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Haijes HA, Koster MJE, Rehmann H, Li D, Hakonarson H, Cappuccio G, Hancarova M, Lehalle D, Reardon W, Schaefer GB, Lehman A, van de Laar IMBH, Tesselaar CD, Turner C, Goldenberg A, Patrier S, Thevenon J, Pinelli M, Brunetti-Pierri N, Prchalová D, Havlovicová M, Vlckova M, Sedláček Z, Lopez E, Ragoussis V, Pagnamenta AT, Kini U, Vos HR, van Es RM, van Schaik RFMA, van Essen TAJ, Kibaek M, Taylor JC, Sullivan J, Shashi V, Petrovski S, Fagerberg C, Martin DM, van Gassen KLI, Pfundt R, Falk MJ, McCormick EM, Timmers HTM, van Hasselt PM. De Novo Heterozygous POLR2A Variants Cause a Neurodevelopmental Syndrome with Profound Infantile-Onset Hypotonia. Am J Hum Genet 2019; 105:283-301. [PMID: 31353023 PMCID: PMC6699192 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The RNA polymerase II complex (pol II) is responsible for transcription of all ∼21,000 human protein-encoding genes. Here, we describe sixteen individuals harboring de novo heterozygous variants in POLR2A, encoding RPB1, the largest subunit of pol II. An iterative approach combining structural evaluation and mass spectrometry analyses, the use of S. cerevisiae as a model system, and the assessment of cell viability in HeLa cells allowed us to classify eleven variants as probably disease-causing and four variants as possibly disease-causing. The significance of one variant remains unresolved. By quantification of phenotypic severity, we could distinguish mild and severe phenotypic consequences of the disease-causing variants. Missense variants expected to exert only mild structural effects led to a malfunctioning pol II enzyme, thereby inducing a dominant-negative effect on gene transcription. Intriguingly, individuals carrying these variants presented with a severe phenotype dominated by profound infantile-onset hypotonia and developmental delay. Conversely, individuals carrying variants expected to result in complete loss of function, thus reduced levels of functional pol II from the normal allele, exhibited the mildest phenotypes. We conclude that subtle variants that are central in functionally important domains of POLR2A cause a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by profound infantile-onset hypotonia and developmental delay through a dominant-negative effect on pol-II-mediated transcription of DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanneke A Haijes
- Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 EA Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Biomedical Genetics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 EA Utrecht, the Netherlands; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) standort Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 79106 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maria J E Koster
- Regenerative Medicine Center and Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) standort Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 79106 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Holger Rehmann
- Expertise Center for Structural Biology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands; Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Oncode Institute, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Dong Li
- Center for Applied Genomics, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Hakon Hakonarson
- Center for Applied Genomics, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Division of Human Genetics, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Gerarda Cappuccio
- Department of Translational Medicine, Federico II University, 80126 Naples, Italy; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | - Miroslava Hancarova
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Daphne Lehalle
- Department of Genetics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Dijon, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Willie Reardon
- Department of Clinical and Medical Genetics, Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, D12 N512 Dublin, Ireland
| | - G Bradley Schaefer
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Genetics and Metabolism, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, AR 72223, USA
| | - Anna Lehman
- Department of Medical Genetics, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, BC V6H 3N1 Vancouver, Canada
| | - Ingrid M B H van de Laar
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical University Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Coranne D Tesselaar
- Department of Pediatrics, Amphia Hospital Breda, 4818 CK Breda, the Netherlands
| | - Clesson Turner
- Department of Clinical Genetics and Pediatrics, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, MD 20814, USA
| | - Alice Goldenberg
- Department of Genetics, Rouen University Hospital, Centre de Référence Anomalies du Développement, Normandy Centre for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, 76000 Rouen, France
| | - Sophie Patrier
- Department of Pathology, Rouen University Hospital, Centre de Référence Anomalies du Développement, 76000 Rouen, France
| | - Julien Thevenon
- Department of Genetics and Reproduction, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble, 38700 Grenoble, France
| | - Michele Pinelli
- Department of Translational Medicine, Federico II University, 80126 Naples, Italy; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | - Nicola Brunetti-Pierri
- Department of Translational Medicine, Federico II University, 80126 Naples, Italy; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | - Darina Prchalová
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Havlovicová
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Vlckova
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Sedláček
- Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Elena Lopez
- Department of Medical Genetics, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, BC V6H 3N1 Vancouver, Canada
| | - Vassilis Ragoussis
- National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, OX3 7BN Oxford, UK
| | - Alistair T Pagnamenta
- National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, OX3 7BN Oxford, UK
| | - Usha Kini
- Department of Genomic Medicine, Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, OX3 7LE Oxford, UK
| | - Harmjan R Vos
- Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Oncode Institute, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Robert M van Es
- Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Oncode Institute, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Richard F M A van Schaik
- Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Oncode Institute, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ton A J van Essen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Maria Kibaek
- H.C. Andersen Children Hospital, Odense University Hospital, 5000 Odense, Denmark
| | - Jenny C Taylor
- National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, OX3 7BN Oxford, UK
| | - Jennifer Sullivan
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, NC 27710, USA
| | - Vandana Shashi
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, NC 27710, USA
| | - Slave Petrovski
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, NC 27710, USA; AstraZeneca Centre for Genomics Research, Precision Medicine and Genomics, IMED Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca, CB4 0WG Cambridge, United Kingdom; Department of Medicine, the University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Christina Fagerberg
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, 5000 Odense, Denmark
| | - Donna M Martin
- Departments of Pediatrics and Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, MI 48109, USA
| | - Koen L I van Gassen
- Department of Biomedical Genetics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 EA Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Rolph Pfundt
- Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Marni J Falk
- Division of Human Genetics, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program, Division of Human Genetics, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA 19104, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Elizabeth M McCormick
- Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program, Division of Human Genetics, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA 19104, Philadelphia, USA
| | - H T Marc Timmers
- Regenerative Medicine Center and Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Urology, University Medical Center Freiburg, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Peter M van Hasselt
- Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 EA Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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Jafari N, Giehr P, Hesaraki M, Baas R, de Graaf P, Timmers HTM, Walter J, Baharvand H, Totonchi M. Genomic integrity of ground-state pluripotency. J Cell Biochem 2018; 119:9781-9789. [PMID: 30171711 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.27296] [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: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Pluripotent cells appear to be in a transient state during early development. These cells have the capability to transition into embryonic stem cells (ESCs). It has been reported that mouse pluripotent cells cultivated in chemically defined media sustain the ground state of pluripotency. Because the epigenetic pattern of pluripotent cells reflects their environment, culture under different conditions causes epigenetic changes, which could lead to genomic instability. This study focused on the DNA methylation pattern of repetitive elements (REs) and their activation levels under two ground-state conditions and assessed the genomic integrity of ESCs. We measured the methylation and expression level of REs in different media. The results indicated that although the ground-state conditions show higher REs activity, they did not lead to DNA damage; therefore, the level of genomic instability is lower under the ground-state compared with the conventional condition. Our results indicated that when choosing an optimum condition, different features of the condition must be considered to have epigenetically and genomically stable stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narges Jafari
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Developmental Biology, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran
| | - Pascal Giehr
- Department of Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Mahdi Hesaraki
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Roy Baas
- Regenerative Medicine Center and Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Petra de Graaf
- Regenerative Medicine Center and Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - H T Marc Timmers
- Regenerative Medicine Center and Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Department of Urology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jörn Walter
- Department of Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Hossein Baharvand
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Developmental Biology, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehdi Totonchi
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Genetics, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
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