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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The goal of the review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the mechanisms underlying variation in human stature. RECENT FINDINGS Human height is an anthropometric trait that varies considerably within human populations as well as across the globe. Historically, much research focus was placed on understanding the biology of growth plate chondrocytes and how modifications to core chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation pathways potentially shaped height attainment in normal as well as pathological contexts. Recently, much progress has been made to improve our understanding regarding the mechanisms underlying the normal and pathological range of height variation within as well as between human populations, and today, it is understood to reflect complex interactions among a myriad of genetic, environmental, and evolutionary factors. Indeed, recent improvements in genetics (e.g., GWAS) and breakthroughs in functional genomics (e.g., whole exome sequencing, DNA methylation analysis, ATAC-sequencing, and CRISPR) have shed light on previously unknown pathways/mechanisms governing pathological and common height variation. Additionally, the use of an evolutionary perspective has also revealed important mechanisms that have shaped height variation across the planet. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of the biological mechanisms underlying height variation by highlighting new research findings on skeletal growth control with an emphasis on previously unknown pathways/mechanisms influencing pathological and common height variation. In this context, this review also discusses how evolutionary forces likely shaped the genomic architecture of height across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Terence D Capellini
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Najafi M, Tamandani DMK, Azarfar A, Bakey Z, Behjati F, Antony D, Schüle I, Sadeghi-Bojd S, Karimiani EG, Schmidts M. A 57 kB Genomic Deletion Causing CTNS Loss of Function Contributes to the CTNS Mutational Spectrum in the Middle East. Front Pediatr 2019; 7:89. [PMID: 30949462 PMCID: PMC6437787 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2019.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Nephropathic Cystinosis, the most common cause of renal Fanconi syndrome, is a lysosomal transport disorder with an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. A large number of mutations in CTNS have been identified as causative to date. A 57 kb deletion encompassing parts of CTNS is most commonly identified in Caucasians but this allele has not been identified in individuals of Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Persian, or Arab origin to date. Methods and Results: Implementing whole exome sequencing (WES) in a consanguineous Iranian family, we identified this large deletion affecting CTNS in a patient initially presenting with hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis symptoms and considerable proteinuria. Conclusion: We show WES is a cost and time efficient genetic diagnostics modality to identify the underlying molecular pathology in Cystinosis individuals and provide a summary of all previously reported CTNS alleles in the Middle east population. Our work also highlights the importance to consider the 57-kb deletion as underlying genetic cause in non-European populations, including the Middle East. Limited diagnostic modalities for Cystinosis in developing countries could account for the lack of previously reported cases in these populations carrying this allele. Further, our findings emphasize the utility of WES to define genetic causes in clinically poorly defined phenotypes and demonstrate the requirement of Copy number variation (CNV) analysis of WES data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Najafi
- Genome Research Division, Human Genetics Department, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Department of Biology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran
| | | | - Anoush Azarfar
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Zeineb Bakey
- Genome Research Division, Human Genetics Department, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Farkhondeh Behjati
- Genetics Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Dinu Antony
- Genome Research Division, Human Genetics Department, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Isabel Schüle
- Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simin Sadeghi-Bojd
- Children and Adolescents Health Research Center, Resistant Tuberculosis Institute, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Ehsan Ghayoor Karimiani
- Next Generation Genetic Polyclinic, Mashhad, Iran.,Razavi Cancer Research, Razavi Hospital, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Miriam Schmidts
- Genome Research Division, Human Genetics Department, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany
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