Mutation ofPOC1Bin a Severe Syndromic Retinal Ciliopathy

We describe a consanguineous Iraqi family with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), Joubert syndrome (JBTS), and polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Targeted next-generation sequencing for excluding mutations in known LCA and JBTS genes, homozygosity mapping, and whole-exome sequencing identified a homozygous missense variant, c.317G>C (p.Arg106Pro), in POC1B, a gene essential for ciliogenesis, basal body, and centrosome integrity. In silico modeling suggested a requirement of p.Arg106 for the formation of the third WD40 repeat and a protein interaction interface. In human and mouse retina, POC1B localized to the basal body and centriole adjacent to the connecting cilium of photoreceptors and in …

Expression profiling of uniparental mouse embryos is inefficient in identifying novel imprinted genes

AbstractImprinted genes are expressed from only one allele in a parent-of-origin-specific manner. We here describe a systematic approach to identify novel imprinted genes using quantification of allele-specific expression by Pyrosequencing, a highly accurate method to detect allele-specific expression differences. Sixty-eight candidate imprinted transcripts mapping to known imprinted chromosomal regions were selected from a recent expression profiling study of uniparental mouse embryos and analyzed. Three novel imprinted transcripts encoding putative non-protein-coding RNAs were identified on the basis of parent-of-origin-specific monoallelic expression in E11.5 (C57BL/6 × Cast/Ei)F1 and in…

Germline loss-of-function variants in the BARD1 gene are associated with early-onset familial breast cancer but not ovarian cancer

Background The role of the BARD1 gene in breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) predisposition remains elusive, as published case-control investigations have revealed controversial results. We aimed to assess the role of deleterious BARD1 germline variants in BC/OC predisposition in a sample of 4920 BRCA1/2-negative female BC/OC index patients of the German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC-HBOC). Methods A total of 4469 female index patients with BC, 451 index patients with OC, and 2767 geographically matched female control individuals were screened for loss-of-function (LoF) mutations and potentially damaging rare missense variants in BARD1. All patients met the …

Genetic signature consistent with selection against the CYP3A4*1B allele in non-African populations.

Cytochrome P450 3A enzymes (CYP3A) play a major role in the metabolism of steroid hormones, drugs and other chemicals, including many carcinogens. The individually variable CYP3A expression, which remains mostly unexplained, has been suggested to affect clinical phenotypes. We investigated the CYP3A locus in five ethnic groups. The degree of linkage disequilibrium (LD) differed among ethnic groups, but the most common alleles of the conserved LD regions were remarkably similar. Non-African haplotypes are few; for example, only four haplotypes account for 80% of common European Caucasian alleles. Large LD blocks of high frequencies were suggestive of selection. Accordingly, European Caucasia…

Sex-dependent genetic markers of CYP3A4 expression and activity in human liver microsomes

Objective: To find genetic markers of the individual cytochrome P450 (CYP)3A expression. Methods: A large collection of liver samples phenotyped for CYP3A expression and activity was genotyped for CYP3A variants. Data were analyzed for associations between CYP3A phenotypes and genotypes, and for evidence of recent selection. Results: We report associations between the hepatic CYP3A4 protein expression level, as well as its enzymatic activity, measured as verapamil N-dealkylation, and genetic polymorphisms from two regions within the CYP3A gene cluster. One region is defined by several variants, mostly located within CYP3A7, the other by a single nucleotide polymorphism in intron 7 of CYP3A…

6-mercaptopurine and 9-(2-phosphonyl-methoxyethyl) adenine (PMEA) transport altered by two missense mutations in the drug transporter gene ABCC4

Multiple drug resistance protein 4 (MRP4, ABCC4) belongs to the C subfamily of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily and participates in the transport of diverse antiviral and chemotherapeutic agents such as 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and 9-(2-phosphonyl methoxyethyl) adenine (PMEA). We have undertaken a comprehensive functional characterization of protein variants of MRP4 found in Caucasians and other ethnicities. A total of 11 MRP4 missense genetic variants (nonsynonymous SNPs), fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP), were examined in Xenopus laevis oocytes for their effect on expression, localization, and function of the transporter. Radiolabeled 6-MP and PMEA were chosen…

Replication of the association between CHRNA4 rs1044396 and harm avoidance in a large population-based sample.

Harm avoidance is a personality trait characterized by excessive worrying and fear of uncertainty, which has repeatedly been related to anxiety disorders. Converging lines of research in rodents and humans point towards an involvement of the nicotinic cholinergic system in the modulation of anxiety. Most notably, the rs1044396 polymorphism in the CHRNA4 gene, which codes for the α4 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, has been linked to negative emotionality traits including harm avoidance in a recent study. Against this background, we investigated the association between harm avoidance and the rs1044396 polymorphism using data from N=1673 healthy subjects, which were collected …

Correction: The genomic and clinical landscape of fetal akinesia

Abstract An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

PEX6 is Expressed in Photoreceptor Cilia and Mutated in Deafblindness with Enamel Dysplasia and Microcephaly

Deafblindness is part of several genetic disorders. We investigated a consanguineous Egyptian family with two siblings affected by congenital hearing loss and retinal degeneration, initially diagnosed as Usher syndrome type 1. At teenage, severe enamel dysplasia, developmental delay, and microcephaly became apparent. Genome-wide homozygosity mapping and whole-exome sequencing detected a homozygous missense mutation, c.1238G>T (p.Gly413Val), affecting a highly conserved residue of peroxisomal biogenesis factor 6, PEX6. Biochemical profiling of the siblings revealed abnormal and borderline plasma phytanic acid concentration, and cerebral imaging revealed white matter disease in both. We show …

Consensus molecular subtypes of colorectal cancer are recapitulated in in vitro and in vivo models

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly heterogeneous disease both from a molecular and clinical perspective. Several distinct molecular entities, such as microsatellite instability (MSI), have been defined that make up biologically distinct subgroups with their own clinical course. Recent data indicated that CRC can be best segregated into four groups called consensus molecular subtypes (CMS1-4), each of which has a unique biology and gene expression pattern. In order to develop improved, subtype-specific therapies and to gain insight into the molecular wiring and origin of these subtypes, reliable models are needed. This study was designed to determine the heterogeneity and identify the prese…

Capturing colorectal cancer inter-tumor heterogeneity in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models

Patient‐derived xenograft (PDX) models have become an important asset in translational cancer research. However, to provide a robust preclinical platform, PDXs need to accommodate the tumor heterogeneity that is observed in patients. Colorectal cancer (CRC) can be stratified into four consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) with distinct biological and clinical features. Surprisingly, using a set of CRC patients, we revealed the partial representation of tumor heterogeneity in PDX models. The epithelial subtypes, the largest subgroups of CRC subtype, were very ineffective in establishing PDXs, indicating the need for further optimization to develop an effective personalized therapeutic approach …

TALPID3 controls centrosome and cell polarity and the human ortholog KIAA0586 is mutated in Joubert syndrome (JBTS23)

Joubert syndrome (JBTS) is a severe recessive neurodevelopmental ciliopathy which can affect several organ systems. Mutations in known JBTS genes account for approximately half of the cases. By homozygosity mapping and whole-exome sequencing, we identified a novel locus, JBTS23, with a homozygous splice site mutation in KIAA0586 (alias TALPID3), a known lethal ciliopathy locus in model organisms. Truncating KIAA0586 mutations were identified in two additional patients with JBTS. One mutation, c.428delG (p.Arg143Lysfs*4), is unexpectedly common in the general population and may be a major contributor to JBTS. We demonstrate KIAA0586 protein localization at the basal body in human and mouse p…

Association of Common Polymorphisms in the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Alpha4 Subunit Gene with an Electrophysiological Endophenotype in a Large Population-Based Sample

PLoS one 11(4), e0152984 (2016). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152984

Author response: TALPID3 controls centrosome and cell polarity and the human ortholog KIAA0586 is mutated in Joubert syndrome (JBTS23)

The genomic and clinical landscape of fetal akinesia

International audience; Fetal akinesia has multiple clinical subtypes with over 160 gene associations, but the genetic etiology is not yet completely understood.Methods: In this study, 51 patients from 47 unrelated families were analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques aiming to decipher the genomic landscape of fetal akinesia (FA).Results: We have identified likely pathogenic gene variants in 37 cases and report 41 novel variants. Additionally, we report putative pathogenic variants in eight cases including nine novel variants. Our work identified 14 novel disease-gene associations for fetal akinesia: ADSSL1, ASAH1, ASPM, ATP2B3, EARS2, FBLN1, PRG4, PRICKLE1, ROR2, SETBP1…

Capturing colorectal cancer inter-tumor heterogeneity in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models

Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models have become an important asset in translational cancer research. However, to provide a robust preclinical platform, PDXs need to accommodate the tumor heterogeneity that is observed in patients. Colorectal cancer (CRC) can be stratified into four consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) with distinct biological and clinical features. Surprisingly, using a set of CRC patients, we revealed the partial representation of tumor heterogeneity in PDX models. The epithelial subtypes, the largest subgroups of CRC subtype, were very ineffective in establishing PDXs, indicating the need for further optimization to develop an effective personalized therapeutic approach …

Mutations in the skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene in patients with actin myopathy and nemaline myopathy

Muscle contraction results from the force generated between the thin filament protein actin and the thick filament protein myosin, which causes the thick and thin muscle filaments to slide past each other. There are skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, smooth muscle and non-muscle isoforms of both actin and myosin. Inherited diseases in humans have been associated with defects in cardiac actin (dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), cardiac myosin (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and non-muscle myosin (deafness). Here we report that mutations in the human skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene (ACTA1) are associated with two different muscle diseases, 'congenital myopathy with excess o…

Molecular cause and functional impact of altered synaptic lipid signaling due to a prg‐1 gene SNP

Loss of plasticity-related gene 1 (PRG-1), which regulates synaptic phospholipid signaling, leads to hyperexcitability via increased glutamate release altering excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance in cortical networks. A recently reported SNP in prg-1 (R345T/ mutPRG-1) affects ~5 million European and US citizens in a monoallelic variant. Our studies show that this mutation leads to a loss-of-PRG-1 function at the synapse due to its inability to control lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) levels via a cellular uptake mechanism which appears to depend on proper glycosylation altered by this SNP. PRG-1 +/ mice, which are animal correlates of human PRG-1 +/mut carriers, showed an altered cortical networ…

Sequence-based bioinformatic prediction and QUASEP identify genomic imprinting of the KCNK9 potassium channel gene in mouse and human

Genomic imprinting is the epigenetic marking of gene subsets resulting in monoallelic or predominant expression of one of the two parental alleles according to their parental origin. We describe the systematic experimental verification of a prioritized 16 candidate imprinted gene set predicted by sequence-based bioinformatic analyses. We used Quantification of Allele-Specific Expression by Pyrosequencing (QUASEP) and discovered maternal-specific imprinted expression of the Kcnk9 gene as well as strain-dependent preferential expression of the Rarres1 gene in E11.5 (C57BL/6 3 Cast/Ei)F1 and informative (C57BL/6 3 Cast/ Ei) 3 C57BL/6 backcross mouse embryos. For the remaining 14 candidate impr…