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Feuer KL, Wahbeh MH, Yovo C, Rabie E, Lam ATN, Abdollahi S, Young LJ, Rike B, Umamageswaran A, Avramopoulos D. CRISPR Del/Rei: a simple, flexible, and efficient pipeline for scarless genome editing. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11928. [PMID: 35831384 PMCID: PMC9279498 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16004-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Scarless genome editing of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is crucial for the precise modeling of genetic disease. Here we present CRISPR Del/Rei, a two-step deletion-reinsertion strategy with high editing efficiency and simple PCR-based screening that generates isogenic clones in ~ 2 months. We apply our strategy to edit iPSCs at 3 loci with only rare off target editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyra L Feuer
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.,Predoctoral Training Program in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Marah H Wahbeh
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.,Predoctoral Training Program in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Christian Yovo
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Eman Rabie
- Medical Molecular Genetics Department, Human Genetics and Genome Research Division, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.,Biotechnology Program, School of Sciences and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Sara Abdollahi
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Lindsay J Young
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Bailey Rike
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Akul Umamageswaran
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Dimitrios Avramopoulos
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.
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2
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Lam ATN, Peng X, Das D, Bader JS, Avramopoulos D. Transcriptomic data of Clozapine-treated Ngn2-induced Human Excitatory Neurons. Data Brief 2021; 35:106897. [PMID: 33681435 PMCID: PMC7910509 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.106897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
We generated human excitatory neurons using a protocol for rapid 21-day induction using neurogenin-2 overexpression (Zhang et al., 2013) in a publicly available control iPSC line. We validated the glutamatergic neuronal identity of the neurons by immunofluorescence and transcriptomics. We exposed 6 of the 12 replicate neuron cultures to therapeutic plasma levels of clozapine (300 ng/mL) for the last 3 days of culture, and the remaining 6 to replicates to the clozapine solvent alone (methanol) to be used as controls. We harvested the cultures and extracted total RNA, depleted ribosomal RNA and subjected them to RNA sequencing. Of the 6 control replicates 2 failed RNA quality control, and thus a total of 6 exposed and 4 control cultures were used for further analysis. Here, we provide that raw sequencing data as well as a list of all of the genes and their expression levels resulting from the RNA-sequencing. This dataset can be used as a reference data for future studies that access additional neuronal cell types, clozapine exposure conditions, and other antipsychotic medication. Related Research Article: Das, D., Peng, X., Lam, A.N., Bader, J.S., Avramopoulos, D., 2021. Transcriptome analysis of human induced excitatory neurons supports a strong effect of clozapine on cholesterol biosynthesis. Schizophr Res 228, 324–326. (Das et al., 2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh-Thu N Lam
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Xi Peng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering and School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, United States of America
| | - Debamitra Das
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Joel S Bader
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Dimitrios Avramopoulos
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States of America.,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States of America
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3
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Eastman AC, Pace RG, Dang H, Aksit MA, Vecchio-Pagán B, Lam ATN, O'Neal WK, Blackman SM, Knowles MR, Cutting GR. SLC26A9 SNP rs7512462 is not associated with lung disease severity or lung function response to ivacaftor in cystic fibrosis patients with G551D-CFTR. J Cyst Fibros 2021; 20:851-856. [PMID: 33674211 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcf.2021.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The CFTR modulator ivacaftor has been variably effective in treating individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) who harbor CFTR gating variants such as G551D, as well as other classes of CFTR variants when used with other modulators. Because CFTR genotype does not fully explain this variability, defining genetic modifiers of response to modulator therapy is of particular interest to the field of individualized CF drug therapy. Previous studies have proposed that a variant in SLC26A9 (rs7512462) is associated with lung disease severity and with response to treatment with ivacaftor in individuals with CF who carry G551D or gating variants. METHODS Given the implications for CF treatment, we re-examined the reported associations in three cohorts; patients enrolled in the Twin and Siblings study at Johns Hopkins University, the CF modifier study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the prospective G551D Observational (GOAL) study. The GOAL study was specifically designed to measure lung function response to ivacaftor. RESULTS We find no association between SLC26A9 (rs7512462) genotype and lung disease severity (n = 272) or change in lung function at one-, three-, and six-month intervals following ivacaftor treatment(n = 141) in individuals with CF who carry at least one G551D variant. CONCLUSIONS Our inability to replicate this association indicates that rs7512462 genotype should not be used in treatment decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice C Eastman
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Rhonda G Pace
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Hong Dang
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Melis Atalar Aksit
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Briana Vecchio-Pagán
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Wanda K O'Neal
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Scott M Blackman
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Michael R Knowles
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
| | - Garry R Cutting
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
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Schmitz-Abe K, Sanchez-Schmitz G, Doan RN, Hill RS, Chahrour MH, Mehta BK, Servattalab S, Ataman B, Lam ATN, Morrow EM, Greenberg ME, Yu TW, Walsh CA, Markianos K. Homozygous deletions implicate non-coding epigenetic marks in Autism spectrum disorder. Sci Rep 2020; 10:14045. [PMID: 32820185 PMCID: PMC7441318 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70656-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
More than 98% of the human genome is made up of non-coding DNA, but techniques to ascertain its contribution to human disease have lagged far behind our understanding of protein coding variations. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been mostly associated with coding variations via de novo single nucleotide variants (SNVs), recessive/homozygous SNVs, or de novo copy number variants (CNVs); however, most ASD cases continue to lack a genetic diagnosis. We analyzed 187 consanguineous ASD families for biallelic CNVs. Recessive deletions were significantly enriched in affected individuals relative to their unaffected siblings (17% versus 4%, p < 0.001). Only a small subset of biallelic deletions were predicted to result in coding exon disruption. In contrast, biallelic deletions in individuals with ASD were enriched for overlap with regulatory regions, with 23/28 CNVs disrupting histone peaks in ENCODE (p < 0.009). Overlap with regulatory regions was further demonstrated by comparisons to the 127-epigenome dataset released by the Roadmap Epigenomics project, with enrichment for enhancers found in primary brain tissue and neuronal progenitor cells. Our results suggest a novel noncoding mechanism of ASD, describe a powerful method to identify important noncoding regions in the human genome, and emphasize the potential significance of gene activation and regulation in cognitive and social function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Schmitz-Abe
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Divisions of Newborn Medicine and Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Guzman Sanchez-Schmitz
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics and Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Ryan N Doan
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - R Sean Hill
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Maria H Chahrour
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Bhaven K Mehta
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Sarah Servattalab
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Bulent Ataman
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Eric M Morrow
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry and Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | | | - Timothy W Yu
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02115, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Kyriacos Markianos
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02115, USA. .,Center for Data and Computational Sciences, Cooperative Studies Program, VA Boston Healthcare system, Boston, MA, 02130, USA.
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5
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Lam ATN, Aksit MA, Vecchio-Pagan B, Shelton CA, Osorio DL, Anzmann AF, Goff LA, Whitcomb DC, Blackman SM, Cutting GR. Increased expression of anion transporter SLC26A9 delays diabetes onset in cystic fibrosis. J Clin Invest 2020; 130:272-286. [PMID: 31581148 DOI: 10.1172/jci129833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Diabetes is a common complication of cystic fibrosis (CF) that affects approximately 20% of adolescents and 40%-50% of adults with CF. The age at onset of CF-related diabetes (CFRD) (marked by clinical diagnosis and treatment initiation) is an important measure of the disease process. DNA variants associated with age at onset of CFRD reside in and near SLC26A9. Deep sequencing of the SLC26A9 gene in 762 individuals with CF revealed that 2 common DNA haplotypes formed by the risk variants account for the association with diabetes. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) indicated that SLC26A9 is predominantly expressed in pancreatic ductal cells and frequently coexpressed with CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) along with transcription factors that have binding sites 5' of SLC26A9. These findings were replicated upon reanalysis of scRNA-Seq data from 4 independent studies. DNA fragments derived from the 5' region of SLC26A9-bearing variants from the low-risk haplotype generated 12%-20% higher levels of expression in PANC-1 and CFPAC-1 cells compared with the high- risk haplotype. Taken together, our findings indicate that an increase in SLC26A9 expression in ductal cells of the pancreas delays the age at onset of diabetes, suggesting a CFTR-agnostic treatment for a major complication of CF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh-Thu N Lam
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Melis A Aksit
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Briana Vecchio-Pagan
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA
| | - Celeste A Shelton
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Ariel Precision Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Derek L Osorio
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Arianna F Anzmann
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Loyal A Goff
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Scott M Blackman
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Garry R Cutting
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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6
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Sharma N, Evans TA, Pellicore MJ, Davis E, Aksit MA, McCague AF, Joynt AT, Lu Z, Han ST, Anzmann AF, Lam ATN, Thaxton A, West N, Merlo C, Gottschalk LB, Raraigh KS, Sosnay PR, Cotton CU, Cutting GR. Capitalizing on the heterogeneous effects of CFTR nonsense and frameshift variants to inform therapeutic strategy for cystic fibrosis. PLoS Genet 2018; 14:e1007723. [PMID: 30444886 PMCID: PMC6267994 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
CFTR modulators have revolutionized the treatment of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) by improving the function of existing protein. Unfortunately, almost half of the disease-causing variants in CFTR are predicted to introduce premature termination codons (PTC) thereby causing absence of full-length CFTR protein. We hypothesized that a subset of nonsense and frameshift variants in CFTR allow expression of truncated protein that might respond to FDA-approved CFTR modulators. To address this concept, we selected 26 PTC-generating variants from four regions of CFTR and determined their consequences on CFTR mRNA, protein and function using intron-containing minigenes expressed in 3 cell lines (HEK293, MDCK and CFBE41o-) and patient-derived conditionally reprogrammed primary nasal epithelial cells. The PTC-generating variants fell into five groups based on RNA and protein effects. Group A (reduced mRNA, immature (core glycosylated) protein, function <1% (n = 5)) and Group B (normal mRNA, immature protein, function <1% (n = 10)) variants were unresponsive to modulator treatment. However, Group C (normal mRNA, mature (fully glycosylated) protein, function >1% (n = 5)), Group D (reduced mRNA, mature protein, function >1% (n = 5)) and Group E (aberrant RNA splicing, mature protein, function > 1% (n = 1)) variants responded to modulators. Increasing mRNA level by inhibition of NMD led to a significant amplification of modulator effect upon a Group D variant while response of a Group A variant was unaltered. Our work shows that PTC-generating variants should not be generalized as genetic 'nulls' as some may allow generation of protein that can be targeted to achieve clinical benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeraj Sharma
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Taylor A. Evans
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Matthew J. Pellicore
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Emily Davis
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Melis A. Aksit
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Allison F. McCague
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Anya T. Joynt
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Zhongzhu Lu
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Sangwoo T. Han
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Arianna F. Anzmann
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Anh-Thu N. Lam
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Abigail Thaxton
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Natalie West
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Christian Merlo
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Laura B. Gottschalk
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Karen S. Raraigh
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Patrick R. Sosnay
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Calvin U. Cotton
- Departments of Pediatrics, Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Garry R. Cutting
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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7
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Evrony GD, Cordero DR, Shen J, Partlow JN, Yu TW, Rodin RE, Hill RS, Coulter ME, Lam ATN, Jayaraman D, Gerrelli D, Diaz DG, Santos C, Morrison V, Galli A, Tschulena U, Wiemann S, Martel MJ, Spooner B, Ryu SC, Elhosary PC, Richardson JM, Tierney D, Robinson CA, Chibbar R, Diudea D, Folkerth R, Wiebe S, Barkovich AJ, Mochida GH, Irvine J, Lemire EG, Blakley P, Walsh CA. Integrated genome and transcriptome sequencing identifies a noncoding mutation in the genome replication factor DONSON as the cause of microcephaly-micromelia syndrome. Genome Res 2017. [PMID: 28630177 PMCID: PMC5538549 DOI: 10.1101/gr.219899.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
While next-generation sequencing has accelerated the discovery of human disease genes, progress has been largely limited to the “low hanging fruit” of mutations with obvious exonic coding or canonical splice site impact. In contrast, the lack of high-throughput, unbiased approaches for functional assessment of most noncoding variants has bottlenecked gene discovery. We report the integration of transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), which surveys all mRNAs to reveal functional impacts of variants at the transcription level, into the gene discovery framework for a unique human disease, microcephaly-micromelia syndrome (MMS). MMS is an autosomal recessive condition described thus far in only a single First Nations population and causes intrauterine growth restriction, severe microcephaly, craniofacial anomalies, skeletal dysplasia, and neonatal lethality. Linkage analysis of affected families, including a very large pedigree, identified a single locus on Chromosome 21 linked to the disease (LOD > 9). Comprehensive genome sequencing did not reveal any pathogenic coding or canonical splicing mutations within the linkage region but identified several nonconserved noncoding variants. RNA-seq analysis detected aberrant splicing in DONSON due to one of these noncoding variants, showing a causative role for DONSON disruption in MMS. We show that DONSON is expressed in progenitor cells of embryonic human brain and other proliferating tissues, is co-expressed with components of the DNA replication machinery, and that Donson is essential for early embryonic development in mice as well, suggesting an essential conserved role for DONSON in the cell cycle. Our results demonstrate the utility of integrating transcriptomics into the study of human genetic disease when DNA sequencing alone is not sufficient to reveal the underlying pathogenic mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilad D Evrony
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Dwight R Cordero
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Jun Shen
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Partners Personalized Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Jennifer N Partlow
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Timothy W Yu
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Rachel E Rodin
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - R Sean Hill
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Michael E Coulter
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Divya Jayaraman
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Dianne Gerrelli
- Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
| | - Diana G Diaz
- Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
| | - Chloe Santos
- Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria Morrison
- Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
| | - Antonella Galli
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
| | - Ulrich Tschulena
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - M Jocelyne Martel
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E5, Canada
| | - Betty Spooner
- Northern Medical Services, University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0L4, Canada
| | - Steven C Ryu
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Princess C Elhosary
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Jillian M Richardson
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Danielle Tierney
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Christopher A Robinson
- Department of Pathology, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W8, Canada
| | - Rajni Chibbar
- Department of Pathology, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W8, Canada
| | - Dana Diudea
- Department of Pathology, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W8, Canada
| | - Rebecca Folkerth
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Sheldon Wiebe
- Department of Medical Imaging, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W8, Canada
| | - A James Barkovich
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Ganeshwaran H Mochida
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.,Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
| | - James Irvine
- Northern Medical Services, University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0L4, Canada.,Population Health Unit, Mamawetan Churchill River and Keewatin-Yatthé Health Regions, and Athabasca Health Authority, La Ronge, Saskatchewan S0J 1L0, Canada
| | - Edmond G Lemire
- Department of Pediatrics, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W8, Canada
| | - Patricia Blakley
- Department of Pediatrics, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W8, Canada
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
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8
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Lee M, Roos P, Sharma N, Atalar M, Evans TA, Pellicore MJ, Davis E, Lam ATN, Stanley SE, Khalil SE, Solomon GM, Walker D, Raraigh KS, Vecchio-Pagan B, Armanios M, Cutting GR. Systematic Computational Identification of Variants That Activate Exonic and Intronic Cryptic Splice Sites. Am J Hum Genet 2017; 100:751-765. [PMID: 28475858 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We developed a variant-annotation method that combines sequence-based machine-learning classification with a context-dependent algorithm for selecting splice variants. Our approach is distinctive in that it compares the splice potential of a sequence bearing a variant with the splice potential of the reference sequence. After training, classification accurately identified 168 of 180 (93.3%) canonical splice sites of five genes. The combined method, CryptSplice, identified and correctly predicted the effect of 18 of 21 (86%) known splice-altering variants in CFTR, a well-studied gene whose loss-of-function variants cause cystic fibrosis (CF). Among 1,423 unannotated CFTR disease-associated variants, the method identified 32 potential exonic cryptic splice variants, two of which were experimentally evaluated and confirmed. After complete CFTR sequencing, the method found three cryptic intronic splice variants (one known and two experimentally verified) that completed the molecular diagnosis of CF in 6 of 14 individuals. CryptSplice interrogation of sequence data from six individuals with X-linked dyskeratosis congenita caused by an unknown disease-causing variant in DKC1 identified two splice-altering variants that were experimentally verified. To assess the extent to which disease-associated variants might activate cryptic splicing, we selected 458 pathogenic variants and 348 variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) classified as high confidence from ClinVar. Splice-site activation was predicted for 129 (28%) of the pathogenic variants and 75 (22%) of the VUSs. Our findings suggest that cryptic splice-site activation is more common than previously thought and should be routinely considered for all variants within the transcribed regions of genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Lee
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | | | - Neeraj Sharma
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Melis Atalar
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Taylor A Evans
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Matthew J Pellicore
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Emily Davis
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Susan E Stanley
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sara E Khalil
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - George M Solomon
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233 USA
| | - Doug Walker
- Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Karen S Raraigh
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Briana Vecchio-Pagan
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Mary Armanios
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Garry R Cutting
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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9
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D'Gama AM, Pochareddy S, Li M, Jamuar SS, Reiff RE, Lam ATN, Sestan N, Walsh CA. Targeted DNA Sequencing from Autism Spectrum Disorder Brains Implicates Multiple Genetic Mechanisms. Neuron 2015; 88:910-917. [PMID: 26637798 PMCID: PMC4672379 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2015] [Revised: 09/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Single nucleotide variants (SNVs), particularly loss-of-function mutations, are significant contributors to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk. Here we report the first systematic deep sequencing study of 55 postmortem ASD brains for SNVs in 78 known ASD candidate genes. Remarkably, even without parental samples, we find more ASD brains with mutations that are protein-altering (26/55 cases versus 12/50 controls, p = 0.015), deleterious (16/55 versus 5/50, p = 0.016), or loss-of-function (6/55 versus 0/50, p = 0.028) compared to controls, with recurrent deleterious mutations in ARID1B, SCN1A, SCN2A, and SETD2, suggesting these mutations contribute to ASD risk. In several cases, the identified mutations and medical records suggest syndromic ASD diagnoses. Two ASD and one Fragile X premutation case showed deleterious somatic mutations, providing evidence that somatic mutations occur in ASD cases, and supporting a model in which a combination of germline and/or somatic mutations may contribute to ASD risk on a case-by-case basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alissa M D'Gama
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sirisha Pochareddy
- Departments of Neuroscience, Genetics, and Psychiatry, and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Mingfeng Li
- Departments of Neuroscience, Genetics, and Psychiatry, and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Saumya S Jamuar
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Paediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore; Paediatrics Academic Clinical Programme, Duke-NUS Graduate School of Medicine, Singapore
| | - Rachel E Reiff
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Nenad Sestan
- Departments of Neuroscience, Genetics, and Psychiatry, and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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10
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Jamuar SS, Lam ATN, Kircher M, D'Gama AM, Wang J, Barry BJ, Zhang X, Hill RS, Partlow JN, Rozzo A, Servattalab S, Mehta BK, Topcu M, Amrom D, Andermann E, Dan B, Parrini E, Guerrini R, Scheffer IE, Berkovic SF, Leventer RJ, Shen Y, Wu BL, Barkovich AJ, Sahin M, Chang BS, Bamshad M, Nickerson DA, Shendure J, Poduri A, Yu TW, Walsh CA. Somatic mutations in cerebral cortical malformations. N Engl J Med 2014; 371:733-43. [PMID: 25140959 PMCID: PMC4274952 DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa1314432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 238] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although there is increasing recognition of the role of somatic mutations in genetic disorders, the prevalence of somatic mutations in neurodevelopmental disease and the optimal techniques to detect somatic mosaicism have not been systematically evaluated. METHODS Using a customized panel of known and candidate genes associated with brain malformations, we applied targeted high-coverage sequencing (depth, ≥200×) to leukocyte-derived DNA samples from 158 persons with brain malformations, including the double-cortex syndrome (subcortical band heterotopia, 30 persons), polymicrogyria with megalencephaly (20), periventricular nodular heterotopia (61), and pachygyria (47). We validated candidate mutations with the use of Sanger sequencing and, for variants present at unequal read depths, subcloning followed by colony sequencing. RESULTS Validated, causal mutations were found in 27 persons (17%; range, 10 to 30% for each phenotype). Mutations were somatic in 8 of the 27 (30%), predominantly in persons with the double-cortex syndrome (in whom we found mutations in DCX and LIS1), persons with periventricular nodular heterotopia (FLNA), and persons with pachygyria (TUBB2B). Of the somatic mutations we detected, 5 (63%) were undetectable with the use of traditional Sanger sequencing but were validated through subcloning and subsequent sequencing of the subcloned DNA. We found potentially causal mutations in the candidate genes DYNC1H1, KIF5C, and other kinesin genes in persons with pachygyria. CONCLUSIONS Targeted sequencing was found to be useful for detecting somatic mutations in patients with brain malformations. High-coverage sequencing panels provide an important complement to whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing in the evaluation of somatic mutations in neuropsychiatric disease. (Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and others.).
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Affiliation(s)
- Saumya S Jamuar
- From the Division of Genetics and Genomics, Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (S.S.J., A.-T.N.L., A.M.D., B.J.B., X.Z., R.S.H., J.N.P., A.R., S.S., B.K.M., T.W.Y., C.A.W.), and the Departments of Laboratory Medicine (J.W., Y.S., B.L.W.) and Neurology (M.S., A.P.), Boston Children's Hospital, the Departments of Pediatrics (S.S.J., A.-T.N.L., A.M.D., B.J.B., X.Z., R.S.H., J.N.P., A.R., S.S., B.K.M., T.W.Y., C.A.W.), Neurology (S.S.J., A.-T.N.L., A.M.D., B.J.B., X.Z., R.S.H., J.N.P., A.R., S.S., B.K.M., T.W.Y., C.A.W., M.S., A.P.), and Pathology (Y.S., B.L.W.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (B.S.C.), and the Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital (T.W.Y.) - all in Boston; the Department of Paediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore (S.S.J.); the Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle (M.K., M.B., D.A.N., J.S.); the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai (J.W., Y.S.); the Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey (M.T.); the Neurogenetics Unit, Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (D.A., E.A.) and Department of Human Genetics (E.A.), McGill University, Montreal; the Department of Neurology, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels (B.D.); the Pediatric Neurology Unit and Laboratories, Children's Hospital A. Meyer-University of Florence, Florence, Italy (E.P., R.G.); the Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg (I.E.S., S.F.B.), Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne, and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne (I.E.S.), and the Department of Neurology, Royal Children's Hospital, Murdoch Children'
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11
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Zhang X, Ling J, Barcia G, Jing L, Wu J, Barry BJ, Mochida GH, Hill RS, Weimer JM, Stein Q, Poduri A, Partlow JN, Ville D, Dulac O, Yu TW, Lam ATN, Servattalab S, Rodriguez J, Boddaert N, Munnich A, Colleaux L, Zon LI, Söll D, Walsh CA, Nabbout R. Mutations in QARS, encoding glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase, cause progressive microcephaly, cerebral-cerebellar atrophy, and intractable seizures. Am J Hum Genet 2014; 94:547-58. [PMID: 24656866 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2013] [Accepted: 03/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Progressive microcephaly is a heterogeneous condition with causes including mutations in genes encoding regulators of neuronal survival. Here, we report the identification of mutations in QARS (encoding glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase [QARS]) as the causative variants in two unrelated families affected by progressive microcephaly, severe seizures in infancy, atrophy of the cerebral cortex and cerebellar vermis, and mild atrophy of the cerebellar hemispheres. Whole-exome sequencing of individuals from each family independently identified compound-heterozygous mutations in QARS as the only candidate causative variants. QARS was highly expressed in the developing fetal human cerebral cortex in many cell types. The four QARS mutations altered highly conserved amino acids, and the aminoacylation activity of QARS was significantly impaired in mutant cell lines. Variants p.Gly45Val and p.Tyr57His were located in the N-terminal domain required for QARS interaction with proteins in the multisynthetase complex and potentially with glutamine tRNA, and recombinant QARS proteins bearing either substitution showed an over 10-fold reduction in aminoacylation activity. Conversely, variants p.Arg403Trp and p.Arg515Trp, each occurring in a different family, were located in the catalytic core and completely disrupted QARS aminoacylation activity in vitro. Furthermore, p.Arg403Trp and p.Arg515Trp rendered QARS less soluble, and p.Arg403Trp disrupted QARS-RARS (arginyl-tRNA synthetase 1) interaction. In zebrafish, homozygous qars loss of function caused decreased brain and eye size and extensive cell death in the brain. Our results highlight the importance of QARS during brain development and that epilepsy due to impairment of QARS activity is unusually severe in comparison to other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochang Zhang
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Jiqiang Ling
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8114, USA; Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Giulia Barcia
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Centre de Reference Epilepsies Rares, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75015 Paris, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1129, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1129, NeuroSpin, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Lili Jing
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jiang Wu
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Brenda J Barry
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Ganeshwaran H Mochida
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, MA 02115, USA; Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - R Sean Hill
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Jill M Weimer
- Sanford Children's Health Research Center, Sanford Research, 2301 East 60(th) Street North, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, USA
| | - Quinn Stein
- Departments of Pediatrics and Ob/Gyn, Sanford School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, SD 57105, USA
| | - Annapurna Poduri
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jennifer N Partlow
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Dorothée Ville
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lyon, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Olivier Dulac
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Centre de Reference Epilepsies Rares, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75015 Paris, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1129, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1129, NeuroSpin, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Tim W Yu
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Anh-Thu N Lam
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Sarah Servattalab
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Jacqueline Rodriguez
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
| | - Nathalie Boddaert
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U781, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Imagine institute, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Arnold Munnich
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U781, Department of Genetics, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Imagine institute, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Laurence Colleaux
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U781, Department of Genetics, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Imagine institute, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Leonard I Zon
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Dieter Söll
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8114, USA
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, MA 02115, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
| | - Rima Nabbout
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Centre de Reference Epilepsies Rares, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75015 Paris, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1129, Université Paris Descartes, 75006 Paris, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1129, NeuroSpin, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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12
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Hills LB, Masri A, Konno K, Kakegawa W, Lam ATN, Lim-Melia E, Chandy N, Hill RS, Partlow JN, Al-Saffar M, Nasir R, Stoler JM, Barkovich AJ, Watanabe M, Yuzaki M, Mochida GH. Deletions in GRID2 lead to a recessive syndrome of cerebellar ataxia and tonic upgaze in humans. Neurology 2013; 81:1378-86. [PMID: 24078737 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182a841a3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To identify the genetic cause of a syndrome causing cerebellar ataxia and eye movement abnormalities. METHODS We identified 2 families with cerebellar ataxia, eye movement abnormalities, and global developmental delay. We performed genetic analyses including single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping, linkage analysis, array comparative genomic hybridization, quantitative PCR, and Sanger sequencing. We obtained eye movement recordings of mutant mice deficient for the ortholog of the identified candidate gene, and performed immunohistochemistry using human and mouse brain specimens. RESULTS All affected individuals had ataxia, eye movement abnormalities, most notably tonic upgaze, and delayed speech and cognitive development. Homozygosity mapping identified the disease locus on chromosome 4q. Within this region, a homozygous deletion of GRID2 exon 4 in the index family and compound heterozygous deletions involving GRID2 exon 2 in the second family were identified. Grid2-deficient mice showed larger spontaneous and random eye movements compared to wild-type mice. In developing mouse and human cerebella, GRID2 localized to the Purkinje cell dendritic spines. Brain MRI in 2 affected children showed progressive cerebellar atrophy, which was more severe than that of Grid2-deficient mice. CONCLUSIONS Biallelic deletions of GRID2 lead to a syndrome of cerebellar ataxia and tonic upgaze in humans. The phenotypic resemblance and similarity in protein expression pattern between humans and mice suggest a conserved role for GRID2 in the synapse organization between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells. However, the progressive and severe cerebellar atrophy seen in the affected individuals could indicate an evolutionarily unique role for GRID2 in the human cerebellum.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Benjamin Hills
- From the Division of Genetics (L.B.H., A.-T.N.L., R.S.H., J.N.P., M.A.-S., J.M.S., G.H.M.) and Division of Developmental Medicine (R.N.), Department of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (J.N.P.), Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA; Division of Child Neurology (A.M.), Department of Pediatrics, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan; Department of Anatomy (K.K., M.W.), Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan; Department of Physiology (W.K., M.Y.), School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Pediatrics (E.L.-M., N.C.), New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY; Department of Pediatrics (M.A.-S.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates; Department of Pediatrics (R.N., J.M.S., G.H.M.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging (A.J.B.), University of California, San Francisco; and Pediatric Neurology Unit (G.H.M.), Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
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