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1. Genomic insights into Plasmodium vivax population structure and diversity in central Africa

Author

Valerie Gartner, Benjamin D. Redelings, Claudia Gaither, Jonathan B. Parr, Albert Kalonji, Fernandine Phanzu, Nicholas F. Brazeau, Jonathan J. Juliano, and Gregory A. Wray

Subjects
Malaria, Plasmodium vivax, Genome, Duffy negative, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Africa, Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine, RC955-962, Infectious and parasitic diseases, RC109-216
Abstract

Abstract Background Though Plasmodium vivax is the second most common malaria species to infect humans, it has not traditionally been considered a major human health concern in central Africa given the high prevalence of the human Duffy-negative phenotype that is believed to prevent infection. Increasing reports of asymptomatic and symptomatic infections in Duffy-negative individuals throughout Africa raise the possibility that P. vivax is evolving to evade host resistance, but there are few parasite samples with genomic data available from this part of the world. Methods Whole genome sequencing of one new P. vivax isolate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was performed and used in population genomics analyses to assess how this central African isolate fits into the global context of this species. Results Plasmodium vivax from DRC is similar to other African populations and is not closely related to the non-human primate parasite P. vivax-like. Evidence is found for a duplication of the gene PvDBP and a single copy of PvDBP2. Conclusion These results suggest an endemic P. vivax population is present in central Africa. Intentional sampling of P. vivax across Africa would further contextualize this sample within African P. vivax diversity and shed light on the mechanisms of infection in Duffy negative individuals. These results are limited by the uncertainty of how representative this single sample is of the larger population of P. vivax in central Africa.

Published
2024
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2. The epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax among adults in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Author

Nicholas F. Brazeau, Cedar L. Mitchell, Andrew P. Morgan, Molly Deutsch-Feldman, Oliver John Watson, Kyaw L. Thwai, Pere Gelabert, Lucy van Dorp, Corinna Y. Keeler, Andreea Waltmann, Michael Emch, Valerie Gartner, Ben Redelings, Gregory A. Wray, Melchior K. Mwandagalirwa, Antoinette K. Tshefu, Joris L. Likwela, Jessie K. Edwards, Robert Verity, Jonathan B. Parr, Steven R. Meshnick, and Jonathan J. Juliano

Subjects
Science
Abstract

Plasmodium vivax generally accounts for a low proportion of malaria cases in Africa, but population-level data on the distribution of infections is limited. Here, the authors use data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and show that the prevalence is low (~3%) and diffusely spread.

Published
2021
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3. Positive selection within the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and other Coronaviruses independent of impact on protein function

Author

Alejandro Berrio, Valerie Gartner, and Gregory A. Wray

Subjects
SARS-CoV-2, Evolution, Positive selection, COVID-19, Genome, Medicine, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract

Background The emergence of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) associated with severe acute respiratory disease (COVID-19) has prompted efforts to understand the genetic basis for its unique characteristics and its jump from non-primate hosts to humans. Tests for positive selection can identify apparently nonrandom patterns of mutation accumulation within genomes, highlighting regions where molecular function may have changed during the origin of a species. Several recent studies of the SARS-CoV-2 genome have identified signals of conservation and positive selection within the gene encoding Spike protein based on the ratio of synonymous to nonsynonymous substitution. Such tests cannot, however, detect changes in the function of RNA molecules. Methods Here we apply a test for branch-specific oversubstitution of mutations within narrow windows of the genome without reference to the genetic code. Results We recapitulate the finding that the gene encoding Spike protein has been a target of both purifying and positive selection. In addition, we find other likely targets of positive selection within the genome of SARS-CoV-2, specifically within the genes encoding Nsp4 and Nsp16. Homology-directed modeling indicates no change in either Nsp4 or Nsp16 protein structure relative to the most recent common ancestor. These SARS-CoV-2-specific mutations may affect molecular processes mediated by the positive or negative RNA molecules, including transcription, translation, RNA stability, and evasion of the host innate immune system. Our results highlight the importance of considering mutations in viral genomes not only from the perspective of their impact on protein structure, but also how they may impact other molecular processes critical to the viral life cycle.

Published
2020
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4. Protease-activated receptor-1 activation by granzyme B causes neurotoxicity that is augmented by interleukin-1β

Author

Paul R. Lee, Tory P. Johnson, Sharmilee Gnanapavan, Gavin Giovannoni, Tongguang Wang, Joseph P. Steiner, Marie Medynets, Mark J. Vaal, Valerie Gartner, and Avindra Nath

Subjects
Neuroinflammation, Multiple sclerosis, Neurotoxicity, Protease-activated receptor, Granzyme B, Interleukin-1, Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system, RC346-429
Abstract

Abstract Background The cause of neurodegeneration in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis is unknown. We investigated the impact of specific neuroinflammatory markers on human neurons to identify potential therapeutic targets for neuroprotection against chronic inflammation. Methods Surface immunocytochemistry directly visualized protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptors on neurons in human postmortem cortex in patients with and without neuroinflammatory lesions. Viability of cultured neurons was determined after exposure to cerebrospinal fluid from patients with progressive multiple sclerosis or purified granzyme B and IL-1β. Inhibitors of PAR1 activation and of PAR1-associated second messenger signaling were used to elucidate a mechanism of neurotoxicity. Results Immunohistochemistry of human post-mortem brain tissue demonstrated cells expressing higher amounts of PAR1 near and within subcortical lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis compared to control tissue. Human cerebrospinal fluid samples containing granzyme B and IL-1β were toxic to human neuronal cultures. Granzyme B was neurotoxic through activation of PAR1 and subsequently the phospholipase Cβ-IP3 second messenger system. Inhibition of PAR1 or IP3 prevented granzyme B toxicity. IL-1β enhanced granzyme B-mediated neurotoxicity by increasing PAR1 expression. Conclusions Neurons within the inflamed central nervous system are imperiled because they express more PAR1 and are exposed to a neurotoxic combination of both granzyme B and IL-1β. The effects of these inflammatory mediators may be a contributing factor in the progressive brain atrophy associated with neuroinflammatory diseases. Knowledge of how exposure to IL-1β and granzyme B act synergistically to cause neuronal death yields potential novel neuroprotective treatments for neuroinflammatory diseases.

Published
2017
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5. Genomic insights intoPlasmodium vivaxpopulation structure and diversity in central Africa

Author

Valerie Gartner, Benjamin D. Redelings, Claudia Gaither, Jonathan B. Parr, Albert Kalonji, Fernandine Phanzu, Nicholas F. Brazeau, Jonathan J. Juliano, and Gregory A. Wray

Abstract

Plasmodium vivaxmalaria has not traditionally been a major concern in central Africa given the high prevalence of the human Duffy-negative phenotype that is believed to prevent infection. Increasing reports of asymptomatic and symptomatic infections in Duffy-negative individuals throughout Africa raise the possibility thatP. vivaxis evolving to evade host resistance, but there are few parasite samples with genomic data available from this part of the world. In this study, we perform whole genome sequencing of a newP. vivaxisolate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and assess how this central African isolate fits into the global context of this species. We use population genomics methods to show thatP. vivaxfrom DRC is similar to other African parasite populations and is not closely related to the non-human primate parasiteP. vivax-like.SignificanceThe second most common malaria species to infect humans,Plasmodium vivax, is not considered a major threat to human health in central Africa because people in this region frequently have a genetic variant that prevents theP. vivaxspecies from being able to cause illness. Recent research shows thatP. vivaxcan be found in individuals who should be immune, but there is insufficient data to understand why. Our study investigates the genome of oneP. vivaxsample collected from central Africa to show that the DRC population is closely related to otherP.vivaxpopulations in Africa.

Published
2022

6. The epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax among adults in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Author

Corinna Keeler, Molly Deutsch-Feldman, Steven R. Meshnick, Kyaw L. Thwai, Valerie Gartner, Oliver J Watson, Jonathan J. Juliano, Jessie K. Edwards, Cedar L Mitchell, Ben Redelings, Michael Emch, Antoinette Tshefu, Andrew P. Morgan, Jonathan B. Parr, Nicholas F Brazeau, Gregory A. Wray, Andreea Waltmann, Joris L. Likwela, Robert Verity, Pere Gelabert, Lucy van Dorp, and Melchior K. Mwandagalirwa

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Adult, Male, medicine.medical_specialty, Adolescent, Epidemiology, Science, 030231 tropical medicine, Plasmodium vivax, General Physics and Astronomy, Parasitemia, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Article, 03 medical and health sciences, Young Adult, 0302 clinical medicine, Risk Factors, parasitic diseases, medicine, Malaria, Vivax, Prevalence, Humans, Mass Screening, Clade, Multidisciplinary, biology, Age Factors, General Chemistry, biology.organism_classification, medicine.disease, Malaria, Phylogenetics, 030104 developmental biology, Carriage, Cross-Sectional Studies, Carrier State, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Forward propagation, Female, Demographic health survey, Demography
Abstract

Reports of P. vivax infections among Duffy-negative hosts have accumulated throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this growing body of evidence, no nationally representative epidemiological surveys of P. vivax in sub-Saharan Africa have been performed. To overcome this gap in knowledge, we screened over 17,000 adults in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for P. vivax using samples from the 2013-2014 Demographic Health Survey. Overall, we found a 2.97% (95% CI: 2.28%, 3.65%) prevalence of P. vivax infections across the DRC. Infections were associated with few risk-factors and demonstrated a relatively flat distribution of prevalence across space with focal regions of relatively higher prevalence in the north and northeast. Mitochondrial genomes suggested that DRC P. vivax were distinct from circulating non-human ape strains and an ancestral European P. vivax strain, and instead may be part of a separate contemporary clade. Our findings suggest P. vivax is diffusely spread across the DRC at a low prevalence, which may be associated with long-term carriage of low parasitemia, frequent relapses, or a general pool of infections with limited forward propagation., Plasmodium vivax generally accounts for a low proportion of malaria cases in Africa, but population-level data on the distribution of infections is limited. Here, the authors use data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and show that the prevalence is low (~3%) and diffusely spread.

Published
2021

7. The Undiagnosed Diseases Network: Accelerating Discovery about Health and Disease

Author

Rachel B. Ramoni, John J. Mulvihill, David R. Adams, Patrick Allard, Euan A. Ashley, Jonathan A. Bernstein, William A. Gahl, Rizwan Hamid, Joseph Loscalzo, Alexa T. McCray, Vandana Shashi, Cynthia J. Tifft, Anastasia L. Wise, Christopher J. Adams, Mercedes E. Alejandro, Mashid S. Azamian, Carlos A. Bacino, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Hayk Barseghyan, Alan H. Beggs, Hugo J. Bellen, David Bernick, Anna Bican, David P. Bick, Camille L. Birch, Braden E. Boone, Lauren C. Briere, Donna M. Brown, Catherine A. Brownstein, Matthew Brush, Elizabeth A. Burke, Lindsay C. Burrage, Katherine R. Chao, Gary D. Clark, Joy D. Cogan, Cynthia M. Cooper, William J. Craigen, Mariska Davids, Jyoti G. Dayal, Esteban C. Dell’Angelica, Shweta U. Dhar, Katrina M. Dipple, Laurel A. Donnell-Fink, Naghmeh Dorrani, Daniel C. Dorset, David D. Draper, Annika M. Dries, Rachel Eastwood, David J. Eckstein, Lisa T. Emrick, Christine M. Eng, Cecilia Esteves, Tyra Estwick, Paul G. Fisher, Trevor S. Frisby, Kate Frost, Valerie Gartner, Rena A. Godfrey, Mitchell Goheen, Gretchen A. Golas, David B. Goldstein, Mary 'Gracie' G. Gordon, Sarah E. Gould, Jean-Philippe F. Gourdine, Brett H. Graham, Catherine A. Groden, Andrea L. Gropman, Mary E. Hackbarth, Melissa Haendel, Neil A. Hanchard, Lori H. Handley, Isabel Hardee, Matthew R. Herzog, Ingrid A. Holm, Ellen M. Howerton, Brenda Iglesias, Howard J. Jacob, Mahim Jain, Yong-hui Jiang, Jean M. Johnston, Angela L. Jones, Alanna E. Koehler, David M. Koeller, Isaac S. Kohane, Jennefer N. Kohler, Donna M. Krasnewich, Elizabeth L. Krieg, Joel B. Krier, Jennifer E. Kyle, Seema R. Lalani, Lea Latham, Yvonne L. Latour, C. Christopher Lau, Jozef Lazar, Brendan H. Lee, Hane Lee, Paul R. Lee, Shawn E. Levy, Denise J. Levy, Richard A. Lewis, Adam P. Liebendorder, Sharyn A. Lincoln, Carson R. Loomis, Richard L. Maas, Ellen F. Macnamara, Calum A. MacRae, Valerie V. Maduro, May Christine V. Malicdan, Laura A. Mamounas, Teri A. Manolio, Thomas C. Markello, Casey Martin, Paul Mazur, Alexandra J. McCarty, Allyn McConkie-Rosell, Thomas O. Metz, Matthew Might, Paolo M. Moretti, Jennifer L. Murphy, Donna M. Muzny, Michele E. Nehrebecky, Stan F. Nelson, J. Scott Newberry, John H. Newman, Sarah K. Nicholas, Donna Novacic, Jordan S. Orange, J. Carl Pallais, Christina G.S. Palmer, Jeanette C. Papp, Loren D.M. Pena, John A. Phillips, Jennifer E. Posey, John H. Postlethwait, Lorraine Potocki, Barbara N. Pusey, Amy K. Robertson, Lance H. Rodan, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Sarah Sadozai, Katherine E. Schaffer, Kelly Schoch, Molly C. Schroeder, Daryl A. Scott, Prashant Sharma, Edwin K. Silverman, Janet S. Sinsheimer, Ariane G. Soldatos, Rebecca C. Spillmann, Kimberly Splinter, Joan M. Stoler, Nicholas Stong, Kimberly A. Strong, Jennifer A. Sullivan, David A. Sweetser, Sara P. Thomas, Nathanial J. Tolman, Camilo Toro, Alyssa A. Tran, Zaheer M. Valivullah, Eric Vilain, Daryl M. Waggott, Colleen E. Wahl, Nicole M. Walley, Chris A. Walsh, Michael F. Wangler, Mike Warburton, Patricia A. Ward, Katrina M. Waters, Bobbie-Jo M. Webb-Robertson, Alec A. Weech, Monte Westerfield, Matthew T. Wheeler, Lynne A. Wolfe, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Shinya Yamamoto, Yaping Yang, Guoyun Yu, and Patricia A. Zornio

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Knowledge management, Genotype, Genotyping Techniques, Best practice, Disease, 030105 genetics & heredity, Bioinformatics, 03 medical and health sciences, Rare Diseases, Diagnostic model, Common fund, Genetics, Humans, Metabolomics, Functional studies, Genetics (clinical), Information Dissemination, business.industry, Disease mechanisms, Sequence Analysis, DNA, United States, Research objectives, Data sharing, Phenotype, 030104 developmental biology, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Commentary, business
Abstract

Diagnosis at the edges of our knowledge calls upon clinicians to be data driven, cross-disciplinary, and collaborative in unprecedented ways. Exact disease recognition, an element of the concept of precision in medicine, requires new infrastructure that spans geography, institutional boundaries, and the divide between clinical care and research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund supports the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) as an exemplar of this model of precise diagnosis. Its goals are to forge a strategy to accelerate the diagnosis of rare or previously unrecognized diseases, to improve recommendations for clinical management, and to advance research, especially into disease mechanisms. The network will achieve these objectives by evaluating patients with undiagnosed diseases, fostering a breadth of expert collaborations, determining best practices for translating the strategy into medical centers nationwide, and sharing findings, data, specimens, and approaches with the scientific and medical communities. Building the UDN has already brought insights to human and medical geneticists. The initial focus has been on data sharing, establishing common protocols for institutional review boards and data sharing, creating protocols for referring and evaluating patients, and providing DNA sequencing, metabolomic analysis, and functional studies in model organisms. By extending this precision diagnostic model nationally, we strive to meld clinical and research objectives, improve patient outcomes, and contribute to medical science.

Published
2017

8. A Recurrent De Novo Variant in NACC1 Causes a Syndrome Characterized by Infantile Epilepsy, Cataracts, and Profound Developmental Delay

Author

Kelly Schoch, Linyan Meng, Szabolcs Szelinger, David R. Bearden, Asbjorg Stray-Pedersen, Oyvind L. Busk, Nicholas Stong, Eriskay Liston, Ronald D. Cohn, Fernando Scaglia, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Jennifer Tarpinian, Cara M. Skraban, Matthew A. Deardorff, Jeremy N. Friedman, Zeynep Coban Akdemir, Nicole Walley, Mohamad A. Mikati, Peter G. Kranz, Joan Jasien, Allyn McConkie-Rosell, Marie McDonald, Stephanie Burns Wechsler, Michael Freemark, Sujay Kansagra, Sharon Freedman, Deeksha Bali, Francisca Millan, Sherri Bale, Stanley F. Nelson, Hane Lee, Naghmeh Dorrani, David B. Goldstein, Rui Xiao, Yaping Yang, Jennifer E. Posey, Julian A. Martinez-Agosto, James R. Lupski, Michael F. Wangler, Vandana Shashi, Wayne W. Grody, Samuel P. Strom, Eric Vilain, Joshua Deignan, Fabiola Quintero-Rivera, Sibel Kantarci, Sureni Mullegama, Sung-Hae Kang, Mercedes E. Alejandro, Carlos A. Bacino, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Lindsay C. Burrage, Gary D. Clark, William J. Craigen, Shweta U. Dhar, Lisa T. Emrick, Brett H. Graham, Neil A. Hanchard, Mahim Jain, Seema R. Lalani, Brendan H. Lee, Richard A. Lewis, Azamian S. Mashid, Paolo M. Moretti, Sarah K. Nicholas, Jordan S. Orange, Lorraine Potocki, Daryl A. Scott, Alyssa A. Tran, Hugo J. Bellen, Shinya Yamamoto, Christine M. Eng, Donna M. Muzny, Patricia A. Ward, Andrea L. Gropman, Yong-hui Jiang, Loren D.M. Pena, Rebecca C. Spillmann, Jennifer A. Sullivan, Nicole M. Walley, Alan H. Beggs, Lauren C. Briere, Cynthia M. Cooper, Laurel A. Donnell-Fink, Elizabeth L. Krieg, Joel B. Krier, Sharyn A. Lincoln, Joseph Loscalzo, Richard L. Maas, Calum A. MacRae, J. Carl Pallais, Lance H. Rodan, Edwin K. Silverman, Joan M. Stoler, David A. Sweetser, Chris A. Walsh, Cecilia Esteves, Ingrid A. Holm, Isaac S. Kohane, Paul Mazur, Alexa T. McCray, Matthew Might, Rachel B. Ramoni, Kimberly Splinter, David P. Bick, Camille L. Birch, Braden E. Boone, Donna M. Brown, Dan C. Dorset, Lori H. Handley, Howard J. Jacob, Angela L. Jones, Jozef Lazar, Shawn E. Levy, J. Scott Newberry, Molly C. Schroeder, Kimberly A. Strong, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Jyoti G. Dayal, David J. Eckstein, Sarah E. Gould, Ellen M. Howerton, Donna M. Krasnewich, Carson R. Loomis, Laura A. Mamounas, Teri A. Manolio, John J. Mulvihill, Anastasia L. Wise, Ariane G. Soldatos, Matthew Brush, Jean-Philippe F. Gourdine, Melissa Haendel, David M. Koeller, Jennifer E. Kyle, Thomas O. Metz, Katrina M. Waters, Bobbie-Jo M. Webb-Robertson, Euan A. Ashley, Jonathan A. Bernstein, Annika M. Dries, Paul G. Fisher, Jennefer N. Kohler, Daryl M. Waggott, Matt T. Wheeler, Patricia A. Zornio, Patrick Allard, Hayk Barseghyan, Esteban C. Dell’Angelica, Katrina M. Dipple, Matthew R. Herzog, Stan F. Nelson, Christina G.S. Palmer, Jeanette C. Papp, Janet S. Sinsheimer, Christopher J. Adams, Elizabeth A. Burke, Katherine R. Chao, Mariska Davids, David D. Draper, Tyra Estwick, Trevor S. Frisby, Kate Frost, Valerie Gartner, Rena A. Godfrey, Mitchell Goheen, Gretchen A. Golas, Mary 'Gracie' G. Gordon, Catherine A. Groden, Mary E. Hackbarth, Isabel Hardee, Jean M. Johnston, Alanna E. Koehler, Lea Latham, Yvonne L. Latour, C. Christopher Lau, Denise J. Levy, Adam P. Liebendorder, Ellen F. Macnamara, Valerie V. Maduro, Thomas C. Markello, Alexandra J. McCarty, Jennifer L. Murphy, Michele E. Nehrebecky, Donna Novacic, Barbara N. Pusey, Sarah Sadozai, Katherine E. Schaffer, Prashant Sharma, Sara P. Thomas, Nathanial J. Tolman, Camilo Toro, Zaheer M. Valivullah, Colleen E. Wahl, Mike Warburton, Alec A. Weech, Guoyun Yu, David R. Adams, William A. Gahl, May Christine V. Malicdan, Cynthia J. Tifft, Lynne A. Wolfe, Paul R. Lee, John H. Postlethwait, Monte Westerfield, Anna Bican, Rizwan Hamid, John H. Newman, John A. Phillips, Amy K. Robertson, and Joy D. Cogan

Subjects
Male, 0301 basic medicine, Microcephaly, Mutation, Missense, Biology, Cataract, Germline, 03 medical and health sciences, Neurodevelopmental disorder, Cataracts, Report, Intellectual Disability, Intellectual disability, Genetics, medicine, Humans, Missense mutation, Amino Acid Sequence, Child, Alleles, Genetics (clinical), Cerebral atrophy, Brain, Genetic Variation, Infant, medicine.disease, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neoplasm Proteins, Pedigree, 3. Good health, Repressor Proteins, Phenotype, 030104 developmental biology, Child, Preschool, Failure to thrive, Female, medicine.symptom, Spasms, Infantile, Genome-Wide Association Study
Abstract

Whole-exome sequencing (WES) has increasingly enabled new pathogenic gene variant identification for undiagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders and provided insights into both gene function and disease biology. Here, we describe seven children with a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by microcephaly, profound developmental delays and/or intellectual disability, cataracts, severe epilepsy including infantile spasms, irritability, failure to thrive, and stereotypic hand movements. Brain imaging in these individuals reveals delay in myelination and cerebral atrophy. We observe an identical recurrent de novo heterozygous c.892C>T (p.Arg298Trp) variant in the nucleus accumbens associated 1 ( NACC1 ) gene in seven affected individuals. One of the seven individuals is mosaic for this variant. NACC1 encodes a transcriptional repressor implicated in gene expression and has not previously been associated with germline disorders. The probability of finding the same missense NACC1 variant by chance in 7 out of 17,228 individuals who underwent WES for diagnoses of neurodevelopmental phenotypes is extremely small and achieves genome-wide significance (p = 1.25 × 10 −14 ). Selective constraint against missense variants in NACC1 makes this excess of an identical missense variant in all seven individuals more remarkable. Our findings are consistent with a germline recurrent mutational hotspot associated with an allele-specific neurodevelopmental phenotype in NACC1 .

Published
2017

9. A Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder Caused by De Novo Variants in EBF3

Author

Hsiao-Tuan Chao, Mariska Davids, Elizabeth Burke, John G. Pappas, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Alexandra J. McCarty, Taylor Davis, Lynne Wolfe, Camilo Toro, Cynthia Tifft, Fan Xia, Nicholas Stong, Travis K. Johnson, Coral G. Warr, Shinya Yamamoto, David R. Adams, Thomas C. Markello, William A. Gahl, Hugo J. Bellen, Michael F. Wangler, May Christine V. Malicdan, Christopher J. Adams, Mercedes E. Alejandro, Patrick Allard, Euan A. Ashley, Carlos A. Bacino, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Hayk Barseghyan, Alan H. Beggs, Jonathan A. Bernstein, David P. Bick, Camille L. Birch, Braden E. Boone, Lauren C. Briere, Donna M. Brown, Matthew Brush, Lindsay C. Burrage, Katherine R. Chao, Gary D. Clark, Joy D. Cogan, Cynthia M. Cooper, William J. Craigen, Jyoti G. Dayal, Esteban C. Dell'Angelica, Shweta U. Dhar, Katrina M. Dipple, Laurel A. Donnell-Fink, Naghmeh Dorrani, Dan C. Dorset, David D. Draper, Annika M. Dries, David J. Eckstein, Lisa T. Emrick, Christine M. Eng, Cecilia Esteves, Tyra Estwick, Paul G. Fisher, Trevor S. Frisby, Kate Frost, Valerie Gartner, Rena A. Godfrey, Mitchell Goheen, Gretchen A. Golas, David B. Goldstein, Mary 'Gracie' G. Gordon, Sarah E. Gould, Jean-Philippe F. Gourdine, Brett H. Graham, Catherine A. Groden, Andrea L. Gropman, Mary E. Hackbarth, Melissa Haendel, Rizwan Hamid, Neil A. Hanchard, Lori H. Handley, Isabel Hardee, Matthew R. Herzog, Ingrid A. Holm, Ellen M. Howerton, Howard J. Jacob, Mahim Jain, Yong-hui Jiang, Jean M. Johnston, Angela L. Jones, Alanna E. Koehler, David M. Koeller, Isaac S. Kohane, Jennefer N. Kohler, Donna M. Krasnewich, Elizabeth L. Krieg, Joel B. Krier, Jennifer E. Kyle, Seema R. Lalani, Lea Latham, Yvonne L. Latour, C. Christopher Lau, Jozef Lazar, Brendan H. Lee, Hane Lee, Paul R. Lee, Shawn E. Levy, Denise J. Levy, Richard A. Lewis, Adam P. Liebendorder, Sharyn A. Lincoln, Carson R. Loomis, Joseph Loscalzo, Richard L. Maas, Ellen F. Macnamara, Calum A. MacRae, Valerie V. Maduro, Laura A. Mamounas, Teri A. Manolio, Azamian S. Mashid, Paul Mazur, Allyn McConkie-Rosell, Alexa T. McCray, Thomas O. Metz, Matthew Might, Paolo M. Moretti, John J. Mulvihill, Jennifer L. Murphy, Donna M. Muzny, Michele E. Nehrebecky, Stan F. Nelson, J. Scott Newberry, John H. Newman, Sarah K. Nicholas, Donna Novacic, Jordan S. Orange, J. Carl Pallais, Christina G.S. Palmer, Jeanette C. Papp, Loren D.M. Pena, John A. Phillips, Jennifer E. Posey, John H. Postlethwait, Lorraine Potocki, Barbara N. Pusey, Rachel B. Ramoni, Lance H. Rodan, Sarah Sadozai, Katherine E. Schaffer, Kelly Schoch, Molly C. Schroeder, Daryl A. Scott, Prashant Sharma, Vandana Shashi, Edwin K. Silverman, Janet S. Sinsheimer, Ariane G. Soldatos, Rebecca C. Spillmann, Kimberly Splinter, Joan M. Stoler, Kimberly A. Strong, Jennifer A. Sullivan, David A. Sweetser, Sara P. Thomas, Cynthia J. Tift, Nathanial J. Tolman, Alyssa A. Tran, Zaheer M. Valivullah, Eric Vilain, Daryl M. Waggott, Colleen E. Wahl, Nicole M. Walley, Chris A. Walsh, Mike Warburton, Patricia A. Ward, Katrina M. Waters, Bobbie-Jo M. Webb-Robertson, Alec A. Weech, Monte Westerfield, Matt T. Wheeler, Anastasia L. Wise, Lynne A. Worthe, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Yaping Yang, Guoyun Yu, and Patricia A. Zornio

Subjects
Central Nervous System, Male, 0301 basic medicine, Ataxia, Developmental Disabilities, Biology, Speech Disorders, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Neurodevelopmental disorder, Intellectual Disability, Report, Intellectual disability, Genetics, medicine, Humans, Abnormalities, Multiple, Genitalia, Global developmental delay, Child, Transcription factor, Genetics (clinical), Zinc finger, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Zinc Fingers, Syndrome, medicine.disease, Hypotonia, 030104 developmental biology, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Child, Preschool, Mutation, Muscle Hypotonia, Homeobox, Female, medicine.symptom, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Transcription Factors
Abstract

Early B cell factor 3 (EBF3) is a member of the highly evolutionarily conserved Collier/Olf/EBF (COE) family of transcription factors. Prior studies on invertebrate and vertebrate animals have shown that EBF3 homologs are essential for survival and that loss-of-function mutations are associated with a range of nervous system developmental defects, including perturbation of neuronal development and migration. Interestingly, aristaless-related homeobox (ARX), a homeobox-containing transcription factor critical for the regulation of nervous system development, transcriptionally represses EBF3 expression. However, human neurodevelopmental disorders related to EBF3 have not been reported. Here, we describe three individuals who are affected by global developmental delay, intellectual disability, and expressive speech disorder and carry de novo variants in EBF3. Associated features seen in these individuals include congenital hypotonia, structural CNS malformations, ataxia, and genitourinary abnormalities. The de novo variants affect a single conserved residue in a zinc finger motif crucial for DNA binding and are deleterious in a fly model. Our findings indicate that mutations in EBF3 cause a genetic neurodevelopmental syndrome and suggest that loss of EBF3 function might mediate a subset of neurologic phenotypes shared by ARX-related disorders, including intellectual disability, abnormal genitalia, and structural CNS malformations.

Published
2017

10. Novel variants in SPTAN1 without epilepsy: An expansion of the phenotype

Author

Cynthia J. Tifft, William A. Gahl, Paul R. Lee, Lisa Joseph, Valerie Gartner, Thomas C. Markello, Alan H. Beggs, Irina Anselm, Emma Boslet, Audrey Thurm, Jeremy D. Schmahmann, Andrea De Biase, Ellen Macnamara, and Gerard T. Berry

Subjects
Male, 0301 basic medicine, media_common.quotation_subject, Nonsense, Neuroimaging, Neuropsychological Tests, Biology, Multimodal Imaging, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, 03 medical and health sciences, Exon, Epilepsy, 0302 clinical medicine, Exome Sequencing, Leukocytes, Genetics, medicine, Humans, Coding region, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Child, Gene, Genetic Association Studies, Genetics (clinical), Exome sequencing, media_common, Comparative Genomic Hybridization, Microfilament Proteins, Facies, Genetic Variation, Electroencephalography, Fibroblasts, medicine.disease, SPTAN1, Immunohistochemistry, Phenotype, 030104 developmental biology, Carrier Proteins, Biomarkers, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

We describe two unrelated children with de novo variants in the non-erythrocytic alpha-II-spectrin (SPTAN1) gene who have hypoplastic brain structures, intellectual disability, and both fine and gross motor impairments. Using agnostic exome sequencing, we identified a nonsense variant creating a premature stop codon in exon 21 of SPTAN1, and in a second patient we identified an intronic substitution in SPTAN1 prior to exon 50 creating a new donor acceptor site. Neither of these variants has been described previously. Although some of these patients' features are consistent with the known SPTAN1 encephalopathy phenotype, these two children do not have epilepsy, in contrast to reports about nearly every other patient with heterozygous SPTAN1 variants and in all patients with a variant near the C-terminal coding region. Moreover, both children have abnormal thyroid function, which has not been previously reported in association with SPTAN1 variant. We present a detailed discussion of the clinical manifestations of these two unique SPTAN1 variants and provide evidence that both variants result in reduced mRNA expression despite different locations within the gene and clinical phenotypes. These findings expand the motor, cognitive, and behavioral spectrum of the SPTAN1-associated phenotype and invite speculation about underlying pathophysiologies.

Published
2018

11. Child Neurology: Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency

Author

Peter J. McGuire, Paul R. Lee, and Valerie Gartner

Subjects
Male, Coma, medicine.medical_specialty, Newborn screening, Adolescent, business.industry, Encephalopathy, Disease Management, Hypoglycemia, medicine.disease, MCADD, Asymptomatic, Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase, Lipid Metabolism, Inborn Errors, Resident and Fellow Section, Endocrinology, Internal medicine, medicine, Humans, Decompensation, Neurology (clinical), medicine.symptom, business, Beta oxidation
Abstract

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency (MCADD) is an autosomal recessive inherited fatty acid oxidation disorder. In MCADD, mitochondria cannot process medium-chain fatty acids via the β-oxidation pathway because of a lack of MCAD. While patients may be asymptomatic during the prenatal or immediate postnatal periods, patients will experience decompensation due to profound hypoglycemia during fasting or illness with often rapid progression to encephalopathy, seizures, coma, or death. Newborn screening tests can identify virtually all new cases of MCADD in a cost-effective manner, often with reflex follow-up targeted mutation analysis for the 2 most common alleles. With appropriate monitoring, prevention through avoidance of fasting, and intervention during an impending crisis, patients with MCADD can survive into adulthood with no neurologic sequelae.

Published
2015

12. Looking beyond the exome: a phenotype-first approach to molecular diagnostic resolution in rare and undiagnosed diseases

Author

Loren D.M. Pena, Yong-Hui Jiang, Kelly Schoch, Rebecca C. Spillmann, Nicole Walley, Nicholas Stong, Sarah Rapisardo Horn, Jennifer A. Sullivan, Allyn McConkie-Rosell, Sujay Kansagra, Edward C. Smith, Mays El-Dairi, Jane Bellet, Martha Ann Keels, Joan Jasien, Peter G. Kranz, Richard Noel, Shashi K. Nagaraj, Robert K. Lark, Daniel S.G. Wechsler, Daniela del Gaudio, Marco L. Leung, Laura G. Hendon, Collette C. Parker, Kelly L. Jones, David B. Goldstein, Vandana Shashi, Mercedes E. Alejandro, Carlos A. Bacino, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Bret L. Bostwick, Lindsay C. Burrage, Shan Chen, Gary D. Clark, William J. Craigen, Shweta U. Dhar, Lisa T. Emrick, Brett H. Graham, Neil A. Hanchard, Mahim Jain, Seema R. Lalani, Brendan H. Lee, Richard A. Lewis, Mashid S. Azamian, Paolo M. Moretti, Sarah K. Nicholas, Jordan S. Orange, Jennifer E. Posey, Lorraine Potocki, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Susan L. Samson, Daryl A. Scott, Alyssa A. Tran, Tiphanie P. Vogel, Jing Zhang, Hugo J. Bellen, Michael F. Wangler, Shinya Yamamoto, Christine M. Eng, Donna M. Muzny, Patricia A. Ward, Yaping Yang, Yong-hui Jiang, Nicole M. Walley, Alan H. Beggs, Lauren C. Briere, Cynthia M. Cooper, Laurel A. Donnell-Fink, Elizabeth L. Krieg, Joel B. Krier, Sharyn A. Lincoln, Joseph Loscalzo, Richard L. Maas, Calum A. MacRae, J. Carl Pallais, Lance H. Rodan, Edwin K. Silverman, Joan M. Stoler, David A. Sweetser, Chris A. Walsh, Cecilia Esteves, Ingrid A. Holm, Isaac S. Kohane, Paul Mazur, Alexa T. McCray, Matthew Might, Rachel B. Ramoni, Kimberly Splinter, David P. Bick, Camille L. Birch, Braden E. Boone, Donna M. Brown, Daniel C. Dorset, Lori H. Handley, Howard J. Jacob, Angela L. Jones, Jozef Lazar, Shawn E. Levy, J. Scott Newberry, Molly C. Schroeder, Kimberly A. Strong, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Jyoti G. Dayal, David J. Eckstein, Sarah E. Gould, Ellen M. Howerton, Donna M. Krasnewich, Laura A. Mamounas, Teri A. Manolio, John J. Mulvihill, Tiina K. Urv, Anastasia L. Wise, Ariane G. Soldatos, Matthew Brush, Jean-Philippe F. Gourdine, Melissa Haendel, David M. Koeller, Jennifer E. Kyle, Thomas O. Metz, Katrina M. Waters, Bobbie-Jo M. Webb-Robertson, Euan A. Ashley, Jonathan A. Bernstein, Annika M. Dries, Paul G. Fisher, Jennefer N. Kohler, Daryl M. Waggott, Matthew T. Wheeler, Patricia A. Zornio, Patrick Allard, Hayk Barseghyan, Esteban C. Dell'Angelica, Ani Dillon, Katrina M. Dipple, Naghmeh Dorrani, Emilie D. Douine, Ascia Eskin, Brent L. Fogel, Matthew R. Herzog, Hane Lee, Allen Lipson, Sandra K. Loo, Julian A. Martínez-Agosto, Stan F. Nelson, Christina G.S. Palmer, Jeanette C. Papp, Neil H. Parker, Janet S. Sinsheimer, Eric Vilain, Allison Zheng, Christopher J. Adams, Elizabeth A. Burke, Katherine R. Chao, Mariska Davids, David D. Draper, Tyra Estwick, Trevor S. Frisby, Kate Frost, Valerie Gartner, Rena A. Godfrey, Mitchell Goheen, Gretchen A. Golas, Mary G. Gordon, Catherine A. Groden, Mary E. Hackbarth, Isabel Hardee, Jean M. Johnston, Alanna E. Koehler, Lea Latham, Yvonne L. Latour, C. Christopher Lau, Denise J. Levy, Adam P. Liebendorfer, Ellen F. Macnamara, Valerie V. Maduro, Thomas C. Markello, Alexandra J. McCarty, Jennifer L. Murphy, Michele E. Nehrebecky, Donna Novacic, Barbara N. Pusey, Sarah Sadozai, Katherine E. Schaffer, Prashant Sharma, Sara P. Thomas, Nathanial J. Tolman, Camilo Toro, Zaheer M. Valivullah, Colleen E. Wahl, Mike Warburton, Alec A. Weech, Guoyun Yu, Andrea L. Gropman, David R. Adams, William A. Gahl, May Christine V. Malicdan, Cynthia J. Tifft, Lynne A. Wolfe, Paul R. Lee, John H. Postlethwait, Monte Westerfield, Anna Bican, Joy D. Cogan, Rizwan Hamid, John H. Newman, John A. Phillips, and Amy K. Robertson

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Genotype, Biopsy, Infantile systemic hyalinosis, infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy, Biology, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, PLA2G6, Article, Frameshift mutation, whole exome sequencing, Infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy, 03 medical and health sciences, symbols.namesake, Rare Diseases, Exome Sequencing, medicine, Humans, Exome, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Indel, Child, leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, Genetics (clinical), Exome sequencing, Alleles, Genetic Association Studies, Genetics, Sanger sequencing, Whole genome sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing, Genetic Diseases, Inborn, Infant, medicine.disease, ANTXR2, undiagnosed diseases network, 3. Good health, 030104 developmental biology, Phenotype, Molecular Diagnostic Techniques, Child, Preschool, EIF2B5, symbols, Female, infantile systemic hyalinosis
Abstract

PurposeTo describe examples of missed pathogenic variants on whole-exome sequencing (WES) and the importance of deep phenotyping for further diagnostic testing.MethodsGuided by phenotypic information, three children with negative WES underwent targeted single-gene testing.ResultsIndividual 1 had a clinical diagnosis consistent with infantile systemic hyalinosis, although WES and a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based ANTXR2 test were negative. Sanger sequencing of ANTXR2 revealed a homozygous single base pair insertion, previously missed by the WES variant caller software. Individual 2 had neurodevelopmental regression and cerebellar atrophy, with no diagnosis on WES. New clinical findings prompted Sanger sequencing and copy number testing of PLA2G6. A novel homozygous deletion of the noncoding exon 1 (not included in the WES capture kit) was detected, with extension into the promoter, confirming the clinical suspicion of infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy. Individual 3 had progressive ataxia, spasticity, and magnetic resonance image changes of vanishing white matter leukoencephalopathy. An NGS leukodystrophy gene panel and WES showed a heterozygous pathogenic variant in EIF2B5; no deletions/duplications were detected. Sanger sequencing of EIF2B5 showed a frameshift indel, probably missed owing to failure of alignment.ConclusionThese cases illustrate potential pitfalls of WES/NGS testing and the importance of phenotype-guided molecular testing in yielding diagnoses.

Published
2017

13. MARRVEL: Integration of Human and Model Organism Genetic Resources to Facilitate Functional Annotation of the Human Genome

Author

Julia Wang, Rami Al-Ouran, Yanhui Hu, Seon-Young Kim, Ying-Wooi Wan, Michael F. Wangler, Shinya Yamamoto, Hsiao-Tuan Chao, Aram Comjean, Stephanie E. Mohr, Norbert Perrimon, Zhandong Liu, Hugo J. Bellen, Christopher J. Adams, David R. Adams, Mercedes E. Alejandro, Patrick Allard, Euan A. Ashley, Mashid S. Azamian, Carlos A. Bacino, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Hayk Barseghyan, Alan H. Beggs, Jonathan A. Bernstein, Anna Bican, David P. Bick, Camille L. Birch, Braden E. Boone, Lauren C. Briere, Donna M. Brown, Matthew Brush, Elizabeth A. Burke, Lindsay C. Burrage, Katherine R. Chao, Gary D. Clark, Joy D. Cogan, Cynthia M. Cooper, William J. Craigen, Mariska Davids, Jyoti G. Dayal, Esteban C. Dell’Angelica, Shweta U. Dhar, Katrina M. Dipple, Laurel A. Donnell-Fink, Naghmeh Dorrani, Daniel C. Dorset, David D. Draper, Annika M. Dries, David J. Eckstein, Lisa T. Emrick, Christine M. Eng, Cecilia Esteves, Tyra Estwick, Paul G. Fisher, Trevor S. Frisby, Kate Frost, William A. Gahl, Valerie Gartner, Rena A. Godfrey, Mitchell Goheen, Gretchen A. Golas, David B. Goldstein, Mary G. Gordon, Sarah E. Gould, Jean-Philippe F. Gourdine, Brett H. Graham, Catherine A. Groden, Andrea L. Gropman, Mary E. Hackbarth, Melissa Haendel, Rizwan Hamid, Neil A. Hanchard, Lori H. Handley, Isabel Hardee, Matthew R. Herzog, Ingrid A. Holm, Ellen M. Howerton, Howard J. Jacob, Mahim Jain, Yong-hui Jiang, Jean M. Johnston, Angela L. Jones, Alanna E. Koehler, David M. Koeller, Isaac S. Kohane, Jennefer N. Kohler, Donna M. Krasnewich, Elizabeth L. Krieg, Joel B. Krier, Jennifer E. Kyle, Seema R. Lalani, Lea Latham, Yvonne L. Latour, C. Christopher Lau, Jozef Lazar, Brendan H. Lee, Hane Lee, Paul R. Lee, Shawn E. Levy, Denise J. Levy, Richard A. Lewis, Adam P. Liebendorfer, Sharyn A. Lincoln, Carson R. Loomis, Joseph Loscalzo, Richard L. Maas, Ellen F. Macnamara, Calum A. MacRae, Valerie V. Maduro, May Christine V. Malicdan, Laura A. Mamounas, Teri A. Manolio, Thomas C. Markello, Paul Mazur, Alexandra J. McCarty, Allyn McConkie-Rosell, Alexa T. McCray, Thomas O. Metz, Matthew Might, Paolo M. Moretti, John J. Mulvihill, Jennifer L. Murphy, Donna M. Muzny, Michele E. Nehrebecky, Stan F. Nelson, J. Scott Newberry, John H. Newman, Sarah K. Nicholas, Donna Novacic, Jordan S. Orange, J. Carl Pallais, Christina G.S. Palmer, Jeanette C. Papp, Loren D.M. Pena, John A. Phillips, Jennifer E. Posey, John H. Postlethwait, Lorraine Potocki, Barbara N. Pusey, Rachel B. Ramoni, Amy K. Robertson, Lance H. Rodan, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Sarah Sadozai, Katherine E. Schaffer, Kelly Schoch, Molly C. Schroeder, Daryl A. Scott, Prashant Sharma, Vandana Shashi, Edwin K. Silverman, Janet S. Sinsheimer, Ariane G. Soldatos, Rebecca C. Spillmann, Kimberly Splinter, Joan M. Stoler, Nicholas Stong, Kimberly A. Strong, Jennifer A. Sullivan, David A. Sweetser, Sara P. Thomas, Cynthia J. Tifft, Nathanial J. Tolman, Camilo Toro, Alyssa A. Tran, Zaheer M. Valivullah, Eric Vilain, Daryl M. Waggott, Colleen E. Wahl, Nicole M. Walley, Chris A. Walsh, Mike Warburton, Patricia A. Ward, Katrina M. Waters, Bobbie-Jo M. Webb-Robertson, Alec A. Weech, Monte Westerfield, Matthew T. Wheeler, Anastasia L. Wise, Lynne A. Wolfe, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Yaping Yang, Guoyun Yu, and Patricia A. Zornio

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Computational biology, Biology, Genome, Article, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Databases, Genetic, Genetics, Humans, Model organism, FlyBase : A Database of Drosophila Genes & Genomes, Gene, Genetics (clinical), ved/biology, Genome, Human, Genetic Variation, Molecular Sequence Annotation, 030104 developmental biology, DECIPHER, Human genome, Zebrafish Information Network genome database, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Software
Abstract

One major challenge encountered with interpreting human genetic variants is the limited understanding of the functional impact of genetic alterations on biological processes. Furthermore, there remains an unmet demand for an efficient survey of the wealth of information on human homologs in model organisms across numerous databases. To efficiently assess the large volume of publically available information, it is important to provide a concise summary of the most relevant information in a rapid user-friendly format. To this end, we created MARRVEL (model organism aggregated resources for rare variant exploration). MARRVEL is a publicly available website that integrates information from six human genetic databases and seven model organism databases. For any given variant or gene, MARRVEL displays information from OMIM, ExAC, ClinVar, Geno2MP, DGV, and DECIPHER. Importantly, it curates model organism-specific databases to concurrently display a concise summary regarding the human gene homologs in budding and fission yeast, worm, fly, fish, mouse, and rat on a single webpage. Experiment-based information on tissue expression, protein subcellular localization, biological process, and molecular function for the human gene and homologs in the seven model organisms are arranged into a concise output. Hence, rather than visiting multiple separate databases for variant and gene analysis, users can obtain important information by searching once through MARRVEL. Altogether, MARRVEL dramatically improves efficiency and accessibility to data collection and facilitates analysis of human genes and variants by cross-disciplinary integration of 18 million records available in public databases to facilitate clinical diagnosis and basic research.

Published
2017

14. Protease-activated receptor-1 activation by granzyme B causes neurotoxicity that is augmented by interleukin-1β

Author

Tory P. Johnson, Joseph P. Steiner, Tongguang Wang, Avindra Nath, Paul R. Lee, Mark Vaal, Sharmilee Gnanapavan, Marie Medynets, Valerie Gartner, and Gavin Giovannoni

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Male, Multiple Sclerosis, Protease-activated receptor, Cell Survival, Immunology, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Interleukin-1beta, Inflammation, Biology, Neuroprotection, lcsh:RC346-429, Granzymes, 03 medical and health sciences, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, 0302 clinical medicine, Neuroinflammation, medicine, Neurotoxicity, Humans, Receptor, PAR-1, lcsh:Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system, Cells, Cultured, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Granzyme B, General Neuroscience, Multiple sclerosis, Research, Neurodegeneration, Drug Synergism, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, 030104 developmental biology, Neurology, Granzyme, biology.protein, Cancer research, cardiovascular system, Female, medicine.symptom, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Interleukin-1
Abstract

Background The cause of neurodegeneration in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis is unknown. We investigated the impact of specific neuroinflammatory markers on human neurons to identify potential therapeutic targets for neuroprotection against chronic inflammation. Methods Surface immunocytochemistry directly visualized protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptors on neurons in human postmortem cortex in patients with and without neuroinflammatory lesions. Viability of cultured neurons was determined after exposure to cerebrospinal fluid from patients with progressive multiple sclerosis or purified granzyme B and IL-1β. Inhibitors of PAR1 activation and of PAR1-associated second messenger signaling were used to elucidate a mechanism of neurotoxicity. Results Immunohistochemistry of human post-mortem brain tissue demonstrated cells expressing higher amounts of PAR1 near and within subcortical lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis compared to control tissue. Human cerebrospinal fluid samples containing granzyme B and IL-1β were toxic to human neuronal cultures. Granzyme B was neurotoxic through activation of PAR1 and subsequently the phospholipase Cβ-IP3 second messenger system. Inhibition of PAR1 or IP3 prevented granzyme B toxicity. IL-1β enhanced granzyme B-mediated neurotoxicity by increasing PAR1 expression. Conclusions Neurons within the inflamed central nervous system are imperiled because they express more PAR1 and are exposed to a neurotoxic combination of both granzyme B and IL-1β. The effects of these inflammatory mediators may be a contributing factor in the progressive brain atrophy associated with neuroinflammatory diseases. Knowledge of how exposure to IL-1β and granzyme B act synergistically to cause neuronal death yields potential novel neuroprotective treatments for neuroinflammatory diseases.

Published
2016

15. De Novo Truncating Variants in ASXL2 Are Associated with a Unique and Recognizable Clinical Phenotype

Author

Colleen E. Wahl, Ingrid A. Holm, Jonathan A. Bernstein, Mitja I. Kurki, Annika M. Dries, Alexander Hoischen, Patrick Allard, Janet S. Sinsheimer, J. Scott Newberry, Maysantoine A. El-Dairi, David R. Adams, Anna C. Need, Mitchell Goheen, Camilo Toro, Outi Kuismin, Andrea L. Gropman, Fanny Kortüm, Lindsay C. Burrage, Braden E. Boone, Nicole M. Walley, Lori H. Handley, Daryl A. Scott, Donna Muzny, Jane S. Bellet, Lance H. Rodan, Catherine Groden, Paul Mazur, Christina G.S. Palmer, Megan W. Butler, Azamian S. Mashid, Brendan Lee, Peter G. Kranz, Alexa T. McCray, Yaping Yang, Hane Lee, David A. Sweetser, Lynne A. Wolfe, Richard Alan Lewis, Sylvia Klinkenberg, Trevor S. Frisby, Lea Latham, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Michele Nehrebecky, William J. Craigen, Donna M. Brown, Constance T. R. M. Stumpel, Laura A. Mamounas, Michael F. Wangler, Lauren C. Briere, Alanna E. Koehler, Sarah Sadozai, Shinya Yamamoto, Kate Frost, Michael Freemark, Carson R. Loomis, Slavé Petrovski, Christine M. Eng, Barbara K. Burton, Hugo J. Bellen, Angela L. Jones, Esteban C. Dell Angelica, A. Bacino, Camille L. Birch, David Goldstein, Tran A. Alyssa, Joan M. Stoler, Yong-hui Jiang, Scott E. Hickey, Paul R. Lee, Jennifer A. Sullivan, William A. Gahl, Christopher J. Adams, Rebecca C. Spillmann, Katherine H. Kim, Daryl Waggott, Seema R. Lalani, Denise J. Levy, René Santer, May V. Malicdan, Donna Novacic, John H. Postlethwait, Kimberly Splinter, Laurel A. Donnell-Fink, Jean M. Johnston, Richard L. Maas, Alexandra J. McCarty, Gretchen Golas, Sarah K. Nicholas, Donna M. Krasnewich, David D. Draper, Cynthia J. Tifft, Cecilia Esteves, David M. Koeller, John A. Phillips, Chris A. Walsh, Palotie Aarno, Gary D. Clark, Howard J. Jacob, Katherine E. Schaffer, Magdalena Walkiewicz, Satu Korpi-Heikkila, Karin Oberndorff, David P. Bick, Isabel Hardee, Valerie Maduro, John J. Mulvihill, Elizabeth A. Burke, Thomas C. Markello, Yvonne L. Latour, Adam P. Liebendorder, Ashok Balasubramanyam, David J. Eckstein, Elizabeth L. Krieg, M. T. Cho, Teri A. Manolio, Katherine R. Chao, Alan H. Beggs, Patricia A. Zornio, Valerie Gartner, Chyau Yueh C Lau, Monte Westerfield, Issac S. Kohane, Jyoti G. Dayal, Rena A. Godfrey, Thomas O. Metz, John H. Newman, Brett H. Graham, Alec A. Weech, Joe Lazar, Mike Warburton, Anastasia L. Wise, Nicholas Stong, Shweta U. Dhar, Matthew R. Herzog, Joel B. Krier, Jennefer N. Kohler, Guoyun Yu, Neil A. Hanchard, Edwin K. Silverman, Christine M. Shuss, Kim A. Strong, Olli Pietilainen, Casey Martin, Mariska Davids, Prashant Sharma, Joseph Loscalzo, Lorraine Potocki, Nathanial J. Tolman, Joy D. Cogan, Matthew Might, Barbara N. Pusey, Naghmeh Dorrani, Sharyn A. Lincoln, Euan A. Ashley, Mahim Jain, Jennifer L. Murphy, Stan F. Nelson, Patricia A. Ward, Shawn Levy, Kelly Schoch, Katrina M. Dipple, Paul G. Fisher, Cynthia M. Cooper, Vandana Shashi, Juan C. Pallais, Martha Ann Keels, Jennifer E. Posey, Heather M. McLaughlin, Calum A. MacRae, Eric Vilain, Molly C. Schroeder, Mary E. Hackbarth, Sara P. Thomas, Lisa Emrick, Ariane Soldatos, Allyn McConkie-Rosell, Ellen Macnamara, Melanie J. Bonner, Hayk Barseghyan, Tyra Estwick, Alejandro E. Mercedes, Malik Alawi, Maja Hempel, Matthew T. Wheeler, Jordan S. Orange, Paolo M. Moretti, Brenda Iglesias, Rachel Ramoni, Loren D M Pena, Zaheer M. Valivullah, Mary 'Gracie' G. Gordon, Rizwan Hamid, Jeanette C. Papp, Dan C. Dorset, Jill A. Rosenfeld, RS: GROW - R4 - Reproductive and Perinatal Medicine, MUMC+: DA KG Polikliniek (9), Klinische Genetica, Klinische Neurowetenschappen, MUMC+: MA Med Staf Spec Neurologie (9), and Genetica & Celbiologie

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Male, Developmental Disabilities, lnfectious Diseases and Global Health Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences [Radboudumc 4], ASXL2, Germline, glabellar nevus flammeus, 0302 clinical medicine, Intellectual disability, Tumours of the digestive tract Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences [Radboudumc 14], Exome, whole-exome sequencing, Hypertelorism, Child, Exome sequencing, Genetics (clinical), Genetics & Heredity, Genetics, 11 Medical And Health Sciences, Syndrome, Phenotype, Hypotonia, developmental delay, intellectual disability, 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis, Child, Preschool, Muscle Hypotonia, medicine.symptom, Biology, macrocephaly, 03 medical and health sciences, Report, medicine, Humans, RNA, Messenger, Clinical phenotype, Neurodevelopmental disorders Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience [Radboudumc 7], Macrocephaly, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Correction, 06 Biological Sciences, medicine.disease, Human genetics, Megalencephaly, Repressor Proteins, 030104 developmental biology, Eyebrows, Bohring–Opitz syndrome
Abstract

Item does not contain fulltext The ASXL genes (ASXL1, ASXL2, and ASXL3) participate in body patterning during embryogenesis and encode proteins involved in epigenetic regulation and assembly of transcription factors to specific genomic loci. Germline de novo truncating variants in ASXL1 and ASXL3 have been respectively implicated in causing Bohring-Opitz and Bainbridge-Ropers syndromes, which result in overlapping features of severe intellectual disability and dysmorphic features. ASXL2 has not yet been associated with a human Mendelian disorder. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing in six unrelated probands with developmental delay, macrocephaly, and dysmorphic features. All six had de novo truncating variants in ASXL2. A careful review enabled the recognition of a specific phenotype consisting of macrocephaly, prominent eyes, arched eyebrows, hypertelorism, a glabellar nevus flammeus, neonatal feeding difficulties, hypotonia, and developmental disabilities. Although overlapping features with Bohring-Opitz and Bainbridge-Ropers syndromes exist, features that distinguish the ASXL2-associated condition from ASXL1- and ASXL3-related disorders are macrocephaly, absence of growth retardation, and more variability in the degree of intellectual disabilities. We were also able to demonstrate with mRNA studies that these variants are likely to exert a dominant-negative effect, given that both alleles are expressed in blood and the mutated ASXL2 transcripts escape nonsense-mediated decay. In conclusion, de novo truncating variants in ASXL2 underlie a neurodevelopmental syndrome with a clinically recognizable phenotype. This report expands the germline disorders that are linked to the ASXL genes.

Published
2016

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