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Sebire NJ. Recurrent GTD and GTD coexisting with normal twin pregnancy. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2020; 74:122-130. [PMID: 33451920 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Hydatidiform mole (HM) affects around 1/1000 pregnancies, and in such cases the recurrence risk is around 1%, being greater for those with complete HM (CHM). Whilst most cases appear sporadic with unknown mechanisms, there is a distinct subgroup of patients who suffer recurrent pregnancy loss, including multiple recurrent CHM (familial recurrent biparental HM syndrome). The majority of these cases are related to maternal genetic mutations in genes related to the control of imprinting, specifically NALP7 and KHDC3L. Oocyte donation is an effective treatment allowing these patients to have successful pregnancies. Approximately 1 in 50,000 pregnancies are complicated by twin pregnancy comprising normal foetus and HM, the majority of reported cases being CHM. Such pregnancies are at significantly increased risk of complications, including pregnancy loss, early-onset preeclampsia and severe preterm delivery, but when managed conservatively the delivery of a liveborn healthy infant occurs in around one-third of cases. Regardless of management, the risk of persistent GTD in such cases appears similar to that following singleton CHM. Rarely, other conditions mimic prenatal ultrasound appearances of twin pregnancy with HM, CHM mosaicism and placental mesenchymal dysplasia, both of which have distinctive histological and genetic features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil J Sebire
- Trophoblastic Disease Unit, Department of Histopathology, Charing Cross Hospital Imperial Nhs Trust, London, UK.
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Reproductive Outcomes from Maternal Loss of Nlrp2 Are Not Improved by IVF or Embryo Transfer Consistent with Oocyte-Specific Defect. Reprod Sci 2020; 28:1850-1865. [PMID: 33090377 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-020-00360-x] [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: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Nlrp2 encodes a protein of the oocyte subcortical maternal complex (SCMC), required for embryo development. We previously showed that loss of maternal Nlrp2 in mice causes subfertility, smaller litters with birth defects, and growth abnormalities in offspring, indicating that Nlrp2 is a maternal effect gene and that all embryos from Nlrp2-deficient females that were cultured in vitro arrested before the blastocysts stage. Here, we used time-lapse microscopy to examine the development of cultured embryos from superovulated Nlrp2-deficient and wild-type mice after in vivo and in vitro fertilization. Embryos from Nlrp2-deficient females had similar abnormal cleavage and fragmentation and arrested by blastocyst stage, irrespective of fertilization mode. This indicates that in vitro fertilization does not further perturb or improve the development of cultured embryos. We also transferred embryos from superovulated Nlrp2-deficient and wild-type females to wild-type recipients to investigate if the abnormal reproductive outcomes of Nlrp2-deficient females are primarily driven by oocyte dysfunction or if a suboptimal intra-uterine milieu is a necessary factor. Pregnancies with transferred embryos from Nlrp2-deficient females produced smaller litters, stillbirths, and offspring with birth defects and growth abnormalities. This indicates that the reproductive phenotype is oocyte-specific and is not rescued by development in a wild-type uterus. We further found abnormal DNA methylation at two maternally imprinted loci in the kidney of surviving young adult offspring, confirming persistent DNA methylation disturbances in surviving offspring. These findings have implications for fertility treatments for women with mutations in NLRP2 and other genes encoding SCMC proteins.
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Li G, Tian X, Lv D, Zhang L, Zhang Z, Wang J, Yang M, Tao J, Ma T, Wu H, Ji P, Wu Y, Lian Z, Cui W, Liu G. NLRP7 is expressed in the ovine ovary and associated with in vitro pre-implantation embryo development. Reproduction 2020; 158:415-427. [PMID: 31505467 PMCID: PMC6826174 DOI: 10.1530/rep-19-0081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
NLRP (NACHT, LRR and PYD domain-containing proteins) family plays pivotal roles in mammalian reproduction. Mutation of NLRP7 is often associated with human recurrent hydatidiform moles. Few studies regarding the functions of NLRP7 have been performed in other mammalian species rather than humans. In the current study, for the first time, the function of NLRP7 has been explored in ovine ovary. NLRP7 protein was mainly located in ovarian follicles and in in vitro pre-implantation embryos. To identify its origin, 763 bp partial CDS of NLRP7 deriving from sheep cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) was cloned, it showed a great homology with Homo sapiens. The high levels of mRNA and protein of NLRP7 were steadily expressed in oocytes, parthenogenetic embryos or IVF embryos. NLRP7 knockdown by the combination of siRNA and shRNA jeopardized both the parthenogenetic and IVF embryo development. These results strongly suggest that NLRP7 plays an important role in ovine reproduction. The potential mechanisms of NLRP7 will be fully investigated in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangdong Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiuzhi Tian
- Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dongying Lv
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenzhen Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Minghui Yang
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jingli Tao
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Teng Ma
- Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Wu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Pengyun Ji
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Yingjie Wu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhengxing Lian
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Cui
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Guoshi Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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Sunde L, Lund H, J Sebire N, Grove A, Fisher RA, Niemann I, Kjeldsen E, Andreasen L, Hansen ES, Bojesen A, Bolund L, Nyegaard M. Paternal Hemizygosity in 11p15 in Mole-like Conceptuses: Two Case Reports. Medicine (Baltimore) 2015; 94:e1776. [PMID: 26554776 PMCID: PMC4915877 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000001776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydatidiform mole is an abnormal human pregnancy characterized by the fetus being absent or nonviable, and the chorionic villi being vesicular and with trophoblastic hyperplasia. Most often, the mole phenotype is seen in conceptuses with an excess of paternally inherited genome set(s) relative to maternally inherited genome set(s), suggesting that the phenotype is caused by an excess of genome with a paternal imprinting pattern. However, it is unknown if correct parental origin of every imprinted gene is crucial for normal early differentiation or if abnormal parental imprinting of only one, or some, gene(s) can cause the mole phenotype.Two conceptuses included in the Danish Mole Project stood out since they presented with vesicular chorionic villi and without signs of fetal differentiation, and had apparently biparental diploid genomes, and no mutations in NLRP7 or KHDC3L were detected in the mothers. These conceptuses were subjected to a centralized histopathological revision and their genetic complements were scrutinized using fluorescence in situ hybridization, and DNA-marker and array comparative genomic hybridization analyses. Both conceptuses showed dysmorphic chorionic villi with some similarities to hydatidiform moles; however, no definite florid trophoblast hyperplasia was observed. Both conceptuses showed paternal hemizygosity of 11pter-11p15.4, most likely in nonmosaic state.Our findings suggest that the product of one (or a few) maternally expressed gene(s) on the tip of chromosome 11 is necessary for normal early embryonic differentiation. However, since the present two cases did not exhibit all features of hydatidiform moles, it is likely that abnormal parental imprinting of genes in other regions contribute to the phenotype of a hydatidiform mole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lone Sunde
- From the Department of Clinical Genetics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark (LS); Institute of Pathology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark (HL, AG); Trophoblastic Tumour Screening and Treatment Centre, Department of Oncology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS (NJS, RF); Institute of Child Health, University College London (NJS); Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK (RF); Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N (IN); Hemodiagnostic Laboratory, CancercytogeneticSection, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C, Denmark (EK); Department of Immunology and Biochemistry, Vejle Sygehus, Vejle, Denmark (LA); Department of Pathology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C, Denmark (EH); Department of Clinical Genetics, Vejle Sygehus, Vejle, Denmark (AB); Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark (LS, LB, MN); and Beijing Genomics Institute/HuaDa-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China (LB)
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Bebbere D, Ariu F, Bogliolo L, Masala L, Murrone O, Fattorini M, Falchi L, Ledda S. Expression of maternally derived KHDC3, NLRP5, OOEP and TLE6 is associated with oocyte developmental competence in the ovine species. BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2014; 14:40. [PMID: 25420964 PMCID: PMC4247878 DOI: 10.1186/s12861-014-0040-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The sub-cortical maternal complex (SCMC), located in the subcortex of mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos, is composed of at least four proteins encoded by maternal effect genes: OOEP, NLRP5/MATER, TLE6 and KHDC3/FILIA. The SCMC assembles during oocyte growth and was seen to be essential for murine zygote progression beyond the first embryonic cell divisions; although roles in chromatin reprogramming and embryonic genome activation were hypothesized, the full range of functions of the complex in preimplantation development remains largely unknown. RESULTS Here we report the expression of the SCMC genes in ovine oocytes and pre-implantation embryos, describing for the first time its expression in a large mammalian species. We report sheep-specific patterns of expression and a relationship with the oocyte developmental potential in terms of delayed degradation of maternal SCMC transcripts in pre-implantation embryos derived from developmentally incompetent oocytes. In addition, by determining OOEP full length cDNA by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE) we identified two different transcript variants (OOEP1 and OOEP2), both expressed in oocytes and early embryos, but with different somatic tissue distributions. In silico translation showed that 140 aminoacid peptide OOEP1 shares an identity with orthologous proteins ranging from 95% with the bovine to 45% with mouse. Conversely, OOEP2 contains a premature termination codon, thus representing an alternative noncoding transcript and supporting the existence of aberrant splicing during ovine oogenesis. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirm the existence of the SCMC in sheep and its key role for the oocyte developmental potential, deepening our understanding on the molecular differences underlying cytoplasmic vs nuclear maturation of the oocytes. Describing differences and overlaps in transcriptome composition between model organisms advance our comprehension of the diversity/uniformity between mammalian species during early embryonic development and provide information on genes that play important regulatory roles in fertility in nonmurine models, including the human.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Bebbere
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Federica Ariu
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Luisa Bogliolo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Laura Masala
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Ombretta Murrone
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Mauro Fattorini
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Laura Falchi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
| | - Sergio Ledda
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
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Aghajanova L, Mahadevan S, Altmäe S, Stavreus-Evers A, Regan L, Sebire N, Dixon P, Fisher RA, Van den Veyver IB. No evidence for mutations in NLRP7, NLRP2 or KHDC3L in women with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss or infertility. Hum Reprod 2014; 30:232-8. [PMID: 25376457 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deu296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION Are mutations in NLRP2/7 (NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 2/7) or KHDC3L (KH Domain Containing 3 Like) associated with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) or infertility? SUMMARY ANSWER We found no evidence for mutations in NLRP2/7 or KHDC3L in unexplained RPL or infertility. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Mutations in NLRP7 and KHDC3L are known to cause biparental hydatidiform moles (BiHMs), a rare form of pregnancy loss. NLRP2, while not associated with the BiHM pathology, is known to cause recurrent Beckwith Weidemann Syndrome (BWS). STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, AND DURATION Ninety-four patients with well characterized, unexplained infertility were recruited over a 9-year period from three IVF clinics in Sweden. Blood samples from 24 patients with 3 or more consecutive miscarriages of unknown etiology were provided by the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic at St Mary's Hospital, London, UK. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Patients were recruited into both cohorts following extensive clinical studies. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood and subject to Sanger sequencing of NLRP2, NLRP7 and KHDC3L. Sequence electropherograms were analyzed by Sequencher v5.0 software and variants compared with those observed in the 1000 Genomes, single nucleotide polymorphism database (dbSNP) and HapMap databases. Functional effects of non-synonymous variants were predicted using Polyphen-2 and sorting intolerant from tolerant (SIFT). MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE No disease-causing mutations were identified in NLRP2, NLRP7 and KHDC3L in our cohorts of unexplained infertility and RPL. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Due to the limited patient size, it is difficult to conclude if the low frequency single nucleotide polymorphisms observed in the present study are causative of the phenotype. The design of the present study therefore is only capable of detecting highly penetrant mutations. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The present study supports the hypothesis that mutations in NLRP7 and KHDC3L are specific for the BiHM phenotype and do not play a role in other adverse reproductive outcomes. Furthermore, to date, mutations in NLRP2 have only been associated with the imprinting disorder BWS in offspring and there is no evidence for a role in molar pregnancies, RPL or unexplained infertility. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS This study was funded by the following sources: Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (Grant SF0180044s09), Enterprise Estonia (Grant EU30020); Mentored Resident research project (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine); Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Centre; Grant Number C06RR029965 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCCR; NIH). No competing interests declared.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Aghajanova
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - S Mahadevan
- Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, One Baylor Plaza, Mailstop BCM610, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - S Altmäe
- Competence Centre on Reproductive Medicine and Biology, Tartu 50410, Estonia
| | - A Stavreus-Evers
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala 75105, Sweden
| | - L Regan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St Mary's Campus, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - N Sebire
- Paediatric and Developmental Pathology, Institute of Child Health/Great Ormond Street Hospital, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - P Dixon
- Division of Women's Health, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, UK
| | - R A Fisher
- Trophoblastic Tumour Screening and Treatment Centre, Charing Cross Campus, Imperial College London, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - I B Van den Veyver
- Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, One Baylor Plaza, Mailstop BCM610, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Van Gorp H, Kuchmiy A, Van Hauwermeiren F, Lamkanfi M. NOD-like receptors interfacing the immune and reproductive systems. FEBS J 2014; 281:4568-82. [PMID: 25154302 DOI: 10.1111/febs.13014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Revised: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain receptors (NOD-like receptors, NLRs) are intracellular proteins that are chiefly known for their critical functions in inflammatory responses and host defense against microbial pathogens. Several NLRs have been demonstrated to assemble inflammasomes or to engage transcriptional signaling cascades that result in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and bactericidal factors. In recent years, NLRs have also emerged as key regulators of early mammalian embryogenesis and reproduction. A subset of phylogenetically related NLRs represents a new class of maternal effect genes that are highly expressed in maturing oocytes and pre-implantation embryos. Mutations in several of these NLRs have been linked to hereditary reproductive defects and imprinting diseases. In this review, we discuss the expression profiles, the emerging functions and molecular mode of action of these NLRs with newly recognized roles at the interfaces of the immune and reproductive systems. In addition, we provide an overview of coding mutations in NLRs that have been associated with human reproductive diseases, and outline crucial outstanding questions in this emerging research field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanne Van Gorp
- Department of Medical Protein Research, VIB, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Mahadevan S, Wen S, Balasa A, Fruhman G, Mateus J, Wagner A, Al-Hussaini T, Van den Veyver IB. No evidence for mutations in NLRP7 and KHDC3L in women with androgenetic hydatidiform moles. Prenat Diagn 2013; 33:1242-7. [PMID: 24105752 DOI: 10.1002/pd.4239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2013] [Revised: 08/23/2013] [Accepted: 09/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the mutational spectrum of NLRP7 and KHDC3L (C6orf221) in women with sporadic and recurrent androgenetic complete hydatidiform moles (AnCHM) and biparental hydatidiform moles (BiHM) to address the hypothesis that autosomal recessive mutations in these genes are only or primarily associated with BiHM. METHOD We recruited 16 women with suspected recurrent and sporadic AnCHM and five women with suspected BiHM in addition to their reproductive partners into our study. We then sequenced the coding exons of NLRP7 and KHDC3L from DNA isolated from either blood or saliva from the study subjects. RESULTS Sequence analysis of NLRP7 and KHDC3L revealed previously described single nucleotide polymorphisms in patients with AnCHM. However, in patients with BiHM, we identified a novel homozygous mutation and a previously described intragenic duplication of exons 2 to 5 in NLRP7, both of which are likely to be disease causing. We did not identify mutations in KHDC3L in patients with either form of hydatidiform moles. CONCLUSIONS The absence of mutations in women with AnCHM supports a role for NLRP7 or KHDC3L in BiHM only. The absence of mutations in KHDC3L in women with BiHM is consistent with its minor role in this disease compared with NLRP7, the major BiHM gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangeetha Mahadevan
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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Mahadevan S, Wen S, Wan YW, Peng HH, Otta S, Liu Z, Iacovino M, Mahen EM, Kyba M, Sadikovic B, Van den Veyver IB. NLRP7 affects trophoblast lineage differentiation, binds to overexpressed YY1 and alters CpG methylation. Hum Mol Genet 2013; 23:706-16. [PMID: 24105472 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddt457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal-effect mutations in NLRP7 cause rare biparentally inherited hydatidiform moles (BiHMs), abnormal pregnancies containing hypertrophic vesicular trophoblast but no embryo. BiHM trophoblasts display abnormal DNA methylation patterns affecting maternally methylated germline differentially methylated regions (gDMRs), suggesting that NLRP7 plays an important role in reprogramming imprinted gDMRs. How NLRP7-a component of the CATERPILLAR family of proteins involved in innate immunity and apoptosis-causes these specific DNA methylation and trophoblast defects is unknown. Because rodents lack NLRP7, we used human embryonic stem cells to study its function and demonstrate that NLRP7 interacts with YY1, an important chromatin-binding factor. Reduced NLRP7 levels alter DNA methylation and accelerate trophoblast lineage differentiation. NLRP7 thus appears to function in chromatin reprogramming and DNA methylation in the germline or early embryonic development, functions not previously associated with members of the NLRP family.
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Andreasen L, Christiansen O, Niemann I, Bolund L, Sunde L. NLRP7 or KHDC3L genes and the etiology of molar pregnancies and recurrent miscarriage. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 19:773-81. [DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gat056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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