Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome

Lawrence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder, which may result in a number of multiorgan abnormalities, including impaired brain function, eye diseases, kidney and limbs’ dysfunction. The main symptoms of this syndrome include retinal degeneration, polydactyly, obesity, hypogonadism, congenital kidney abnormalities and mental retardation. However, Lawrence-­Moon­-Barde­-Biedl syndrome may also present with other secondary abnormalities, including ataxia, diabetes insipidus, and dental abnormalities. Clinical changes of the eyes include retinitis pigmentosa, low visual acuity, and vision loss, often due to photoreceptor disorders in the retinal tissue with macular degeneration, leading to night blindness and then, in most cases, can cause complete blindness. In patients with an archetypal manifestation of Lawrence­-Moon­-Barde-­Biedl syndrome, abdominal obesity is common, even if the birth weight is usually normal. In addition, this group of patients has type 2 diabetes mellitus. A distinctive feature of this syndrome is postaxial polydactyly. Hypogonadism, which is a common sign of the disease, as usual can be diagnosed at early age in men in a form of micropenis and testicular hypoplasia).The paper presents clinicalcase of Lawrence­-Moon­-Barde-­Bidle syndrome in a thirteen-year-old boy who referred to endocrinologist with complaints of excessivegain of body weight, memoryloss, visual impairment, difficulties in school, delayedsexual development. Ad ditional investigations enabled to establish the diagnosis of Laurence­-Moon­-Bardet­-Biedl syndrome.

Novel Homozygous Nonsense Mutation Associated with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome in Fetus with Congenital Renal Malformation

Background: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder with clinical and genetic heterogeneity. BBS is more commonly reported in adults and children than in fetuses. Method: Here, a retrospective study of 210 fetuses with congenital renal malformation was performed. These fetuses were performed invasive prenatal diagnosis. Chromosome karyotype analysis, whole exome sequencing (WES), and a single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-array) were used.Results: We found the intrauterine phenotype of a fetus with enlarged kidneys, enhanced echo, and oligohydramnios, and the molecular characterizations of the fetus with BBS. The results of chromosome karyotype analysis and SNP-array on the fetus were normal. WES, however, revealed homozygous mutation of c.1177C>T (p.Arg393*) on exon 12 of the BBS1 gene, and heterozygous variation of c.2704G>A (p.Asp902Asn) on exon 22 of the CC2D2A gene. According to ACMG guidelines, c.1177C> T was identified as a pathogenic mutation and c.2704G>A was identified as an uncertain significance. Sanger sequencing showed that there was heterozygous mutation of c.1177C>T and heterozygous variation of c.2704G>A in the parents of the fetus. Conclusion: WES identified a novel homozygous nonsense mutation c.1177C>T in the BBS1 gene of a Chinese fetus with congenital renal malformation. The finding provides more insight into BBS1 mutations in Asian populations in general, and provides a basis for genetic counseling.

A Missense Variant in the Bardet-Biedl Syndrome 2 Gene (BBS2) Leads to a Novel Syndromic Retinal Degeneration in the Shetland Sheepdog

Canine progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) describes a group of hereditary diseases characterized by photoreceptor cell death in the retina, leading to visual impairment. Despite the identification of multiple PRA-causing variants, extensive heterogeneity of PRA is observed across and within dog breeds, with many still genetically unsolved. This study sought to elucidate the causal variant for a distinct form of PRA in the Shetland sheepdog, using a whole-genome sequencing approach. Filtering variants from a single PRA-affected Shetland sheepdog genome compared to 176 genomes of other breeds identified a single nucleotide variant in exon 11 of the Bardet–Biedl syndrome-2 gene (BBS2) (c.1222G>C; p.Ala408Pro). Genotyping 1386 canids of 155 dog breeds, 15 cross breeds and 8 wolves indicated the c.1222G>C variant was only segregated within Shetland sheepdogs. Out of 505 Shetland sheepdogs, seven were homozygous for the variant. Clinical history and photographs for three homozygotes indicated the presence of a novel phenotype. In addition to PRA, additional clinical features in homozygous dogs support the discovery of a novel syndromic PRA in the breed. The development and utilization of a diagnostic DNA test aim to prevent the mutation from becoming more prevalent in the breed.

Insights into the Regulation of Ciliary Disassembly

The primary cilium, an antenna-like structure that protrudes out from the cell surface, is present in most cell types. It is a microtubule-based organelle that serves as a mega-signaling center and is important for sensing biochemical and mechanical signals to carry out various cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, and many others. At any given time, cilia length is determined by a dynamic balance of cilia assembly and disassembly processes. Abnormally short or long cilia can cause a plethora of human diseases commonly referred to as ciliopathies, including, but not limited to, skeletal malformations, obesity, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, retinal degeneration, and bardet-biedl syndrome. While the process of cilia assembly is studied extensively, the process of cilia disassembly and its biological role(s) are less well understood. This review discusses current knowledge on ciliary disassembly and how different cellular processes and molecular signals converge to carry out this process. This information will help us understand how the process of ciliary disassembly is regulated, identify the key steps that need further investigation, and possibly design therapeutic targets for a subset of ciliopathies that are causally linked to defective ciliary disassembly.

Identification of a Novel Homozygous Nonsense Mutation in a Fetus with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome

Background: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder with clinical and genetic heterogeneity. BBS is more commonly reported in adults and children than in fetuses. Here, we reported the intrauterine phenotype and molecular characterizations of a fetus with BBS. Methods: Chromosome karyotype analysis, whole exome sequencing (WES), and a single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-array) were used to analyze the genetic etiology of a fetus with enlarged kidneys, enhanced echo, and oligohydramnios. Results: The results of chromosome karyotype analysis and SNP-array on the fetus were normal. WES, however, revealed homozygous mutation of c.1177C>T (p.Arg393*) on exon 12 of the BBS1 gene, and heterozygous variation of c.2704G>A (p.Asp902Asn) on exon 22 of the CC2D2A gene. According to ACMG guidelines, c.1177C> T was identified as a pathogenic mutation and c.2704G>A was identified as an uncertain significance. Sanger sequencing showed that there was heterozygous mutation of c.1177C>T and heterozygous variation of c.2704G>A in the parents of the fetus. Conclusions: WES identified a novel homozygous nonsense mutation c.1177C>T in the BBS1 gene of a Chinese fetus. The finding provides more insight into BBS1 mutations in Asian populations in general, and provides a basis for genetic counseling.

Generation and characterization of Ccdc28b mutant mice links the Bardet-Biedl associated gene with social behavioral phenotypes

CCDC28B (coiled-coil domain-containing protein 28B) was identified as a modifier in the ciliopathy Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). Our previous work in cells and zebrafish showed that CCDC28B plays a role regulating cilia length in a mechanism that is not completely understood. Here we report the generation of a Ccdc28b mutant mouse using CRISPR/Cas9 (Ccdc28b mut). After confirming the depletion of Ccdc28b ;we performed a phenotypic characterization showing that Ccdc28b mut animals present a mild phenotype: i) do not present clear structural cilia affectation, although we did observe mild defects in cilia density and cilia length in some tissues, ii) reproduce normally, and iii) do not develop retinal degeneration or obesity, two hallmark features of reported BBS murine models. In contrast, Ccdc28b mut mice did show clear social interaction defects as well as stereotypical behaviors suggestive of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This finding is indeed relevant regarding CCDC28B as a modifier of BBS since behavioral phenotypes have been documented in BBS. Importantly however, our data suggests a possible causal link between CCDC28B and ASD-like phenotypes that exceeds the context of BBS: filtering for rare deleterious variants, we found CCDC28B mutations in eight probands from the Simmons Simplex Collection cohort. Furthermore, a phenotypic analysis showed that CCDC28B mutation carriers present lower BMI and mild communication defects compared to a randomly selected sample of SSC probands. Thus, our results suggest that mutations in CCDC28B lead to mild autism-like features in mice and humans. Overall, this work reports a novel mouse model that will be key to continue evaluating genetic interactions in BBS, deciphering the contribution of CCDC28B to modulate the presentation of BBS phenotypes. In addition, our data underscores a novel link between CCDC28B and ASD-like phenotypes, providing a novel opportunity to further our understanding of the genetic, cellular, and molecular basis of ASD.

Diffusion tensor imaging for the study of early renal dysfunction in patients affected by bardet-biedl syndrome

Kidney structural abnormalities are common features of Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) patients that lead to a progressive decline in renal function. Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides useful information on renal microstructures but it has not been applied to these patients. This study investigated using DTI to detect renal abnormalities in BBS patients with no overt renal dysfunction. Ten BBS subjects with estimated glomerular filtration rates over 60 ml/min/1.73m2 and 14 individuals matched for age, gender, body mass index and renal function were subjected to high-field DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean, radial and axial diffusivity were evaluated from renal cortex and medulla. Moreover, the corticomedullary differentiation of each DTI parameter was compared between groups. Only cortical FA statistically differed between BBS patients and controls (p = 0.033), but all the medullary DTI parameters discriminated between the two groups with lower FA (p < 0.001) and axial diffusivity (p = 0.021) and higher mean diffusivity (p = 0.043) and radial diffusivity (p < 0.001) in BBS patients compared with controls. Corticomedullary differentiation values were significantly reduced in BBS patients. Thus, DTI is a valuable tool for investigating microstructural alterations in renal disorders when kidney functionality is preserved.