary Hypertension Center, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - John A Phillips
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Rizwan Hamid
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Jens Meiler
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Institute for Drug Discovery, Leipzig University Medical School, Leipzig 04103, Germany; Department of Chemistry, Leipzig University, Leipzig 04109, Germany; Department of Computer Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig 04109, Germany.
| | - John A Capra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Salim S, Banu A, Alwa A, Gowda SBM, Mohammad F. The gut-microbiota-brain axis in autism: what Drosophila models can offer? J Neurodev Disord 2021; 13:37. [PMID: 34525941 PMCID: PMC8442445 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-021-09378-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The idea that alterations in gut-microbiome-brain axis (GUMBA)-mediated communication play a crucial role in human brain disorders like autism remains a topic of intensive research in various labs. Gastrointestinal issues are a common comorbidity in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although gut microbiome and microbial metabolites have been implicated in the etiology of ASD, the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. In this review, we have summarized recent findings in human and animal models highlighting the role of the gut-brain axis in ASD. We have discussed genetic and neurobehavioral characteristics of Drosophila as an animal model to study the role of GUMBA in ASD. The utility of Drosophila fruit flies as an amenable genetic tool, combined with axenic and gnotobiotic approaches, and availability of transgenic flies may reveal mechanistic insight into gut-microbiota-brain interactions and the impact of its alteration on behaviors relevant to neurological disorders like ASD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Safa Salim
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), College of Health & Life Sciences (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, 34110, Qatar
| | - Ayesha Banu
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), College of Health & Life Sciences (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, 34110, Qatar
| | - Amira Alwa
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), College of Health & Life Sciences (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, 34110, Qatar
| | - Swetha B M Gowda
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), College of Health & Life Sciences (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, 34110, Qatar
| | - Farhan Mohammad
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), College of Health & Life Sciences (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, 34110, Qatar.
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Bhattacharyya N, Pandey V, Bhattacharyya M, Dey A. Regulatory role of long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in neurological disorders: From novel biomarkers to promising therapeutic strategies. Asian J Pharm Sci 2021; 16:533-550. [PMID: 34849161 PMCID: PMC8609388 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajps.2021.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein or low-protein coding transcripts that contain more than 200 nucleotides. They representing a large share of the cell's transcriptional output, demonstrate functional attributes viz. tissue-specific expression, determination of cell fate, controlled expression, RNA processing and editing, dosage compensation, genomic imprinting, conserved evolutionary traits etc. These long non coding variants are well associated with pathogenicity of various diseases including the neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease etc. Neurological disorders are widespread and there knowing the underlying mechanisms become crucial. The lncRNAs take part in the pathogenesis by a plethora of mechanisms like decoy, scaffold, mi-RNA sequestrator, histone modifiers and in transcriptional interference. Detailed knowledge of the role of lncRNAs can help to use them further as novel biomarkers for therapeutic aspects. Here, in this review we discuss regulation and functional roles of lncRNAs in eight neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders, and the mechanisms by which they act. With these, we try to establish their roles as potential markers and viable diagnostic tools in these disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Vedansh Pandey
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
| | | | - Abhijit Dey
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Ganguly P, Madonsela L, Chao JT, Loewen CJR, O’Connor TP, Verheyen EM, Allan DW. A scalable Drosophila assay for clinical interpretation of human PTEN variants in suppression of PI3K/AKT induced cellular proliferation. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009774. [PMID: 34492006 PMCID: PMC8448351 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene variant discovery is becoming routine, but it remains difficult to usefully interpret the functional consequence or disease relevance of most variants. To fill this interpretation gap, experimental assays of variant function are becoming common place. Yet, it remains challenging to make these assays reproducible, scalable to high numbers of variants, and capable of assessing defined gene-disease mechanism for clinical interpretation aligned to the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation (SVI) Working Group guidelines for 'well-established assays'. Drosophila melanogaster offers great potential as an assay platform, but was untested for high numbers of human variants adherent to these guidelines. Here, we wished to test the utility of Drosophila as a platform for scalable well-established assays. We took a genetic interaction approach to test the function of ~100 human PTEN variants in cancer-relevant suppression of PI3K/AKT signaling in cellular growth and proliferation. We validated the assay using biochemically characterized PTEN mutants as well as 23 total known pathogenic and benign PTEN variants, all of which the assay correctly assigned into predicted functional categories. Additionally, function calls for these variants correlated very well with our recent published data from a human cell line. Finally, using these pathogenic and benign variants to calibrate the assay, we could set readout thresholds for clinical interpretation of the pathogenicity of 70 other PTEN variants. Overall, we demonstrate that Drosophila offers a powerful assay platform for clinical variant interpretation, that can be used in conjunction with other well-established assays, to increase confidence in the accurate assessment of variant function and pathogenicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Payel Ganguly
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Landiso Madonsela
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jesse T. Chao
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Christopher J. R. Loewen
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Timothy P. O’Connor
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Esther M. Verheyen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Douglas W. Allan
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Huang Y, Mei L, Wang Y, Ye H, Ma X, Zhang J, Cai M, Li P, Ge Y, Zhou Y. A Novel de novo Mutation in EBF3 Associated With Hypotonia, Ataxia, and Delayed Development Syndrome in a Chinese Boy. Front Genet 2021; 12:676832. [PMID: 34367240 PMCID: PMC8339956 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.676832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Global developmental delay has markedly high phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity, and is a great challenge for clinical diagnosis. Hypotonia, ataxia, and delayed development syndrome (HADDS), first reported in 2017, is one type of global development delay. The aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic etiology of a Chinese boy with global developmental delay. Methods We combined clinical and imaging phenotyping with trio whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing to the patient and his clinically unaffected parents. A luciferase reporter and immunofluorescence were performed to detect the effect of mutation on transcriptional activity and subcellular localization. Results The patient presented with several previously unreported symptoms in the patients with HADDS, including hemangiomas, mild hearing abnormalities and tracheomalacia. A novel EBF3 c.589A > G missense mutation (p.Asn197Asp, p.N197D) was identified in the patient but not in his parents. By constructing the plasmid and transfecting HEK293T cells, EBF3-N197D mutant showed impaired activation of luciferase reporter expression of the p21 promoter, and the mutant affected its entry into the nucleus. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of EBF3 pathogenic mutation which associated with HADDS in the Chinese population. Our results expand the phenotypes and pathogenic mutation spectrum of HADDS, thus potentially facilitating the clinical diagnosis and genetic counseling of HADDS patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanru Huang
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,United Diagnostic and Research Center for Clinical Genetics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics, Xiamen, China
| | - Libin Mei
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,United Diagnostic and Research Center for Clinical Genetics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics, Xiamen, China
| | - Yangdan Wang
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Huiming Ye
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,United Diagnostic and Research Center for Clinical Genetics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Xiaomin Ma
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Meijiao Cai
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Ping Li
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics, Xiamen, China
| | - Yunsheng Ge
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Yulin Zhou
- Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.,United Diagnostic and Research Center for Clinical Genetics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Padhi EM, Hayeck TJ, Cheng Z, Chatterjee S, Mannion BJ, Byrska-Bishop M, Willems M, Pinson L, Redon S, Benech C, Uguen K, Audebert-Bellanger S, Le Marechal C, Férec C, Efthymiou S, Rahman F, Maqbool S, Maroofian R, Houlden H, Musunuri R, Narzisi G, Abhyankar A, Hunter RD, Akiyama J, Fries LE, Ng JK, Mehinovic E, Stong N, Allen AS, Dickel DE, Bernier RA, Gorkin DU, Pennacchio LA, Zody MC, Turner TN. Coding and noncoding variants in EBF3 are involved in HADDS and simplex autism. Hum Genomics 2021; 15:44. [PMID: 34256850 PMCID: PMC8278787 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-021-00342-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) has indicated an important contribution of protein-coding (coding) de novo variants (DNVs) within specific genes. The role of de novo noncoding variation has been observable as a general increase in genetic burden but has yet to be resolved to individual functional elements. In this study, we assessed whole-genome sequencing data in 2671 families with autism (discovery cohort of 516 families, replication cohort of 2155 families). We focused on DNVs in enhancers with characterized in vivo activity in the brain and identified an excess of DNVs in an enhancer named hs737. RESULTS We adapted the fitDNM statistical model to work in noncoding regions and tested enhancers for excess of DNVs in families with autism. We found only one enhancer (hs737) with nominal significance in the discovery (p = 0.0172), replication (p = 2.5 × 10-3), and combined dataset (p = 1.1 × 10-4). Each individual with a DNV in hs737 had shared phenotypes including being male, intact cognitive function, and hypotonia or motor delay. Our in vitro assessment of the DNVs showed they all reduce enhancer activity in a neuronal cell line. By epigenomic analyses, we found that hs737 is brain-specific and targets the transcription factor gene EBF3 in human fetal brain. EBF3 is genome-wide significant for coding DNVs in NDDs (missense p = 8.12 × 10-35, loss-of-function p = 2.26 × 10-13) and is widely expressed in the body. Through characterization of promoters bound by EBF3 in neuronal cells, we saw enrichment for binding to NDD genes (p = 7.43 × 10-6, OR = 1.87) involved in gene regulation. Individuals with coding DNVs have greater phenotypic severity (hypotonia, ataxia, and delayed development syndrome [HADDS]) in comparison to individuals with noncoding DNVs that have autism and hypotonia. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we identify DNVs in the hs737 enhancer in individuals with autism. Through multiple approaches, we find hs737 targets the gene EBF3 that is genome-wide significant in NDDs. By assessment of noncoding variation and the genes they affect, we are beginning to understand their impact on gene regulatory networks in NDDs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evin M Padhi
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, Campus Box 8232, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Tristan J Hayeck
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Zhang Cheng
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Sumantra Chatterjee
- Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Brandon J Mannion
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | | | - Marjolaine Willems
- University of Montpellier, département de Génétique, maladies rares médecine personnalisée, U 1298, CHU Montpellier, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Lucile Pinson
- University of Montpellier, département de Génétique, maladies rares médecine personnalisée, U 1298, CHU Montpellier, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Sylvia Redon
- CHU Brest, Inserm, Univ Brest, EFS,UMR 1078, GGB, F-29200, Brest, France
| | - Caroline Benech
- CHU Brest, Inserm, Univ Brest, EFS,UMR 1078, GGB, F-29200, Brest, France
| | - Kevin Uguen
- CHU Brest, Inserm, Univ Brest, EFS,UMR 1078, GGB, F-29200, Brest, France
| | | | - Cédric Le Marechal
- CHU Brest, Inserm, Univ Brest, EFS,UMR 1078, GGB, F-29200, Brest, France
| | - Claude Férec
- CHU Brest, Inserm, Univ Brest, EFS,UMR 1078, GGB, F-29200, Brest, France
| | - Stephanie Efthymiou
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Fatima Rahman
- Development and Behavioral Pediatrics Department, Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Shazia Maqbool
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Development and Behavioral Pediatrics Department, Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Reza Maroofian
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Henry Houlden
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | | | | | | | - Riana D Hunter
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jennifer Akiyama
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Lauren E Fries
- Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Ng
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, Campus Box 8232, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Elvisa Mehinovic
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, Campus Box 8232, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Nick Stong
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Andrew S Allen
- Center for Statistical Genetics and Genomics, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
- Division of Integrative Genomics, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Diane E Dickel
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Raphael A Bernier
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - David U Gorkin
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Len A Pennacchio
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, 94598, USA
| | | | - Tychele N Turner
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, Campus Box 8232, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Li D, Zhang J, Li X, Chen Y, Yu F, Liu Q. Insights into lncRNAs in Alzheimer's disease mechanisms. RNA Biol 2021; 18:1037-1047. [PMID: 32605500 PMCID: PMC8216181 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2020.1788848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common dementia among the elderly. The pathophysiology of AD is characterized by two hallmarks: amyloid plaques, produced by amyloid β (Aβ) aggregation, and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT), produced by accumulation of phosphorylated tau. The regulatory roles of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), particularly long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), have been widely recognized in gene expression at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Mounting evidence shows that lncRNAs are aberrantly expressed in AD progression. Here, we review the lncRNAs that implicated in the regulation of Aβ peptide, tau, inflammation, cell death, and other aspects which are the main mechanisms of AD pathology. We also discuss the possible clinical or therapeutic utility of lncRNA detection or targeting to help diagnose or possibly combat AD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dingfeng Li
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Juan Zhang
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Xiaohui Li
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Yuhua Chen
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Feng Yu
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Qiang Liu
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Nishi E, Uehara T, Yanagi K, Hasegawa Y, Ueda K, Kaname T, Yamamoto T, Kosaki K, Okamoto N. Clinical spectrum of individuals with de novo EBF3 variants or deletions. Am J Med Genet A 2021; 185:2913-2921. [PMID: 34050706 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.62369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Hypotonia, ataxia and delayed development syndrome (HADDS) (MIM#617330) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by heterozygous pathogenic variants in EBF3 (MIM; 607,407), which is located on chromosome 10q26, and was first reported in 2017. To date, missense, nonsense and frameshift variants have been reported as causes of HADDS, and EBF3 pathogenic variants have been predicted to result in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay and haploinsufficiency. It was also reported that total deletion of EBF3 associated with a 10q26.3 microdeletion also causes HADDS symptoms, supporting the concept that HADDS results from haploinsufficiency of EBF3. Here, we report eight unrelated individuals with heterozygous pathogenic variants of EBF3 or haploinsufficiency of EBF3 due to 10q26 deletion, who exhibit clinical findings including craniofacial features of HADDS. In a detailed examination of clinical manifestations in this study, revealed that neurogenic bladder was diagnosed in infancy (the median 6.5 months), was more frequent than previously reported, and required cystostomy in all but one case. For psychomotor delay, it was also found that their motor/skills values were significantly lower than their cognition/adaptation values (p = 0.0016; paired t-test). Therefore, that HADDS is a recognizable syndrome that shares its characteristic facial features, and that neurogenic bladder diagnosed in infancy and psychomotor delay with marked delay in motor/skills are noteworthy findings in the diagnosis and management of individuals with HADDS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eriko Nishi
- Department of Medical Genetics, Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Tomoko Uehara
- Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kumiko Yanagi
- Department of Genome Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuiko Hasegawa
- Department of Medical Genetics, Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kimiko Ueda
- Department of Medical Genetics, Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Tadashi Kaname
- Department of Genome Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Yamamoto
- Department of Genomic Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenjiro Kosaki
- Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Department of Medical Genetics, Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Baldridge D, Wangler MF, Bowman AN, Yamamoto S, Schedl T, Pak SC, Postlethwait JH, Shin J, Solnica-Krezel L, Bellen HJ, Westerfield M. Model organisms contribute to diagnosis and discovery in the undiagnosed diseases network: current state and a future vision. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2021; 16:206. [PMID: 33962631 PMCID: PMC8103593 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-021-01839-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Decreased sequencing costs have led to an explosion of genetic and genomic data. These data have revealed thousands of candidate human disease variants. Establishing which variants cause phenotypes and diseases, however, has remained challenging. Significant progress has been made, including advances by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN). However, 6000-13,000 additional disease genes remain to be identified. The continued discovery of rare diseases and their genetic underpinnings provides benefits to affected patients, of whom there are more than 400 million worldwide, and also advances understanding the mechanisms of more common diseases. Platforms employing model organisms enable discovery of novel gene-disease relationships, help establish variant pathogenicity, and often lead to the exploration of underlying mechanisms of pathophysiology that suggest new therapies. The Model Organism Screening Center (MOSC) of the UDN is a unique resource dedicated to utilizing informatics and functional studies in model organisms, including worm (Caenorhabditis elegans), fly (Drosophila melanogaster), and zebrafish (Danio rerio), to aid in diagnosis. The MOSC has directly contributed to the diagnosis of challenging cases, including multiple patients with complex, multi-organ phenotypes. In addition, the MOSC provides a framework for how basic scientists and clinicians can collaborate to drive diagnoses. Customized experimental plans take into account patient presentations, specific genes and variant(s), and appropriateness of each model organism for analysis. The MOSC also generates bioinformatic and experimental tools and reagents for the wider scientific community. Two elements of the MOSC that have been instrumental in its success are (1) multidisciplinary teams with expertise in variant bioinformatics and in human and model organism genetics, and (2) mechanisms for ongoing communication with clinical teams. Here we provide a position statement regarding the central role of model organisms for continued discovery of disease genes, and we advocate for the continuation and expansion of MOSC-type research entities as a Model Organisms Network (MON) to be funded through grant applications submitted to the NIH, family groups focused on specific rare diseases, other philanthropic organizations, industry partnerships, and other sources of support.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dustin Baldridge
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Michael F Wangler
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Development, Disease Models & Therapeutics Graduate Program, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
| | - Angela N Bowman
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Center of Regenerative Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Development, Disease Models & Therapeutics Graduate Program, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Tim Schedl
- Center of Regenerative Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Stephen C Pak
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | | | - Jimann Shin
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Lilianna Solnica-Krezel
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Center of Regenerative Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Hugo J Bellen
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Development, Disease Models & Therapeutics Graduate Program, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Monte Westerfield
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Jiménez de la Peña M, Jiménez de Domingo A, Tirado P, Calleja-Pérez B, Alcaraz LA, Álvarez S, Williams J, Hagman JR, Németh AH, Fernández-Jaén A. Neuroimaging Findings in Patients with EBF3 Mutations: Report of Two Cases. Mol Syndromol 2021; 12:186-193. [PMID: 34177436 DOI: 10.1159/000513583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Early B cell factor 3 (EBF3) is a transcription factor involved in brain development. Heterozygous, loss-of-function mutations in EBF3 have been reported in an autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by hypotonia, ataxia, and developmental delay (sometimes described as "HADD"s). We report 2 unrelated cases with novel de novo EBF3 mutations: c.455G>T (p.Arg152Leu) and c.962dup (p.Tyr321*) to expand the genotype/phenotype correlations of this disorder; clinical, neuropsychological, and MRI studies were used to define the phenotype. IQ was in the normal range and diffusion tensor imaging revealed asymmetric alterations of the longitudinal fasciculus in both cases. Our results demonstrate that EBF3 mutations can underlie neurodevelopmental disorders without intellectual disability. Long tract abnormalities have not been previously recognized and suggest that they may be an unrecognized and characteristic feature in this syndrome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pilar Tirado
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Sara Álvarez
- Genomics and Medicine, NIMGenetics, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jonathan Williams
- Oxford Medical Genetics Laboratories, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - James R Hagman
- Department of Immunology and Genomic Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Andrea H Németh
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alberto Fernández-Jaén
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud, and Medicine School, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Dual DNA and protein tagging of open chromatin unveils dynamics of epigenomic landscapes in leukemia. Nat Methods 2021; 18:293-302. [PMID: 33649590 PMCID: PMC8272231 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-021-01077-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The architecture of chromatin regulates eukaryotic cell states by controlling transcription factor access to sites of gene regulation. Here we describe a dual transposase-peroxidase approach, integrative DNA and protein tagging (iDAPT), which detects both DNA (iDAPT-seq) and protein (iDAPT-MS) associated with accessible regions of chromatin. In addition to direct identification of bound transcription factors, iDAPT enables the inference of their gene regulatory networks, protein interactors and regulation of chromatin accessibility. We applied iDAPT to profile the epigenomic consequences of granulocytic differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia, yielding previously undescribed mechanistic insights. Our findings demonstrate the power of iDAPT as a platform for studying the dynamic epigenomic landscapes and their transcription factor components associated with biological phenomena and disease.
Collapse
|
42
|
Osei-Owusu IA, Norris AL, Joynt AT, Thorpe J, Cho S, Tierney E, Schmidt J, Hagopian L, Harris J, Pevsner J. Characterization of an unbalanced translocation causing 3q28qter duplication and 10q26.2qter deletion in a patient with global developmental delay and self-injury. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud 2020; 6:mcs.a005884. [PMID: 33335013 PMCID: PMC7784495 DOI: 10.1101/mcs.a005884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Chromosomal structural variation can cause severe neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric phenotypes. Here we present a nonverbal female adolescent with severe stereotypic movement disorder with severe problem behavior (e.g., self-injurious behavior, aggression, and disruptive and destructive behaviors), autism spectrum disorder, severe intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and global developmental delay. Previous cytogenetic analysis revealed balanced translocations present in the patient's apparently normal mother. We hypothesized the presence of unbalanced translocations in the patient due to maternal history of spontaneous abortions. Whole-genome sequencing and whole-genome optical mapping, complementary next-generation genomic technologies capable of the accurate and robust detection of structural variants, identified t(3;10), t(10;14), and t(3;14) three-way balanced translocations in the mother and der(10)t(3;14;10) and der(14)t(3;14;10) translocations in the patient. Instead of a t(3;10), she inherited a normal maternal copy of Chromosome 3, resulting in an unbalanced state of a 3q28qter duplication and 10q26.2qter deletion. Copy-imbalanced genes in one or both of these regions, such as DLG1, DOCK1, and EBF3, may contribute to the patient's phenotype that spans neurodevelopmental, musculoskeletal, and psychiatric domains, with the possible contribution of a maternally inherited 15q13.2q13.3 deletion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ikeoluwa A Osei-Owusu
- Program in Human Genetics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Alexis L Norris
- Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Anya T Joynt
- Program in Human Genetics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Jeremy Thorpe
- Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Program in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Soonweng Cho
- Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Elaine Tierney
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Jonathan Schmidt
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Louis Hagopian
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Jacqueline Harris
- Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Jonathan Pevsner
- Program in Human Genetics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Program in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Li Y, Osuma A, Correa E, Okebalama MA, Dao P, Gaylord O, Aburas J, Islam P, Brown AE, Kratsios P. Establishment and maintenance of motor neuron identity via temporal modularity in terminal selector function. eLife 2020; 9:59464. [PMID: 33001031 PMCID: PMC7529460 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Terminal selectors are transcription factors (TFs) that establish during development and maintain throughout life post-mitotic neuronal identity. We previously showed that UNC-3/Ebf, the terminal selector of C. elegans cholinergic motor neurons (MNs), acts indirectly to prevent alternative neuronal identities (Feng et al., 2020). Here, we globally identify the direct targets of UNC-3. Unexpectedly, we find that the suite of UNC-3 targets in MNs is modified across different life stages, revealing ‘temporal modularity’ in terminal selector function. In all larval and adult stages examined, UNC-3 is required for continuous expression of various protein classes (e.g. receptors, transporters) critical for MN function. However, only in late larvae and adults, UNC-3 is required to maintain expression of MN-specific TFs. Minimal disruption of UNC-3’s temporal modularity via genome engineering affects locomotion. Another C. elegans terminal selector (UNC-30/Pitx) also exhibits temporal modularity, supporting the potential generality of this mechanism for the control of neuronal identity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yinan Li
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Anthony Osuma
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Edgar Correa
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | | | - Pauline Dao
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Olivia Gaylord
- Committee on Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Jihad Aburas
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Priota Islam
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, United Kingdom.,Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - André Ex Brown
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, United Kingdom.,Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paschalis Kratsios
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Committee on Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,The Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology, and Human Behavior, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Link N, Bellen HJ. Using Drosophila to drive the diagnosis and understand the mechanisms of rare human diseases. Development 2020; 147:dev191411. [PMID: 32988995 PMCID: PMC7541339 DOI: 10.1242/dev.191411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Next-generation sequencing has greatly accelerated the discovery of rare human genetic diseases. Nearly 45% of patients have variants associated with known diseases but the unsolved cases remain a conundrum. Moreover, causative mutations can be difficult to pinpoint because variants frequently map to genes with no previous disease associations and, often, only one or a few patients with variants in the same gene are identified. Model organisms, such as Drosophila, can help to identify and characterize these new disease-causing genes. Importantly, Drosophila allow quick and sophisticated genetic manipulations, permit functional testing of human variants, enable the characterization of pathogenic mechanisms and are amenable to drug tests. In this Spotlight, focusing on microcephaly as a case study, we highlight how studies of human genes in Drosophila have aided our understanding of human genetic disorders, allowing the identification of new genes in well-established signaling pathways.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nichole Link
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics (MHG), BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Hugo J Bellen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics (MHG), BCM, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
A Genetic Screen for Human Genes Suppressing FUS Induced Toxicity in Yeast. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:1843-1852. [PMID: 32276960 PMCID: PMC7263679 DOI: 10.1534/g3.120.401164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
FUS is a nucleic acid binding protein that, when mutated, cause a subset of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Expression of FUS in yeast recapitulates several pathological features of the disease-causing mutant proteins, including nuclear to cytoplasmic translocation, formation of cytoplasmic inclusions, and cytotoxicity. Genetic screens using the yeast model of FUS have identified yeast genes and their corresponding human homologs suppressing FUS induced toxicity in yeast, neurons and animal models. To expand the search for human suppressor genes of FUS induced toxicity, we carried out a genome-scale genetic screen using a newly constructed library containing 13570 human genes cloned in an inducible yeast-expression vector. Through multiple rounds of verification, we found 37 human genes that, when overexpressed, suppress FUS induced toxicity in yeast. Human genes with DNA or RNA binding functions are overrepresented among the identified suppressor genes, supporting that perturbations of RNA metabolism is a key underlying mechanism of FUS toxicity.
Collapse
|
46
|
Macnamara EF, D’Souza P, Tifft CJ. The undiagnosed diseases program: Approach to diagnosis. TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE OF RARE DISEASES 2020; 4:179-188. [PMID: 32477883 PMCID: PMC7250153 DOI: 10.3233/trd-190045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Undiagnosed and rare conditions are collectively common and affect millions of people worldwide. The NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) strives to achieve both a comprehensive diagnosis and a better understanding of the mechanisms of disease for many of these individuals. Through the careful review of records, a well-orchestrated inpatient evaluation, genomic sequencing and testing, and with the use of emerging strategies such as matchmaking programs, the UDP succeeds nearly 30 percent of the time for these highly selective cases. Although the UDP process is built on a unique set of resources, case examples demonstrate steps genetic professionals can take, in both clinical and research settings, to arrive at a diagnosis for their most challenging cases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ellen F. Macnamara
- National Institutes of Health, Undiagnosed Diseases Program, Common Fund, Office of the Director, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Precilla D’Souza
- National Institutes of Health, Undiagnosed Diseases Program, Common Fund, Office of the Director, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Undiagnosed Diseases Network
- National Institutes of Health, Undiagnosed Diseases Program, Common Fund, Office of the Director, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Office of the Clinical Director, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Cynthia J. Tifft
- National Institutes of Health, Undiagnosed Diseases Program, Common Fund, Office of the Director, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Office of the Clinical Director, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Beecroft SJ, Olive M, Quereda LG, Gallano P, Ojanguren I, McLean C, McCombe P, Laing NG, Ravenscroft G. Cylindrical spirals in two families: Clinical and genetic investigations. Neuromuscul Disord 2019; 30:151-158. [PMID: 31952901 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmd.2019.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Cylindrical spirals are a rare ultrastructural finding on muscle biopsy, with fewer than 20 reported cases since its first description in 1979. These structures are sometimes observed with tubular aggregates and are thought to comprise longitudinal sarcoplasmic reticulum. While mutations in genes encoding key components of Ca2+ handling (ORAI1 and STIM1) underlie tubular aggregate myopathy, no causative genes have been associated with cylindrical spirals. Here we describe two families with cylindrical spirals on muscle biopsy with a suspected genetic cause. In one family we identified a known truncating variant in EBF3, previously associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder. The affected individuals in this family present with clinical features overlapping with those described for EBF3 disease. An isolated proband in the second family harbours bi-allelic truncating variants in TTN and her clinical course and other features on biopsy are highly concordant for titinopathy. From experimental studies, EBF3 is known to be involved in Ca2+ regulation in muscle, thus EBF3 dysregulation may represent a novel mechanism of impaired Ca2+ handling leading to cylindrical spirals. Additional cases of EBF3 disease or titinopathy with cylindrical spirals need to be identified to support the involvement of these genes in the pathogenesis of cylindrical spirals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Beecroft
- Centre for Medical Research, University of Western Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Australia
| | - Montse Olive
- Neuropathology Unit, Department of Pathology and Neuromuscular Unit, Department of Neurology, IDIBELL-Hospital de Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona 08907, Spain
| | | | - Pia Gallano
- CIBERER, Genetics Department, Hospital Sant Pau, Barcelona 08041, Spain
| | - Isabel Ojanguren
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain
| | - Catriona McLean
- Victorian Neuromuscular Laboratory, Alfred Health, Commercial Rd, Prahran, VIC 3181, Australia
| | - Pamela McCombe
- The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nigel G Laing
- Centre for Medical Research, University of Western Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Australia
| | - Gianina Ravenscroft
- Centre for Medical Research, University of Western Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Bellen HJ, Wangler MF, Yamamoto S. The fruit fly at the interface of diagnosis and pathogenic mechanisms of rare and common human diseases. Hum Mol Genet 2019; 28:R207-R214. [PMID: 31227826 PMCID: PMC6872428 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddz135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster is a unique, powerful genetic model organism for studying a broad range of biological questions. Human studies that probe the genetic causes of rare and undiagnosed diseases using massive-parallel sequencing often require complementary gene function studies to determine if and how rare variants affect gene function. These studies also provide inroads to disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets. In this review we discuss strategies for functional studies of rare human variants in Drosophila. We focus on our experience in establishing a Drosophila core of the Model Organisms Screening Center for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) and concurrent fly studies with other large genomic rare disease research efforts such as the Centers for Mendelian Genomics. We outline four major strategies that use the latest technology in fly genetics to understand the impact of human variants on gene function. We also mention general concepts in probing disease mechanisms, therapeutics and using rare disease to understand common diseases. Drosophila is and will continue to be a fundamental genetic model to identify new disease-causing variants, pathogenic mechanisms and drugs that will impact medicine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo J Bellen
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX , USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Michael F Wangler
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX , USA
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX , USA
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Kanca O, Zirin J, Garcia-Marques J, Knight SM, Yang-Zhou D, Amador G, Chung H, Zuo Z, Ma L, He Y, Lin WW, Fang Y, Ge M, Yamamoto S, Schulze KL, Hu Y, Spradling AC, Mohr SE, Perrimon N, Bellen HJ. An efficient CRISPR-based strategy to insert small and large fragments of DNA using short homology arms. eLife 2019; 8:e51539. [PMID: 31674908 PMCID: PMC6855806 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously reported a CRISPR-mediated knock-in strategy into introns of Drosophila genes, generating an attP-FRT-SA-T2A-GAL4-polyA-3XP3-EGFP-FRT-attP transgenic library for multiple uses (Lee et al., 2018a). The method relied on double stranded DNA (dsDNA) homology donors with ~1 kb homology arms. Here, we describe three new simpler ways to edit genes in flies. We create single stranded DNA (ssDNA) donors using PCR and add 100 nt of homology on each side of an integration cassette, followed by enzymatic removal of one strand. Using this method, we generated GFP-tagged proteins that mark organelles in S2 cells. We then describe two dsDNA methods using cheap synthesized donors flanked by 100 nt homology arms and gRNA target sites cloned into a plasmid. Upon injection, donor DNA (1 to 5 kb) is released from the plasmid by Cas9. The cassette integrates efficiently and precisely in vivo. The approach is fast, cheap, and scalable.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oguz Kanca
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Jonathan Zirin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | | | - Shannon Marie Knight
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Donghui Yang-Zhou
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Gabriel Amador
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Hyunglok Chung
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Zhongyuan Zuo
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Liwen Ma
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Yuchun He
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Wen-Wen Lin
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Ying Fang
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Ming Ge
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
- Program in Developmental BiologyBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Karen L Schulze
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | - Yanhui Hu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Allan C Spradling
- Department of EmbryologyHoward Hughes Medical Institute, Carnegie Institution for ScienceBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Stephanie E Mohr
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Norbert Perrimon
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Hugo J Bellen
- Department of Molecular and Human GeneticsBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Program in Developmental BiologyBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Harnish JM, Deal SL, Chao HT, Wangler MF, Yamamoto S. In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila. J Vis Exp 2019:10.3791/59658. [PMID: 31498321 PMCID: PMC7418855 DOI: 10.3791/59658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in sequencing technology have made whole-genome and whole-exome datasets more accessible for both clinical diagnosis and cutting-edge human genetics research. Although a number of in silico algorithms have been developed to predict the pathogenicity of variants identified in these datasets, functional studies are critical to determining how specific genomic variants affect protein function, especially for missense variants. In the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) and other rare disease research consortia, model organisms (MO) including Drosophila, C. elegans, zebrafish, and mice are actively used to assess the function of putative human disease-causing variants. This protocol describes a method for the functional assessment of rare human variants used in the Model Organisms Screening Center Drosophila Core of the UDN. The workflow begins with gathering human and MO information from multiple public databases, using the MARRVEL web resource to assess whether the variant is likely to contribute to a patient's condition as well as design effective experiments based on available knowledge and resources. Next, genetic tools (e.g., T2A-GAL4 and UAS-human cDNA lines) are generated to assess the functions of variants of interest in Drosophila. Upon development of these reagents, two-pronged functional assays based on rescue and overexpression experiments can be performed to assess variant function. In the rescue branch, the endogenous fly genes are "humanized" by replacing the orthologous Drosophila gene with reference or variant human transgenes. In the overexpression branch, the reference and variant human proteins are exogenously driven in a variety of tissues. In both cases, any scorable phenotype (e.g., lethality, eye morphology, electrophysiology) can be used as a read-out, irrespective of the disease of interest. Differences observed between reference and variant alleles suggest a variant-specific effect, and thus likely pathogenicity. This protocol allows rapid, in vivo assessments of putative human disease-causing variants of genes with known and unknown functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Michael Harnish
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
| | - Samantha L Deal
- Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine
| | - Hsiao-Tuan Chao
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine; Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine
| | - Michael F Wangler
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine; Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital
| | - Shinya Yamamoto
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine; Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine;
| |
Collapse
|