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Wang L, Bu T, Wu X, Li L, Sun F, Cheng CY. Motor proteins, spermatogenesis and testis function. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2024; 141:381-445. [PMID: 38960481 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2024.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
The role of motor proteins in supporting intracellular transports of vesicles and organelles in mammalian cells has been known for decades. On the other hand, the function of motor proteins that support spermatogenesis is also well established since the deletion of motor protein genes leads to subfertility and/or infertility. Furthermore, mutations and genetic variations of motor protein genes affect fertility in men, but also a wide range of developmental defects in humans including multiple organs besides the testis. In this review, we seek to provide a summary of microtubule and actin-dependent motor proteins based on earlier and recent findings in the field. Since these two cytoskeletons are polarized structures, different motor proteins are being used to transport cargoes to different ends of these cytoskeletons. However, their involvement in germ cell transport across the blood-testis barrier (BTB) and the epithelium of the seminiferous tubules remains relatively unknown. It is based on recent findings in the field, we have provided a hypothetical model by which motor proteins are being used to support germ cell transport across the BTB and the seminiferous epithelium during the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis. In our discussion, we have highlighted the areas of research that deserve attention to bridge the gap of research in relating the function of motor proteins to spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingling Wang
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China; Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China
| | - Tiao Bu
- Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China
| | - Xiaolong Wu
- Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China
| | - Linxi Li
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China
| | - Fei Sun
- Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China
| | - C Yan Cheng
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China; Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
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Yao M, Qu H, Han Y, Cheng CY, Xiao X. Kinesins in Mammalian Spermatogenesis and Germ Cell Transport. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:837542. [PMID: 35547823 PMCID: PMC9083010 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.837542] [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] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In mammalian testes, the apical cytoplasm of each Sertoli cell holds up to several dozens of germ cells, especially spermatids that are transported up and down the seminiferous epithelium. The blood-testis barrier (BTB) established by neighboring Sertoli cells in the basal compartment restructures on a regular basis to allow preleptotene/leptotene spermatocytes to pass through. The timely transfer of germ cells and other cellular organelles such as residual bodies, phagosomes, and lysosomes across the epithelium to facilitate spermatogenesis is important and requires the microtubule-based cytoskeleton in Sertoli cells. Kinesins, a superfamily of the microtubule-dependent motor proteins, are abundantly and preferentially expressed in the testis, but their functions are poorly understood. This review summarizes recent findings on kinesins in mammalian spermatogenesis, highlighting their potential role in germ cell traversing through the BTB and the remodeling of Sertoli cell-spermatid junctions to advance spermatid transport. The possibility of kinesins acting as a mediator and/or synchronizer for cell cycle progression, germ cell transit, and junctional rearrangement and turnover is also discussed. We mostly cover findings in rodents, but we also make special remarks regarding humans. We anticipate that this information will provide a framework for future research in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxia Yao
- Center for Reproductive Health, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hangzhou Medical College (Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences), Hangzhou, China
| | - Haoyang Qu
- Center for Reproductive Health, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hangzhou Medical College (Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences), Hangzhou, China
| | - Yating Han
- Center for Reproductive Health, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hangzhou Medical College (Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences), Hangzhou, China
| | - C Yan Cheng
- Department of Urology and Andrology, Sir Run-Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiang Xiao
- Center for Reproductive Health, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hangzhou Medical College (Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences), Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Provincial Laboratory of Experimental Animal's & Nonclinical Laboratory Studies, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
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Blasius TL, Yue Y, Prasad R, Liu X, Gennerich A, Verhey KJ. Sequences in the stalk domain regulate auto-inhibition and ciliary tip localization of the immotile kinesin-4 KIF7. J Cell Sci 2021; 134:269104. [PMID: 34114033 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.258464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The kinesin-4 member KIF7 plays critical roles in Hedgehog signaling in vertebrate cells. KIF7 is an atypical kinesin as it binds to microtubules but is immotile. We demonstrate that, like conventional kinesins, KIF7 is regulated by auto-inhibition, as the full-length protein is inactive for microtubule binding in cells. We identify a segment, the inhibitory coiled coil (inhCC), that is required for auto-inhibition of KIF7, whereas the adjacent regulatory coiled coil (rCC) that contributes to auto-inhibition of the motile kinesin-4s KIF21A and KIF21B is not sufficient for KIF7 auto-inhibition. Disease-associated mutations in the inhCC relieve auto-inhibition and result in strong microtubule binding. Surprisingly, uninhibited KIF7 proteins did not bind preferentially to or track the plus ends of growing microtubules in cells, as suggested by previous in vitro work, but rather bound along cytosolic and axonemal microtubules. Localization to the tip of the primary cilium also required the inhCC, and could be increased by disease-associated mutations regardless of the auto-inhibition state of the protein. These findings suggest that loss of KIF7 auto-inhibition and/or altered cilium tip localization can contribute to the pathogenesis of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Lynne Blasius
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Yang Yue
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - RaghuRam Prasad
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Xinglei Liu
- Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology and Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10461, USA
| | - Arne Gennerich
- Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology and Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10461, USA
| | - Kristen J Verhey
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Corpus Callosum Agenesis: An Insight into the Etiology and Spectrum of Symptoms. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10090625. [PMID: 32916978 PMCID: PMC7565833 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10090625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain hemispheres are connected by commissural structures, which consist of white matter fiber tracts that spread excitatory stimuli to various regions of the cortex. This allows an interaction between the two cerebral halves. The largest commissure is the corpus callosum (CC) which is located inferior to the longitudinal fissure, serving as its lower border. Sometimes this structure is not completely developed, which results in the condition known as agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). The aim of this paper was to review the latest discoveries related to the genetic and metabolic background of ACC, including the genotype/phenotype correlations as well as the clinical and imaging symptomatology. Due to various factors, including genetic defects and metabolic diseases, the development of CC may be impaired in many ways, which results in complete or partial ACC. This creates several clinical implications, depending on the specificity of the malformation and other defects in patients. Epilepsy, motor impairment and intellectual disability are the most prevalent. However, an asymptomatic course of the disease is even more common. ACC presents with characteristic images on ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
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Massa F, Tammaro R, Prado MA, Cesana M, Lee BH, Finley D, Franco B, Morleo M. The deubiquitinating enzyme Usp14 controls ciliogenesis and Hedgehog signaling. Hum Mol Genet 2020; 28:764-777. [PMID: 30388222 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary cilia are hair-like organelles that play crucial roles in vertebrate development, organogenesis and when dysfunctional result in pleiotropic human genetic disorders called ciliopathies, characterized by overlapping phenotypes, such as renal and hepatic cysts, skeletal defects, retinal degeneration and central nervous system malformations. Primary cilia act as communication hubs to transfer extracellular signals into intracellular responses and are essential for Hedgehog (Hh) signal transduction in mammals. Despite the renewed interest in this ancient organelle of growing biomedical importance, the molecular mechanisms that trigger cilia formation, extension and ciliary signal transduction are still not fully understood. Here we provide, for the first time, evidence that the deubiquitinase ubiquitin-specific protease-14 (Usp14), a major regulator of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), controls ciliogenesis, cilia elongation and Hh signal transduction. Moreover, we show that pharmacological inhibition of Usp14 positively affects Hh signal transduction in a model of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. These findings provide new insight into the spectrum of action of UPS in cilia biology and may provide novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention in human conditions associated with ciliary dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filomena Massa
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Roberta Tammaro
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Miguel A Prado
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marcella Cesana
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Byung-Hoon Lee
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of New Biology, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, Korea
| | - Daniel Finley
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brunella Franco
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy.,Medical Genetics, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Via Sergio Pansini 5, Naples, Italy
| | - Manuela Morleo
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy.,Medical Genetics, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Via Sergio Pansini 5, Naples, Italy
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Pavone P, Praticò AD, Rizzo R, Corsello G, Ruggieri M, Parano E, Falsaperla R. A clinical review on megalencephaly: A large brain as a possible sign of cerebral impairment. Medicine (Baltimore) 2017; 96:e6814. [PMID: 28658095 PMCID: PMC5500017 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000006814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Revised: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Megalencephaly and macrocephaly present with a head circumference measurement 2 standard deviations above the age-related mean. However, even if pathologic events resulting in both megalencephaly and macrocephaly may coexist, a distinction between these two entities is appropriate, as they represent clinical expression of different disorders with a different approach in clinical work-up, overall prognosis, and treatment. Megalencephaly defines an increased growth of cerebral structures related to dysfunctional anomalies during the various steps of brain development in the neuronal proliferation and/or migration phases or as a consequence of postnatal abnormal events. The disorders associated with megalencephaly are classically defined into 3 groups: idiopathic or benign, metabolic, and anatomic. In this article, we seek to underline the clinical aspect of megalencephaly, emphasizing the main disorders that manifest with this anomaly in an attempt to properly categorize these disorders within the megalencephaly group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piero Pavone
- University-Hospital “Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele”
| | - Andrea Domenico Praticò
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Renata Rizzo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry
| | - Giovanni Corsello
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of Palermo, Palermo
| | - Martino Ruggieri
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry
| | - Enrico Parano
- National Research Council, Section of Catania, Catania, Italy
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He M, Agbu S, Anderson KV. Microtubule Motors Drive Hedgehog Signaling in Primary Cilia. Trends Cell Biol 2017; 27:110-125. [PMID: 27765513 PMCID: PMC5258846 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2016.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Revised: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is required for development and for maintenance of adult stem cells, and overactivation of the pathway can cause tumorigenesis. All responses to Hh family ligands in mammals require the primary cilium, an ancient microtubule-based organelle that extends from the cell surface. Genetic studies in mice and humans have defined specific functions for cilium-associated microtubule motor proteins: they act in the construction and disassembly of the primary cilium, they control ciliary length and stability, and some have direct roles in mammalian Hh signal transduction. These studies highlight how integrated genetic and cell biological studies can define the molecular mechanisms that underlie cilium-associated health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mu He
- Department of Physiology and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Stephanie Agbu
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Kathryn V Anderson
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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Poretti A, Snow J, Summers AC, Tekes A, Huisman TAGM, Aygun N, Carson KA, Doherty D, Parisi MA, Toro C, Yildirimli D, Vemulapalli M, Mullikin JC, Cullinane AR, Vilboux T, Gahl WA, Gunay-Aygun M. Joubert syndrome: neuroimaging findings in 110 patients in correlation with cognitive function and genetic cause. J Med Genet 2017; 54:521-529. [PMID: 28087721 DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2016-104425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Revised: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 12/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Joubert syndrome is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous ciliopathy. Neuroimaging findings have not been systematically evaluated in a large cohort of patients with Joubert syndrome in correlation with molecular genetic cause and cognitive function. METHODS Brain MRI of 110 patients with Joubert syndrome was included in this study. A comprehensive evaluation of brain MRI studies for infratentorial and supratentorial morphological abnormalities was performed. Genetic cause was identified by whole-exome sequencing, and cognitive functions were assessed with age-appropriate neurocognitive tests in a subset of patients. RESULTS The cerebellar hemispheres were enlarged in 18% of the patients, mimicking macrocerebellum. The posterior fossa was enlarged in 42% of the patients, resembling Dandy-Walker malformation. Abnormalities of the brainstem, such as protuberance at the ventral contour of the midbrain, were present in 66% of the patients. Abnormalities of the supratentorial brain were present in approximately one-third of the patients, most commonly malrotation of the hippocampi. Mild ventriculomegaly, which typically did not require shunting, was present in 23% of the patients. No correlation between neuroimaging findings and molecular genetic cause was apparent. A novel predictor of outcome was identified; the more severe the degree of vermis hypoplasia, the worse the neurodevelopmental outcome was. CONCLUSIONS The spectrum of neuroimaging findings in Joubert syndrome is wide. Neuroimaging does not predict the genetic cause, but may predict the neurodevelopmental outcome. A high degree of vermis hypoplasia correlates with worse neurodevelopmental outcome. This finding is important for prognostic counselling in Joubert syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Poretti
- Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Department of Neurogenetics, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joseph Snow
- Intramural Research Program, Office of the Clinical Director, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Angela C Summers
- Intramural Research Program, Office of the Clinical Director, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Aylin Tekes
- Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Thierry A G M Huisman
- Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Nafi Aygun
- Division of Neuroradiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kathryn A Carson
- Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Dan Doherty
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.,Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Melissa A Parisi
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Camilo Toro
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, Common Fund, Office of the Director, NIH, Maryland, USA
| | - Deniz Yildirimli
- Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Meghana Vemulapalli
- NIH Intramural Sequencing Center, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Jim C Mullikin
- NIH Intramural Sequencing Center, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Andrew R Cullinane
- Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington District of Columbia, USA
| | - Thierry Vilboux
- Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Inova Translational Medicine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
| | - William A Gahl
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, Common Fund, Office of the Director, NIH, Maryland, USA.,Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Office of the Clinical Director, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Meral Gunay-Aygun
- Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Office of the Clinical Director, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Department of Pediatrics and McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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