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Prawitt D, Eggermann T. Molecular mechanisms of human overgrowth and use of omics in its diagnostics: chances and challenges. Front Genet 2024; 15:1382371. [PMID: 38894719 PMCID: PMC11183334 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1382371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Overgrowth disorders comprise a group of entities with a variable phenotypic spectrum ranging from tall stature to isolated or lateralized overgrowth of body parts and or organs. Depending on the underlying physiological pathway affected by pathogenic genetic alterations, overgrowth syndromes are associated with a broad spectrum of neoplasia predisposition, (cardio) vascular and neurodevelopmental anomalies, and dysmorphisms. Pathologic overgrowth may be of prenatal or postnatal onset. It either results from an increased number of cells (intrinsic cellular hyperplasia), hypertrophy of the normal number of cells, an increase in interstitial spaces, or from a combination of all of these. The underlying molecular causes comprise a growing number of genetic alterations affecting skeletal growth and Growth-relevant signaling cascades as major effectors, and they can affect the whole body or parts of it (mosaicism). Furthermore, epigenetic modifications play a critical role in the manifestation of some overgrowth diseases. The diagnosis of overgrowth syndromes as the prerequisite of a personalized clinical management can be challenging, due to their clinical and molecular heterogeneity. Physicians should consider molecular genetic testing as a first diagnostic step in overgrowth syndromes. In particular, the urgent need for a precise diagnosis in tumor predisposition syndromes has to be taken into account as the basis for an early monitoring and therapy. With the (future) implementation of next-generation sequencing approaches and further omic technologies, clinical diagnoses can not only be verified, but they also confirm the clinical and molecular spectrum of overgrowth disorders, including unexpected findings and identification of atypical cases. However, the limitations of the applied assays have to be considered, for each of the disorders of interest, the spectrum of possible types of genomic variants has to be considered as they might require different methodological strategies. Additionally, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnostic workflows significantly contribute to the phenotype-driven selection and interpretation of molecular and physiological data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Prawitt
- Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - Thomas Eggermann
- Institute for Human Genetics and Genome Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
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Hubert JN, Perret M, Riquet J, Demars J. Livestock species as emerging models for genomic imprinting. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1348036. [PMID: 38500688 PMCID: PMC10945557 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1348036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetically-regulated process of central importance in mammalian development and evolution. It involves multiple levels of regulation, with spatio-temporal heterogeneity, leading to the context-dependent and parent-of-origin specific expression of a small fraction of the genome. Genomic imprinting studies have therefore been essential to increase basic knowledge in functional genomics, evolution biology and developmental biology, as well as with regard to potential clinical and agrigenomic perspectives. Here we offer an overview on the contribution of livestock research, which features attractive resources in several respects, for better understanding genomic imprinting and its functional impacts. Given the related broad implications and complexity, we promote the use of such resources for studying genomic imprinting in a holistic and integrative view. We hope this mini-review will draw attention to the relevance of livestock genomic imprinting studies and stimulate research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Julie Demars
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France
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Sperling K, Scherb H, Neitzel H. Population monitoring of trisomy 21: problems and approaches. Mol Cytogenet 2023; 16:6. [PMID: 37183244 PMCID: PMC10183086 DOI: 10.1186/s13039-023-00637-1] [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: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) is the most common autosomal aneuploidy among newborns. About 90% result from meiotic nondisjunction during oogenesis, which occurs around conception, when also the most profound epigenetic modifications take place. Thus, maternal meiosis is an error prone process with an extreme sensitivity to endogenous factors, as exemplified by maternal age. This contrasts with the missing acceptance of causal exogenous factors. The proof of an environmental agent is a great challenge, both with respect to ascertainment bias, determination of time and dosage of exposure, as well as registration of the relevant individual health data affecting the birth prevalence. Based on a few exemplary epidemiological studies the feasibility of trisomy 21 monitoring is illustrated. In the nearer future the methodical premises will be clearly improved, both due to the establishment of electronic health registers and to the introduction of non-invasive prenatal tests. Down syndrome is a sentinel phenotype, presumably also with regard to other congenital anomalies. Thus, monitoring of trisomy 21 offers new chances for risk avoidance and preventive measures, but also for basic research concerning identification of relevant genomic variants involved in chromosomal nondisjunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Sperling
- Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Hagen Scherb
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Heidemarie Neitzel
- Institute of Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
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Richard Albert J, Kobayashi T, Inoue A, Monteagudo-Sánchez A, Kumamoto S, Takashima T, Miura A, Oikawa M, Miura F, Takada S, Hirabayashi M, Korthauer K, Kurimoto K, Greenberg MVC, Lorincz M, Kobayashi H. Conservation and divergence of canonical and non-canonical imprinting in murids. Genome Biol 2023; 24:48. [PMID: 36918927 PMCID: PMC10012579 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-02869-1] [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: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genomic imprinting affects gene expression in a parent-of-origin manner and has a profound impact on complex traits including growth and behavior. While the rat is widely used to model human pathophysiology, few imprinted genes have been identified in this murid. To systematically identify imprinted genes and genomic imprints in the rat, we use low input methods for genome-wide analyses of gene expression and DNA methylation to profile embryonic and extraembryonic tissues at allele-specific resolution. RESULTS We identify 14 and 26 imprinted genes in these tissues, respectively, with 10 of these genes imprinted in both tissues. Comparative analyses with mouse reveal that orthologous imprinted gene expression and associated canonical DNA methylation imprints are conserved in the embryo proper of the Muridae family. However, only 3 paternally expressed imprinted genes are conserved in the extraembryonic tissue of murids, all of which are associated with non-canonical H3K27me3 imprints. The discovery of 8 novel non-canonical imprinted genes unique to the rat is consistent with more rapid evolution of extraembryonic imprinting. Meta-analysis of novel imprinted genes reveals multiple mechanisms by which species-specific imprinted expression may be established, including H3K27me3 deposition in the oocyte, the appearance of ZFP57 binding motifs, and the insertion of endogenous retroviral promoters. CONCLUSIONS In summary, we provide an expanded list of imprinted loci in the rat, reveal the extent of conservation of imprinted gene expression, and identify potential mechanisms responsible for the evolution of species-specific imprinting.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Toshihiro Kobayashi
- Division of Mammalian Embryology, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Azusa Inoue
- YCI Laboratory for Metabolic Epigenetics, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan
| | | | - Soichiro Kumamoto
- NODAI Genome Research Center, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Asuka Miura
- NODAI Genome Research Center, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mami Oikawa
- Division of Mammalian Embryology, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fumihito Miura
- Department of Biochemistry, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Shuji Takada
- Department of Systems BioMedicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masumi Hirabayashi
- Center for Genetic Analysis of Behavior, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Keegan Korthauer
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Kazuki Kurimoto
- Department of Embryology, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan
| | | | - Matthew Lorincz
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Krushkal J, Vural S, Jensen TL, Wright G, Zhao Y. Increased copy number of imprinted genes in the chromosomal region 20q11-q13.32 is associated with resistance to antitumor agents in cancer cell lines. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:161. [PMID: 36461044 PMCID: PMC9716673 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01368-7] [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: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parent of origin-specific allelic expression of imprinted genes is epigenetically controlled. In cancer, imprinted genes undergo both genomic and epigenomic alterations, including frequent copy number changes. We investigated whether copy number loss or gain of imprinted genes in cancer cell lines is associated with response to chemotherapy treatment. RESULTS We analyzed 198 human imprinted genes including protein-coding genes and noncoding RNA genes using data from tumor cell lines from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia and Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer datasets. We examined whether copy number of the imprinted genes in 35 different genome locations was associated with response to cancer drug treatment. We also analyzed associations of pretreatment expression and DNA methylation of imprinted genes with drug response. Higher copy number of BLCAP, GNAS, NNAT, GNAS-AS1, HM13, MIR296, MIR298, and PSIMCT-1 in the chromosomal region 20q11-q13.32 was associated with resistance to multiple antitumor agents. Increased expression of BLCAP and HM13 was also associated with drug resistance, whereas higher methylation of gene regions of BLCAP, NNAT, SGK2, and GNAS was associated with drug sensitivity. While expression and methylation of imprinted genes in several other chromosomal regions was also associated with drug response and many imprinted genes in different chromosomal locations showed a considerable copy number variation, only imprinted genes at 20q11-q13.32 had a consistent association of their copy number with drug response. Copy number values among the imprinted genes in the 20q11-q13.32 region were strongly correlated. They were also correlated with the copy number of cancer-related non-imprinted genes MYBL2, AURKA, and ZNF217 in that chromosomal region. Expression of genes at 20q11-q13.32 was associated with ex vivo drug response in primary tumor samples from the Beat AML 1.0 acute myeloid leukemia patient cohort. Association of the increased copy number of the 20q11-q13.32 region with drug resistance may be complex and could involve multiple genes. CONCLUSIONS Copy number of imprinted and non-imprinted genes in the chromosomal region 20q11-q13.32 was associated with cancer drug resistance. The genes in this chromosomal region may have a modulating effect on tumor response to chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Krushkal
- Biometric Research Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA.
| | - Suleyman Vural
- Biometric Research Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA.,Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | | | - George Wright
- Biometric Research Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Yingdong Zhao
- Biometric Research Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
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