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Lacin H, Zhu Y, DiPaola JT, Wilson BA, Zhu Y, Skeath JB. A genetic screen in Drosophila uncovers a role for senseless-2 in surface glia in the peripheral nervous system to regulate CNS morphology. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae152. [PMID: 38996053 PMCID: PMC11373656 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Despite increasing in mass approximately 100-fold during larval life, the Drosophila CNS maintains its characteristic form. Dynamic interactions between the overlying basement membrane and underlying surface glia are known to regulate CNS structure in Drosophila, but the genes and pathways that establish and maintain CNS morphology during development remain poorly characterized. To identify genes that regulate CNS shape in Drosophila, we conducted an EMS-based, forward genetic screen of the second chromosome, uncovered 50 mutations that disrupt CNS structure, and mapped these alleles to 17 genes. Analysis of whole genome sequencing data wedded to genetic studies uncovered the affected gene for all but 1 mutation. Identified genes include well-characterized regulators of tissue shape, like LanB1, viking, and Collagen type IV alpha1, and previously characterized genes, such as Toll-2 and Rme-8, with no known role in regulating CNS structure. We also uncovered that papilin and C1GalTA likely act in the same pathway to regulate CNS structure and found that the fly homolog of a glucuronosyltransferase, B4GAT1/LARGE1, that regulates Dystroglycan function in mammals is required to maintain CNS shape in Drosophila. Finally, we show that the senseless-2 transcription factor is expressed and functions specifically in surface glia found on peripheral nerves but not in the CNS to govern CNS structure, identifying a gene that functionally subdivides a glial subtype along the peripheral-central axis. Future work on these genes should clarify the genetic mechanisms that ensure the homeostasis of CNS form during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haluk Lacin
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Systems, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 5009 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - Yuqing Zhu
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Jose T DiPaola
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Beth A Wilson
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yi Zhu
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - James B Skeath
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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2
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Ma K, Huang S, Ng KK, Lake NJ, Joseph S, Xu J, Lek A, Ge L, Woodman KG, Koczwara KE, Cohen J, Ho V, O'Connor CL, Brindley MA, Campbell KP, Lek M. Deep Mutational Scanning in Disease-related Genes with Saturation Mutagenesis-Reinforced Functional Assays (SMuRF). BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.12.548370. [PMID: 37873263 PMCID: PMC10592615 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.12.548370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Interpretation of disease-causing genetic variants remains a challenge in human genetics. Current costs and complexity of deep mutational scanning methods hamper crowd-sourcing approaches toward genome-wide resolution of variants in disease-related genes. Our framework, Saturation Mutagenesis-Reinforced Functional assays (SMuRF), addresses these issues by offering simple and cost-effective saturation mutagenesis, as well as streamlining functional assays to enhance the interpretation of unresolved variants. Applying SMuRF to neuromuscular disease genes FKRP and LARGE1, we generated functional scores for all possible coding single nucleotide variants, which aid in resolving clinically reported variants of uncertain significance. SMuRF also demonstrates utility in predicting disease severity, resolving critical structural regions, and providing training datasets for the development of computational predictors. Our approach opens new directions for enabling variant-to-function insights for disease genes in a manner that is broadly useful for crowd-sourcing implementation across standard research laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiyue Ma
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Shushu Huang
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Equal second authors
| | - Kenneth K Ng
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Equal second authors
| | - Nicole J Lake
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Soumya Joseph
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jenny Xu
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Angela Lek
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Muscular Dystrophy Association, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lin Ge
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Neurology, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Keryn G Woodman
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Justin Cohen
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Vincent Ho
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Melinda A Brindley
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Department of Population Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Senior Authors
| | - Kevin P Campbell
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Senior Authors
| | - Monkol Lek
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Senior Authors
- Lead Contact
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3
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Xu Y, Ma Q, Ren J, Chen L, Guo W, Feng K, Zeng Z, Huang T, Cai Y. Using Machine Learning Methods in Identifying Genes Associated with COVID-19 in Cardiomyocytes and Cardiac Vascular Endothelial Cells. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13041011. [PMID: 37109540 PMCID: PMC10146712 DOI: 10.3390/life13041011] [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: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) not only causes respiratory system damage, but also imposes strain on the cardiovascular system. Vascular endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes play an important role in cardiac function. The aberrant expression of genes in vascular endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes can lead to cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we sought to explain the influence of respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the gene expression levels of vascular endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes. We designed an advanced machine learning-based workflow to analyze the gene expression profile data of vascular endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes from patients with COVID-19 and healthy controls. An incremental feature selection method with a decision tree was used in building efficient classifiers and summarizing quantitative classification genes and rules. Some key genes, such as MALAT1, MT-CO1, and CD36, were extracted, which exert important effects on cardiac function, from the gene expression matrix of 104,182 cardiomyocytes, including 12,007 cells from patients with COVID-19 and 92,175 cells from healthy controls, and 22,438 vascular endothelial cells, including 10,812 cells from patients with COVID-19 and 11,626 cells from healthy controls. The findings reported in this study may provide insights into the effect of COVID-19 on cardiac cells and further explain the pathogenesis of COVID-19, and they may facilitate the identification of potential therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaochen Xu
- Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Qinglan Ma
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Jingxin Ren
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Lei Chen
- College of Information Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Wei Guo
- Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) & Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Kaiyan Feng
- Department of Computer Science, Guangdong AIB Polytechnic College, Guangzhou 510507, China
| | - Zhenbing Zeng
- Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Yudong Cai
- Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
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Carney TD, Hebalkar RY, Edeleva E, Çiçek IÖ, Shcherbata HR. Signaling through the dystrophin glycoprotein complex affects the stress-dependent transcriptome in Drosophila. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:286223. [PMID: 36594281 PMCID: PMC9922874 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Deficiencies in the human dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC), which links the extracellular matrix with the intracellular cytoskeleton, cause muscular dystrophies, a group of incurable disorders associated with heterogeneous muscle, brain and eye abnormalities. Stresses such as nutrient deprivation and aging cause muscle wasting, which can be exacerbated by reduced levels of the DGC in membranes, the integrity of which is vital for muscle health and function. Moreover, the DGC operates in multiple signaling pathways, demonstrating an important function in gene expression regulation. To advance disease diagnostics and treatment strategies, we strive to understand the genetic pathways that are perturbed by DGC mutations. Here, we utilized a Drosophila model to investigate the transcriptomic changes in mutants of four DGC components under temperature and metabolic stress. We identified DGC-dependent genes, stress-dependent genes and genes dependent on the DGC for a proper stress response, confirming a novel function of the DGC in stress-response signaling. This perspective yields new insights into the etiology of muscular dystrophy symptoms, possible treatment directions and a better understanding of DGC signaling and regulation under normal and stress conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis D. Carney
- Hannover Medical School, Research Group Gene Expression and Signaling, Institute of Cell Biochemistry, Hannover 30625, Germany,Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
| | - Rucha Y. Hebalkar
- Hannover Medical School, Research Group Gene Expression and Signaling, Institute of Cell Biochemistry, Hannover 30625, Germany
| | | | | | - Halyna R. Shcherbata
- Hannover Medical School, Research Group Gene Expression and Signaling, Institute of Cell Biochemistry, Hannover 30625, Germany,Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA,Author for correspondence ()
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Jahncke JN, Wright KM. The many roles of dystroglycan in nervous system development and function: Dystroglycan and neural circuit development: Dystroglycan and neural circuit development. Dev Dyn 2023; 252:61-80. [PMID: 35770940 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The glycoprotein dystroglycan was first identified in muscle, where it functions as part of the dystrophin glycoprotein complex to connect the extracellular matrix to the actin cytoskeleton. Mutations in genes involved in the glycosylation of dystroglycan cause a form of congenital muscular dystrophy termed dystroglycanopathy. In addition to its well-defined role in regulating muscle integrity, dystroglycan is essential for proper central and peripheral nervous system development. Patients with dystroglycanopathy can present with a wide range of neurological perturbations, but unraveling the complex role of Dag1 in the nervous system has proven to be a challenge. Over the past two decades, animal models of dystroglycanopathy have been an invaluable resource that has allowed researchers to elucidate dystroglycan's many roles in neural circuit development. In this review, we summarize the pathways involved in dystroglycan's glycosylation and its known interacting proteins, and discuss how it regulates neuronal migration, axon guidance, synapse formation, and its role in non-neuronal cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer N Jahncke
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Oregan Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Kevin M Wright
- Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Nakano M, Imamura R, Sugi T, Nishimura M. Human FAM3C restores memory-based thermotaxis of Caenorhabditis elegans famp-1/m70.4 loss-of-function mutants. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac242. [PMID: 36712359 PMCID: PMC9802357 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The family with sequence similarity 3 (FAM3) superfamily represents a distinct class of signaling molecules that share a characteristic structural feature. Mammalian FAM3 member C (FAM3C) is abundantly expressed in neuronal cells and released from the synaptic vesicle to the extracellular milieu in an activity-dependent manner. However, the neural function of FAM3C has yet to be fully clarified. We found that the protein sequence of human FAM3C is similar to that of the N-terminal tandem domains of Caenorhabditis elegans FAMP-1 (formerly named M70.4), which has been recognized as a tentative ortholog of mammalian FAM3 members or protein-O-mannose β-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 1 (POMGnT1). Missense mutations in the N-terminal domain, named Fam3L2, caused defects in memory-based thermotaxis but not in chemotaxis behaviors; these defects could be restored by AFD neuron-specific exogenous expression of a polypeptide corresponding to the Fam3L2 domain but not that corresponding to the Fam3L1. Moreover, human FAM3C could also rescue defective thermotaxis behavior in famp-1 mutant worms. An in vitro assay revealed that the Fam3L2 and FAM3C can bind with carbohydrates, similar to the stem domain of POMGnT1. The athermotactic mutations in the Fam3L2 domain caused a partial loss-of-function of FAMP-1, whereas the C-terminal truncation mutations led to more severe neural dysfunction that reduced locomotor activity. Overall, we show that the Fam3L2 domain-dependent function of FAMP-1 in AFD neurons is required for the thermotaxis migration of C. elegans and that human FAM3C can act as a substitute for the Fam3L2 domain in thermotaxis behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Nakano
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta-Tsukinowa, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan
| | - Ryuki Imamura
- Program of Biomedical Science, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 3-10-23 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-0046, Japan
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