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Strehlow V, Swinkels MEM, Thomas RH, Rapps N, Syrbe S, Dorn T, Lemke JR. Generalized Epilepsy and Myoclonic Seizures in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. Mol Syndromol 2016; 7:239-246. [PMID: 27781034 DOI: 10.1159/000448445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prompted by the observations of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) and recurrent copy number variants in genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE), we searched for further evidence supporting a possible correlation of 22q11DS with GGE and with myoclonic seizures. Through routine diagnostics, we identified 3 novel individuals with the seemingly uncommon combination of 22q11DS and JME. We subsequently screened the literature for reports focussing on the epilepsy phenotype in 22q11DS. We additionally screened a database of 173 22q11DS patients and identified a fourth individual with JME as well as 2 additional cases with GGE. We describe 6 novel and 22 published cases with co-occurrence of 22q11DS and GGE. In many patients, GGE was associated with myoclonic seizures allowing for a diagnosis of JME in at least 6 individuals. Seventeen of the 173 22q11DS cases (10%) had a diagnosis of either focal or generalized epilepsy. In these cases, focal epilepsy could often be attributed to syndrome-associated hypocalcaemia, cerebral bleeds, or structural brain anomalies. However, the cause of GGE remained unclear. In this study, we describe and review 28 individuals with 22q11DS and GGE (especially JME), showing that both disorders frequently co-occur. Compared to the reported prevalence of 15-21%, in our case series only 10% of 22q11DS individuals were found to have epilepsy, often GGE. Since 22q11.2 does not contain convincing GGE candidate genes, we discuss the possibility of an aetiological correlation through a possibly disturbed interaction with the GABAB receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Strehlow
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital and Clinics, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marielle E M Swinkels
- Department of Biomedical Genetics, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Rhys H Thomas
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Nora Rapps
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Steffen Syrbe
- Department of Women and Child Health, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University Hospital and Clinics, Leipzig, Germany; Division of Child Neurology and Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Department of General Paediatrics, Centre for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Johannes R Lemke
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital and Clinics, Leipzig, Germany
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Spruijt NE, Rana MS, Christoffels VM, Mink van der Molen AB. Exploring a neurogenic basis of velopharyngeal dysfunction in Tbx1 mutant mice: no difference in volumes of the nucleus ambiguus. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2013; 77:1002-7. [PMID: 23642587 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.03.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2013] [Revised: 03/25/2013] [Accepted: 03/28/2013] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Velopharyngeal hypotonia seems to be an important factor in velopharyngeal dysfunction in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, but the etiology is not understood. Because TBX1 maps within the typical 22q11.2 deletion and Tbx1-deficient mice phenocopy many findings in patients with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, TBX1 is considered the major candidate gene in the etiology of these defects. Tbx1 heterozygosity in mice results in abnormal vocalization 7 days postnatally, suggestive of velopharyngeal dysfunction. Previous case-control studies on muscle specimens from patients and mice revealed no evidence for a myogenic cause of velopharyngeal dysfunction. Velopharyngeal muscles are innervated by cranial nerves that receive signals from the nucleus ambiguus in the brainstem. In this study, a possible neurogenic cause underlying velopharyngeal dysfunction in Tbx1 heterozygous mice was explored by determining the size of the nucleus ambiguus in Tbx1 heterozygous and wild type mice. METHODS The cranial motor nuclei in the brainstems of postnatal day 7 wild type (n=4) and Tbx1 heterozygous (n=4) mice were visualized by in situ hybridization on transverse sections to detect Islet-1 mRNA, a transcription factor known to be expressed in motor neurons. The volumes of the nucleus ambiguus were calculated. RESULTS No substantial histological differences were noted between the nucleus ambiguus of the two groups. Tbx1 mutant mice had mean nucleus ambiguus volumes of 4.6 million μm(3) (standard error of the mean 0.9 million μm(3)) and wild type mice had mean volumes of 3.4 million μm(3) (standard error of the mean 0.6 million μm(3)). Neither the difference nor the variance between the means were statistically significant (t-test p=0.30, Levene's test p=0.47, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Based on the histology, there is no difference or variability between the volumes of the nucleus ambiguus of Tbx1 heterozygous and wild type mice. The etiology of velopharyngeal hypotonia and variable speech in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E Spruijt
- Department of Plastic Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Postbus 85090, KE 04.140.0, 3508 AB Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Shulha HP, Crisci JL, Reshetov D, Tushir JS, Cheung I, Bharadwaj R, Chou HJ, Houston IB, Peter CJ, Mitchell AC, Yao WD, Myers RH, Chen JF, Preuss TM, Rogaev EI, Jensen JD, Weng Z, Akbarian S. Human-specific histone methylation signatures at transcription start sites in prefrontal neurons. PLoS Biol 2012; 10:e1001427. [PMID: 23185133 PMCID: PMC3502543 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2012] [Accepted: 10/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive abilities and disorders unique to humans are thought to result from adaptively driven changes in brain transcriptomes, but little is known about the role of cis-regulatory changes affecting transcription start sites (TSS). Here, we mapped in human, chimpanzee, and macaque prefrontal cortex the genome-wide distribution of histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 4 (H3K4me3), an epigenetic mark sharply regulated at TSS, and identified 471 sequences with human-specific enrichment or depletion. Among these were 33 loci selectively methylated in neuronal but not non-neuronal chromatin from children and adults, including TSS at DPP10 (2q14.1), CNTN4 and CHL1 (3p26.3), and other neuropsychiatric susceptibility genes. Regulatory sequences at DPP10 and additional loci carried a strong footprint of hominid adaptation, including elevated nucleotide substitution rates and regulatory motifs absent in other primates (including archaic hominins), with evidence for selective pressures during more recent evolution and adaptive fixations in modern populations. Chromosome conformation capture at two neurodevelopmental disease loci, 2q14.1 and 16p11.2, revealed higher order chromatin structures resulting in physical contact of multiple human-specific H3K4me3 peaks spaced 0.5-1 Mb apart, in conjunction with a novel cis-bound antisense RNA linked to Polycomb repressor proteins and downregulated DPP10 expression. Therefore, coordinated epigenetic regulation via newly derived TSS chromatin could play an important role in the emergence of human-specific gene expression networks in brain that contribute to cognitive functions and neurological disease susceptibility in modern day humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hennady P. Shulha
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jessica L. Crisci
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Denis Reshetov
- Department of Human Genetics and Genomics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Jogender S. Tushir
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Iris Cheung
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Rahul Bharadwaj
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Hsin-Jung Chou
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Isaac B. Houston
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Cyril J. Peter
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Amanda C. Mitchell
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Wei-Dong Yao
- New England Primate Center, Southboro, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Richard H. Myers
- Department of Neurology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jiang-fan Chen
- Department of Neurology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Todd M. Preuss
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center/Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Evgeny I. Rogaev
- Department of Human Genetics and Genomics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Research Center of Mental Health, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian Federation
| | - Jeffrey D. Jensen
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Zhiping Weng
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Schahram Akbarian
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
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Radoeva PD, Coman IL, Antshel KM, Fremont W, McCarthy CS, Kotkar A, Wang D, Shprintzen RJ, Kates WR. Atlas-based white matter analysis in individuals with velo-cardio-facial syndrome (22q11.2 deletion syndrome) and unaffected siblings. Behav Brain Funct 2012; 8:38. [PMID: 22853778 PMCID: PMC3533822 DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-8-38] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2012] [Accepted: 07/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS, MIM#192430, 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome) is a genetic disorder caused by a deletion of about 40 genes at the q11.2 band of one copy of chromosome 22. Individuals with VCFS present with deficits in cognition and social functioning, high risk of psychiatric disorders, volumetric reductions in gray and white matter (WM) and some alterations of the WM microstructure. The goal of the current study was to characterize the WM microstructural differences in individuals with VCFS and unaffected siblings, and the correlation of WM microstructure with neuropsychological performance. We hypothesized that individuals with VCFS would have decreased indices of WM microstructure (fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD)), particularly in WM tracts to the frontal lobe, and that these measures would be correlated with cognitive functioning. Methods Thirty-three individuals with VCFS (21 female) and 16 unaffected siblings (8 female) participated in DTI scanning and neuropsychological testing. We performed an atlas-based analysis, extracted FA, AD, and RD measures for 54 WM tracts (27 in each hemisphere) for each participant, and used MANOVAs to compare individuals with VCFS to siblings. For WM tracts that were statistically significantly different between VCFS and siblings (pFDR < 0.05), we assessed the correlations between DTI and neuropsychological measures. Results In VCFS individuals as compared to unaffected siblings, we found decreased FA in the uncinate fasciculus, and decreased AD in multiple WM tracts (bilateral superior and posterior corona radiata, dorsal cingulum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, superior cerebellar peduncle, posterior thalamic radiation, and left anterior corona radiata, retrolenticular part of the internal capsule, external capsule, sagittal stratum). We also found significant correlations of AD with measures of executive function, IQ, working memory, and/or social cognition. Conclusions Our results suggest that individuals with VCFS display abnormal WM connectivity in a widespread cerebro-anatomical network, involving tracts from/to all cerebral lobes and the cerebellum. Future studies could focus on the WM developmental trajectory in VCFS, the association of WM alterations with psychiatric disorders, and the effects of candidate 22q11.2 genes on WM anomalies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petya D Radoeva
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
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Chakraborty D, Bernal AJ, Schoch K, Howard TD, Ip EH, Hooper SR, Keshavan MS, Jirtle RL, Shashi V, Shashi V. Dysregulation of DGCR6 and DGCR6L: psychopathological outcomes in chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Transl Psychiatry 2012; 2:e105. [PMID: 22832905 PMCID: PMC3337078 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2012.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is the most common microdeletion syndrome in humans. It is typified by highly variable symptoms, which might be explained by epigenetic regulation of genes in the interval. Using computational algorithms, our laboratory previously predicted that DiGeorge critical region 6 (DGCR6), which lies within the deletion interval, is imprinted in humans. Expression and epigenetic regulation of this gene have not, however, been examined in 22q11DS subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine if the expression levels of DGCR6 and its duplicate copy DGCR6L in 22q11DS subjects are associated with the parent-of-origin of the deletion and childhood psychopathologies. Our investigation showed no evidence of parent-of-origin-related differences in expression of both DGCR6 and DGCR6L. However, we found that the variability in DGCR6 expression was significantly greater in 22q11DS children than in age and gender-matched control individuals. Children with 22q11DS who had anxiety disorders had significantly lower DGCR6 expression, especially in subjects with the deletion on the maternal chromosome, despite the lack of imprinting. Our findings indicate that epigenetic mechanisms other than imprinting contribute to the dysregulation of these genes and the associated childhood psychopathologies observed in individuals with 22q11DS. Further studies are now needed to test the usefulness of DGCR6 and DGCR6L expression and alterations in the epigenome at these loci in predicting childhood anxiety and associated adult-onset pathologies in 22q11DS subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Chakraborty
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - A J Bernal
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - K Schoch
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - T D Howard
- Center for Genomics & Personalized Medicine Research and Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - E H Ip
- Center for Genomics & Personalized Medicine Research and Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - S R Hooper
- Department of Psychiatry and the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - M S Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R L Jirtle
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - V Shashi
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA,Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Box 102857, DUMC, 595 LaSalle Street, Durham, NC 27710, USA. E-mail:
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