scholarly journals Temporal order of RNase IIIb and loss-of-function mutations during development determines phenotype in pleuropulmonary blastoma / DICER1 syndrome: a unique variant of the two-hit tumor suppression model

F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Brenneman ◽  
Amanda Field ◽  
Jiandong Yang ◽  
Gretchen Williams ◽  
Leslie Doros ◽  
...  

Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is the most frequent pediatric lung tumor and often the first indication of a pleiotropic cancer predisposition, DICER1 syndrome, comprising a range of other individually rare, benign and malignant tumors of childhood and early adulthood. The genetics of DICER1-associated tumorigenesis are unusual in that tumors typically bear neomorphic missense mutations at one of five specific “hotspot” codons within the RNase IIIb domain of DICER 1, combined with complete loss of function (LOF) in the other allele. We analyzed a cohort of 124 PPB children for predisposing DICER1 mutations and sought correlations with clinical phenotypes. Over 70% have inherited or de novo germline LOF mutations, most of which truncate the DICER1 open reading frame. We identified a minority of patients who have no germline mutation, but are instead mosaic for predisposing DICER1 mutations. Mosaicism for RNase IIIb domain hotspot mutations defines a special category of DICER1 syndrome patients, clinically distinguished from those with germline or mosaic LOF mutations by earlier onsets and numerous discrete foci of neoplastic disease involving multiple syndromic organ sites. A final category of PBB patients lack predisposing germline or mosaic mutations and have sporadic (rather than syndromic) disease limited to a single PPB tumor bearing tumor-specific RNase IIIb and LOF mutations. We propose that acquisition of a neomorphic RNase IIIb domain mutation is the rate limiting event in DICER1-associated tumorigenesis, and that distinct clinical phenotypes associated with mutational categories reflect the temporal order in which LOF and RNase IIIb domain mutations are acquired during development.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Israel Lehvy ◽  
Guy Horev ◽  
Yarden Golan ◽  
Fabian Glaser ◽  
Yael Shammai ◽  
...  

Abstract Zinc is vital for the structure and function of ~3000 human proteins and hence plays key physiological roles. Consequently, impaired zinc homeostasis is associated with various human diseases including cancer. Intracellular zinc levels are tightly regulated by two families of zinc transporters: ZIPs and ZnTs; ZIPs import zinc into the cytosol from the extracellular milieu, or from the lumen of organelles into the cytoplasm. In contrast, the vast majority of ZnTs compartmentalize zinc within organelles, whereas the ubiquitously expressed ZnT1 is the sole zinc exporter. Herein, we explored the hypothesis that qualitative and quantitative alterations in ZnT1 activity impair cellular zinc homeostasis in cancer. Towards this end, we first used bioinformatics to analyze inactivating mutations in ZIPs and ZNTs, catalogued in the COSMIC and gnomAD databases, representing tumor specimens and healthy population controls, respectively. ZnT1, ZnT10, ZIP8, and ZIP10 showed extremely high rates of loss of function mutations in cancer as compared to healthy controls. Analysis of the putative functional impact of missense mutations in ZnT1-ZnT10 and ZIP1-ZIP14, using homologous protein alignment and structural predictions, revealed that ZnT1 displays a markedly increased frequency of predicted functionally deleterious mutations in malignant tumors, as compared to a healthy population. Furthermore, examination of ZnT1 expression in 30 cancer types in the TCGA database revealed five tumor types with significant ZnT1 overexpression, which predicted dismal prognosis for cancer patient survival. Novel functional zinc transport assays, which allowed for the indirect measurement of cytosolic zinc levels, established that wild type ZnT1 overexpression results in low intracellular zinc levels. In contrast, overexpression of predicted deleterious ZnT1 missense mutations did not reduce intracellular zinc levels, validating eight missense mutations as loss of function (LoF) mutations. Thus, alterations in ZnT1 expression and LoF mutations in ZnT1 provide a molecular mechanism for impaired zinc homeostasis in cancer formation and/or progression.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahar Shohat ◽  
Eyal Ben-David ◽  
Sagiv Shifman

AbstractGenetic susceptibility to Intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) often arises from mutations in the same genes, suggesting that they share common mechanisms. We studied genes with de novo mutations in the three disorders and genes implicated by SCZ genome-wide association study (GWAS). Using biological annotations and brain gene expression, we show that mutation class explains enrichment patterns more than specific disorder. Genes with loss of function mutations and genes with missense mutations were enriched with different pathways, shared with genes intolerant to mutations. Specific gene expression patterns were found for each disorder. ID genes were preferentially expressed in fetal cortex, ASD genes also in fetal cerebellum and striatum, and genes associated with SCZ were most significantly enriched in adolescent cortex. Our study suggests that convergence across neuropsychiatric disorders stems from vulnerable pathways to genetic variations, but spatiotemporal activity of genes contributes to specific phenotypes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
MS Oud ◽  
RM Smits ◽  
HE Smith ◽  
FK Mastrorosa ◽  
GS Holt ◽  
...  

IntroductionDe novo mutations (DNMs) are known to play a prominent role in sporadic disorders with reduced fitness1. We hypothesize that DNMs play an important role in male infertility and explain a significant fraction of the genetic causes of this understudied disorder. To test this hypothesis, we performed trio-based exome-sequencing in a unique cohort of 185 infertile males and their unaffected parents. Following a systematic analysis, 29 of 145 rare protein altering DNMs were classified as possibly causative of the male infertility phenotype. We observed a significant enrichment of Loss-of-Function (LoF) DNMs in LoF-intolerant genes (p-value=1.00×10-5) as well as predicted pathogenic missense DNMs in missense-intolerant genes (p-value=5.01×10-4). One DNM gene identified, RBM5, is an essential regulator of male germ cell pre-mRNA splicing2. In a follow-up study, 5 rare pathogenic missense mutations affecting this gene were observed in a cohort of 2,279 infertile patients, with no such mutations found in a cohort of 5,784 fertile men (p-value=0.009). Our results provide the first evidence for the role of DNMs in severe male infertility and point to many new candidate genes affecting fertility.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Harripaul ◽  
Nasim Vasli ◽  
Anna Mikhailov ◽  
Muhammad Arshad Rafiq ◽  
Kirti Mittal ◽  
...  

Approximately 1% of the global population is affected by intellectual disability (ID), and the majority receive no molecular diagnosis. Previous studies have indicated high levels of genetic heterogeneity, with estimates of more than 2500 autosomal ID genes, the majority of which are autosomal recessive (AR). Here, we combined microarray genotyping, homozygosity-by-descent (HBD) mapping, copy number variation (CNV) analysis, and whole exome sequencing (WES) to identify disease genes/mutations in 192 multiplex Pakistani and Iranian consanguineous families with non-syndromic ID. We identified definite or candidate mutations (or CNVs) in 51% of families in 72 different genes, including 26 not previously reported for ARID. The new ARID genes include nine with loss-of-function mutations(ABI2, MAPK8, MPDZ, PIDD1, SLAIN1, TBC1D23, TRAPPC6B, UBA7,andUSP44),and missense mutations include the first reports of variants inBDNForTET1associated with ID. The genes identified also showed overlap withde novogene sets for other neuropsychiatric disorders. Transcriptional studies showed prominent expression in the prenatal brain. The high yield of AR mutations for ID indicated that this approach has excellent clinical potential and should inform clinical diagnostics, including clinical whole exome and genome sequencing, for populations in which consanguinity is common. As with other AR disorders, the relevance will also apply to outbred populations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Krzyzewska ◽  
S. M. Maas ◽  
P. Henneman ◽  
K. v. d. Lip ◽  
A. Venema ◽  
...  

Abstract SETD1B is a component of a histone methyltransferase complex that specifically methylates Lys-4 of histone H3 (H3K4) and is responsible for the epigenetic control of chromatin structure and gene expression. De novo microdeletions encompassing this gene as well as de novo missense mutations were previously linked to syndromic intellectual disability (ID). Here, we identify a specific hypermethylation signature associated with loss of function mutations in the SETD1B gene which may be used as an epigenetic marker supporting the diagnosis of syndromic SETD1B-related diseases. We demonstrate the clinical utility of this unique epi-signature by reclassifying previously identified SETD1B VUS (variant of uncertain significance) in two patients.


Author(s):  
Ana Santos-Gómez ◽  
Federico Miguez-Cabello ◽  
Adrián García-Recio ◽  
Sílvia Locubiche ◽  
Roberto García-Díaz ◽  
...  

Abstract De novo GRIN variants, encoding for the ionotropic glutamate NMDA receptor subunits, have been recently associated with GRIN-related disorders (GRDs), a group of rare paediatric encephalopathies. Current investigational and clinical efforts are focused to functionally stratify GRIN variants, towards precision therapies of this primary disturbance of glutamatergic transmission that affects neuronal function and brain. In the present study, we aimed to comprehensively delineate the functional outcomes and clinical phenotypes of GRIN protein truncating variants (PTVs) -accounting for ~ 20% of disease-associated GRIN variants- hypothetically provoking NMDAR hypofunctionality. To tackle this question, we created a comprehensive GRIN PTVs variants database compiling a cohort of 9 individuals harbouring GRIN PTVs, together with previously identified variants, to build-up an extensive GRIN PTVs repertoire composed of 293 unique variants. Genotype–phenotype correlation studies were conducted, followed by cell-based assays of selected paradigmatic GRIN PTVs, allowing their functional annotation. Genetic and clinical phenotypes metaanalysis revealed that heterozygous GRIN1, GRIN2C, GRIN2D, GRIN3A and GRIN3B PTVs are non-pathogenic. In contrast, heterozygous GRIN2A and GRIN2B PTVs are associated with specific neurological clinical phenotypes in a subunit- and domain-dependent manner. Mechanistically, cell-based assays showed that paradigmatic pathogenic GRIN2A and GRIN2B PTVs result on a decrease of NMDAR surface expression and NMDAR-mediated currents, ultimately leading to NMDAR functional haploinsufficiency.. Overall, these findings contribute to delineate GRIN PTVs genotype–phenotype association, and GRIN variants stratification. Functional studies showed that GRIN2A and GRIN2B pathogenic PTVs trigger NMDAR hypofunctionality, and thus accelerate therapeutic decisions for this neurodevelopmental condition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 1592-1606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith C J Davies ◽  
Jilly E Hope ◽  
Fiona McLachlan ◽  
Grant F Marshall ◽  
Laura Kaminioti-Dumont ◽  
...  

Abstract Heterozygous de novo mutations in EEF1A2, encoding the tissue-specific translation elongation factor eEF1A2, have been shown to cause neurodevelopmental disorders including often severe epilepsy and intellectual disability. The mutational profile is unusual; ~50 different missense mutations have been identified but no obvious loss of function mutations, though large heterozygous deletions are known to be compatible with life. A key question is whether the heterozygous missense mutations operate through haploinsufficiency or a gain of function mechanism, an important prerequisite for design of therapeutic strategies. In order both to address this question and to provide a novel model for neurodevelopmental disorders resulting from mutations in EEF1A2, we created a new mouse model of the D252H mutation. This mutation causes the eEF1A2 protein to be expressed at lower levels in brain but higher in muscle in the mice. We compared both heterozygous and homozygous D252H and null mutant mice using behavioural and motor phenotyping alongside molecular modelling and analysis of binding partners. Although the proteomic analysis pointed to a loss of function for the D252H mutant protein, the D252H homozygous mice were more severely affected than null homozygotes on the same genetic background. Mice that are heterozygous for the missense mutation show no behavioural abnormalities but do have sex-specific deficits in body mass and motor function. The phenotyping of our novel mouse lines, together with analysis of molecular modelling and interacting proteins, suggest that the D252H mutation results in a gain of function.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (37) ◽  
pp. E5189-E5198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Miosge ◽  
Matthew A. Field ◽  
Yovina Sontani ◽  
Vicky Cho ◽  
Simon Johnson ◽  
...  

Each person’s genome sequence has thousands of missense variants. Practical interpretation of their functional significance must rely on computational inferences in the absence of exhaustive experimental measurements. Here we analyzed the efficacy of these inferences in 33 de novo missense mutations revealed by sequencing in first-generation progeny of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea–treated mice, involving 23 essential immune system genes. PolyPhen2, SIFT, MutationAssessor, Panther, CADD, and Condel were used to predict each mutation’s functional importance, whereas the actual effect was measured by breeding and testing homozygotes for the expected in vivo loss-of-function phenotype. Only 20% of mutations predicted to be deleterious by PolyPhen2 (and 15% by CADD) showed a discernible phenotype in individual homozygotes. Half of all possible missense mutations in the same 23 immune genes were predicted to be deleterious, and most of these appear to become subject to purifying selection because few persist between separate mouse substrains, rodents, or primates. Because defects in immune genes could be phenotypically masked in vivo by compensation and environment, we compared inferences by the same tools with the in vitro phenotype of all 2,314 possible missense variants in TP53; 42% of mutations predicted by PolyPhen2 to be deleterious (and 45% by CADD) had little measurable consequence for TP53-promoted transcription. We conclude that for de novo or low-frequency missense mutations found by genome sequencing, half those inferred as deleterious correspond to nearly neutral mutations that have little impact on the clinical phenotype of individual cases but will nevertheless become subject to purifying selection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura B. Jones ◽  
Colin H. Peters ◽  
Richard E. Rosch ◽  
Maxine Owers ◽  
Elaine Hughes ◽  
...  

Variants of the SCN1A gene encoding the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.1 cause over 85% of all cases of Dravet syndrome, a severe and often pharmacoresistent epileptic encephalopathy with mostly infantile onset. But with the increased availability of genetic testing for patients with epilepsy, variants in SCN1A have now also been described in a range of other epilepsy phenotypes. The vast majority of these epilepsy-associated variants are de novo, and most are either nonsense variants that truncate the channel or missense variants that are presumed to cause loss of channel function. However, biophysical analysis has revealed a significant subset of missense mutations that result in increased excitability, further complicating approaches to precision pharmacotherapy for patients with SCN1A variants and epilepsy. We describe clinical and biophysical data of a familial SCN1A variant encoding the NaV1.1 L1624Q mutant. This substitution is located on the extracellular linker between S3 and S4 of Domain IV of NaV1.1 and is a rare case of a familial SCN1A variant causing an autosomal dominant frontal lobe epilepsy. We expressed wild-type (WT) and L1642Q channels in CHO cells. Using patch-clamp to characterize channel properties at several temperatures, we show that the L1624Q variant increases persistent current, accelerates fast inactivation onset and decreases current density. While SCN1A-associated epilepsy is typically considered a loss-of-function disease, our results put L1624Q into a growing set of mixed gain and loss-of-function variants in SCN1A responsible for epilepsy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joris Veltman ◽  
Manon Oud ◽  
Roos Smits ◽  
Hannah Smith ◽  
Francesco Mastrorosa ◽  
...  

Abstract De novo mutations (DNMs) are known to play a prominent role in many sporadic disorders with reduced fitness. We hypothesize that DNMs play an important role in male infertility and explain a significant fraction of the genetic causes of this understudied disorder. We performed a trio-based exome-sequencing study in a unique cohort of 185 infertile males and their unaffected parents. Following a systematic analysis, 29 of 145 rare protein altering DNMs were classified as possibly causative of the male infertility phenotype. We observed a significant enrichment of Loss-of-Function (LoF) DNMs in LoF-intolerant genes (p-value=1.00x10-5) as well as predicted pathogenic missense DNMs in missense-intolerant genes (p-value=5.01x10-4). One DNM gene identified, RBM5, is an essential regulator of male germ cell pre-mRNA splicing. In a follow-up study, 5 rare pathogenic missense mutations affecting this gene were observed in a cohort of 2,279 infertile patients, with no such mutations found in a cohort of 5,784 fertile men (p-value=0.009). Our results provide the first evidence for the role of DNMs in severe male infertility and point to many new candidate genes affecting fertility.


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