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Figueroa KP, Gross C, Buena-Atienza E, Paul S, Gandelman M, Kakar N, Sturm M, Casadei N, Admard J, Park J, Zühlke C, Hellenbroich Y, Pozojevic J, Balachandran S, Händler K, Zittel S, Timmann D, Erdlenbruch F, Herrmann L, Feindt T, Zenker M, Klopstock T, Dufke C, Scoles DR, Koeppen A, Spielmann M, Riess O, Ossowski S, Haack TB, Pulst SM. A GGC-repeat expansion in ZFHX3 encoding polyglycine causes spinocerebellar ataxia type 4 and impairs autophagy. Nat Genet 2024:10.1038/s41588-024-01719-5. [PMID: 38684900 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01719-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Despite linkage to chromosome 16q in 1996, the mutation causing spinocerebellar ataxia type 4 (SCA4), a late-onset sensory and cerebellar ataxia, remained unknown. Here, using long-read single-strand whole-genome sequencing (LR-GS), we identified a heterozygous GGC-repeat expansion in a large Utah pedigree encoding polyglycine (polyG) in zinc finger homeobox protein 3 (ZFHX3), also known as AT-binding transcription factor 1 (ATBF1). We queried 6,495 genome sequencing datasets and identified the repeat expansion in seven additional pedigrees. Ultrarare DNA variants near the repeat expansion indicate a common distant founder event in Sweden. Intranuclear ZFHX3-p62-ubiquitin aggregates were abundant in SCA4 basis pontis neurons. In fibroblasts and induced pluripotent stem cells, the GGC expansion led to increased ZFHX3 protein levels and abnormal autophagy, which were normalized with small interfering RNA-mediated ZFHX3 knockdown in both cell types. Improving autophagy points to a therapeutic avenue for this novel polyG disease. The coding GGC-repeat expansion in an extremely G+C-rich region was not detectable by short-read whole-exome sequencing, which demonstrates the power of LR-GS for variant discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla P Figueroa
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Caspar Gross
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elena Buena-Atienza
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sharan Paul
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Mandi Gandelman
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Naseebullah Kakar
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Biotechnology, FLS&I, BUITEMS, Quetta, Pakistan
| | - Marc Sturm
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicolas Casadei
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jakob Admard
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Joohyun Park
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christine Zühlke
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Yorck Hellenbroich
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jelena Pozojevic
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Saranya Balachandran
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Kristian Händler
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Simone Zittel
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dagmar Timmann
- Department of Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Friedrich Erdlenbruch
- Department of Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Laura Herrmann
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Martin Zenker
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Magdeburg and Medical Faculty, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Klopstock
- Department of Neurology with Friedrich-Baur-Institute, University Hospital of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | - Claudia Dufke
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniel R Scoles
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Malte Spielmann
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck and Kiel University, Lübeck, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Hamburg, Lübeck, Kiel, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Olaf Riess
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Stephan Ossowski
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics (IBMI), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tobias B Haack
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- NGS Competence Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan M Pulst
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
- Clinical Neurosciences Center, University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
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