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Ling Y, Wu J, Liu Y, Meng P, Sun Y, Zhao D, Lin Q. Establishment of a Diamond-Blackfan anemia like model in zebrafish. Dev Dyn 2024. [PMID: 38450920 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anemia is defined as a lack of erythrocytes, low hemoglobin levels, or abnormal erythrocyte morphology. Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a rare and severe congenital hypoplastic anemia that occurs due to the dominant inheritance of a ribosomal protein gene mutation. Even rarer is a case described as Diamond-Blackfan anemia like (DBAL), which occurs due to a loss-of-function EPO mutation recessive inheritance. The effective cures for DBAL are bone marrow transfusion and treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). To effectively manage the condition, construction of DBAL models to identify new medical methods or screen drugs are necessary. RESULTS Here, an epoa-deficient mutant zebrafish called epoaszy8 was generated to model DBAL. The epoa-deficiency in zebrafish caused developmental defects in erythroid cells, leading to severe congenital anemia. Using the DBAL model, we validated a loss-of-function EPO mutation using an in vivo functional analysis and explored the ability of ESAs to alleviate congenital anemia. CONCLUSIONS Together, our study demonstrated that epoa deficiency in zebrafish leads to a phenotype resembling DBAL. The DBAL zebrafish model was found to be beneficial for the in vivo assessment of patient-derived EPO variants with unclear implications and for devising potential therapeutic approaches for DBAL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Ling
- The Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education for Development and Diseases, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiaye Wu
- The Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education for Development and Diseases, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yushi Liu
- The Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education for Development and Diseases, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Panpan Meng
- The Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education for Development and Diseases, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying Sun
- The Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education for Development and Diseases, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dejian Zhao
- Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qing Lin
- The Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education for Development and Diseases, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
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Ramli, Aramaki T, Watanabe M, Kondo S. Piezo1 mutant zebrafish as a model of idiopathic scoliosis. Front Genet 2024; 14:1321379. [PMID: 38259612 PMCID: PMC10801085 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1321379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Scoliosis is a condition where the spine curves sideways, unique to humans due to their upright posture. However, the cause of this disease is not well understood because it is challenging to find a model for experimentation. This study aimed to create a model for human idiopathic scoliosis by manipulating the function of mechanosensitive channels called Piezo channels in zebrafish. Zebrafish were chosen because they experience similar biomechanical forces to humans, particularly in relation to the role of mechanical force in scoliosis progression. Here we describe piezo1 and piezo2a are involved in bone formation, with a double knockout resulting in congenital systemic malformations. However, an in-frame mutation of piezo1 led to fully penetrant juvenile-onset scoliosis, bone asymmetry, reduced tissue mineral density, and abnormal intervertebral discs-resembling non-congenital scoliosis symptoms in humans. These findings suggest that functional Piezo channels responding to mechanical forces are crucial for bone formation and maintaining spine integrity, providing insights into skeletal disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramli
- Laboratory of Pattern Formation, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Aramaki
- Laboratory of Pattern Formation, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Japan Science and Technology Agency, PRESTO, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masakatsu Watanabe
- Laboratory of Pattern Formation, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Shigeru Kondo
- Laboratory of Pattern Formation, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
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Lin SJ, Vona B, Lau T, Huang K, Zaki MS, Aldeen HS, Karimiani EG, Rocca C, Noureldeen MM, Saad AK, Petree C, Bartolomaeus T, Abou Jamra R, Zifarelli G, Gotkhindikar A, Wentzensen IM, Liao M, Cork EE, Varshney P, Hashemi N, Mohammadi MH, Rad A, Neira J, Toosi MB, Knopp C, Kurth I, Challman TD, Smith R, Abdalla A, Haaf T, Suri M, Joshi M, Chung WK, Moreno-De-Luca A, Houlden H, Maroofian R, Varshney GK. Evaluating the association of biallelic OGDHL variants with significant phenotypic heterogeneity. Genome Med 2023; 15:102. [PMID: 38031187 PMCID: PMC10688095 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-023-01258-4] [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: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biallelic variants in OGDHL, encoding part of the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, have been associated with highly heterogeneous neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the validity of this association remains to be confirmed. A second OGDHL patient cohort was recruited to carefully assess the gene-disease relationship. METHODS Using an unbiased genotype-first approach, we screened large, multiethnic aggregated sequencing datasets worldwide for biallelic OGDHL variants. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate zebrafish knockouts of ogdhl, ogdh paralogs, and dhtkd1 to investigate functional relationships and impact during development. Functional complementation with patient variant transcripts was conducted to systematically assess protein functionality as a readout for pathogenicity. RESULTS A cohort of 14 individuals from 12 unrelated families exhibited highly variable clinical phenotypes, with the majority of them presenting at least one additional variant, potentially accounting for a blended phenotype and complicating phenotypic understanding. We also uncovered extreme clinical heterogeneity and high allele frequencies, occasionally incompatible with a fully penetrant recessive disorder. Human cDNA of previously described and new variants were tested in an ogdhl zebrafish knockout model, adding functional evidence for variant reclassification. We disclosed evidence of hypomorphic alleles as well as a loss-of-function variant without deleterious effects in zebrafish variant testing also showing discordant familial segregation, challenging the relationship of OGDHL as a conventional Mendelian gene. Going further, we uncovered evidence for a complex compensatory relationship among OGDH, OGDHL, and DHTKD1 isoenzymes that are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and exhibit complex transcriptional compensation patterns with partial functional redundancy. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results of genetic, clinical, and functional studies, we formed three hypotheses in which to frame observations: biallelic OGDHL variants lead to a highly variable monogenic disorder, variants in OGDHL are following a complex pattern of inheritance, or they may not be causative at all. Our study further highlights the continuing challenges of assessing the validity of reported disease-gene associations and effects of variants identified in these genes. This is particularly more complicated in making genetic diagnoses based on identification of variants in genes presenting a highly heterogenous phenotype such as "OGDHL-related disorders".
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Jia Lin
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Barbara Vona
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tübingen Hearing Research Center, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Tracy Lau
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kevin Huang
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Maha S Zaki
- Clinical Genetics Department, Human Genetics and Genome Research Institute, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Huda Shujaa Aldeen
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ehsan Ghayoor Karimiani
- Molecular and Clinical Sciences Institute, St. George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace London, London, UK
| | - Clarissa Rocca
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Mahmoud M Noureldeen
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt
| | - Ahmed K Saad
- Medical Molecular Genetics Department, Human Genetics and Genome Research Institute, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Cassidy Petree
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Tobias Bartolomaeus
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Rami Abou Jamra
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | - Emalyn Elise Cork
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Pratishtha Varshney
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Narges Hashemi
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | | | - Aboulfazl Rad
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tübingen Hearing Research Center, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Juanita Neira
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Mehran Beiraghi Toosi
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Cordula Knopp
- Institute for Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany
| | - Ingo Kurth
- Institute for Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany
| | - Thomas D Challman
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | - Rebecca Smith
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | - Asmahan Abdalla
- Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Gaafar Ibn Auf Children's Tertiary Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Thomas Haaf
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Mohnish Suri
- Nottingham Clinical Genetics Service, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
| | - Manali Joshi
- Bioinformatics Centre, S. P. Pune University, Pune, India
| | - Wendy K Chung
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospitaland, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA, USA
| | - Andres Moreno-De-Luca
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Henry Houlden
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Reza Maroofian
- Department of Neuromuscular Disorders, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Gaurav K Varshney
- Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA.
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Salanga CM, Salanga MC. Genotype to Phenotype: CRISPR Gene Editing Reveals Genetic Compensation as a Mechanism for Phenotypic Disjunction of Morphants and Mutants. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22073472. [PMID: 33801686 PMCID: PMC8036752 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Forward genetic screens have shown the consequences of deleterious mutations; however, they are best suited for model organisms with fast reproductive rates and large broods. Furthermore, investigators must faithfully identify changes in phenotype, even if subtle, to realize the full benefit of the screen. Reverse genetic approaches also probe genotype to phenotype relationships, except that the genetic targets are predefined. Until recently, reverse genetic approaches relied on non-genomic gene silencing or the relatively inefficient, homology-dependent gene targeting for loss-of-function generation. Fortunately, the flexibility and simplicity of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system has revolutionized reverse genetics, allowing for the precise mutagenesis of virtually any gene in any organism at will. The successful integration of insertions/deletions (INDELs) and nonsense mutations that would, at face value, produce the expected loss-of-function phenotype, have been shown to have little to no effect, even if other methods of gene silencing demonstrate robust loss-of-function consequences. The disjunction between outcomes has raised important questions about our understanding of genotype to phenotype and highlights the capacity for compensation in the central dogma. This review describes recent studies in which genomic compensation appears to be at play, discusses the possible compensation mechanisms, and considers elements important for robust gene loss-of-function studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristy M. Salanga
- Office of the Vice President for Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA;
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Matthew C. Salanga
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
- Correspondence:
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