@article {962, title = {Bi-allelic Variations of SMO in Humans Cause a Broad Spectrum of Developmental Anomalies Due to Abnormal Hedgehog Signaling.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {106}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 06 04}, pages = {779-792}, abstract = {

The evolutionarily conserved hedgehog (Hh) pathway is essential for organogenesis and plays critical roles in postnatal tissue maintenance and renewal. A unique feature of the vertebrate Hh pathway is that signal transduction requires the primary cilium (PC) where major pathway components are dynamically enriched. These factors include smoothened (SMO) and patched, which constitute the core reception system for sonic hedgehog (SHH) as well as GLI transcription factors, the key mediators of the pathway. Here, we report bi-allelic loss-of-function variations in SMO in seven individuals from five independent families; these variations cause a wide phenotypic spectrum of developmental anomalies affecting the brain (hypothalamic hamartoma and microcephaly), heart (atrioventricular septal defect), skeleton (postaxial polydactyly, narrow chest, and shortening of long bones), and enteric nervous system (aganglionosis). Cells derived from affected individuals showed normal ciliogenesis but severely altered Hh-signal transduction as a result of either altered PC trafficking or abnormal activation of the pathway downstream of SMO. In addition, Hh-independent GLI2 accumulation at the PC tip in cells from the affected individuals suggests a potential function of SMO in regulating basal ciliary trafficking of GLI2 when the pathway is off. Thus, loss of SMO function results in abnormal PC dynamics of key components of the Hh signaling pathway and leads to a large continuum of malformations in humans.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Base Sequence, Child, Child, Preschool, Cilia, Developmental Disabilities, Female, Hedgehog Proteins, Humans, Infant, Male, Models, Molecular, Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Nuclear Proteins, Pedigree, Signal Transduction, Smoothened Receptor, Zinc Finger Protein Gli2, Zinc Finger Protein Gli3}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.04.010}, author = {Le, Thuy-Linh and Sribudiani, Yunia and Dong, Xiaomin and Huber, Celine and Kois, Chelsea and Baujat, Genevi{\`e}ve and Gordon, Christopher T and Mayne, Valerie and Galmiche, Louise and Serre, Val{\'e}rie and Goudin, Nicolas and Zarhrate, Mohammed and Bole-Feysot, Christine and Masson, Cecile and Nitschk{\'e}, Patrick and Verheijen, Frans W and Pais, Lynn and Pelet, Anna and Sadedin, Simon and Pugh, John A and Shur, Natasha and White, Susan M and El Chehadeh, Salima and Christodoulou, John and Cormier-Daire, Val{\'e}rie and Hofstra, R M W and Lyonnet, Stanislas and Tan, Tiong Yang and Atti{\'e}-Bitach, Tania and Kerstjens-Frederikse, Wilhelmina S and Amiel, Jeanne and Thomas, Sophie} } @article {912, title = {Phenotypic spectrum and transcriptomic profile associated with germline variants in TRAF7.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {22}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 07}, pages = {1215-1226}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: Somatic variants in tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 7 (TRAF7) cause meningioma, while germline variants have recently been identified in seven patients with developmental delay and cardiac, facial, and digital anomalies. We aimed to define the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with TRAF7 germline variants in a large series of patients, and to determine the molecular effects of the variants through transcriptomic analysis of patient fibroblasts.

METHODS: We performed exome, targeted capture, and Sanger sequencing of patients with undiagnosed developmental disorders, in multiple independent diagnostic or research centers. Phenotypic and mutational comparisons were facilitated through data exchange platforms. Whole-transcriptome sequencing was performed on RNA from patient- and control-derived fibroblasts.

RESULTS: We identified heterozygous missense variants in TRAF7 as the cause of a developmental delay-malformation syndrome in 45 patients. Major features include a recognizable facial gestalt (characterized in particular by blepharophimosis), short neck, pectus carinatum, digital deviations, and patent ductus arteriosus. Almost all variants occur in the WD40 repeats and most are recurrent. Several differentially expressed genes were identified in patient fibroblasts.

CONCLUSION: We provide the first large-scale analysis of the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with the TRAF7 developmental syndrome, and we shed light on its molecular etiology through transcriptome studies.

}, keywords = {Exome, Germ Cells, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Mutation, Missense, Phenotype, Transcriptome, Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/s41436-020-0792-7}, author = {Castilla-Vallmanya, Laura and Selmer, Kaja K and Dimartino, Cl{\'e}mantine and Rabionet, Raquel and Blanco-S{\'a}nchez, Bernardo and Yang, Sandra and Reijnders, Margot R F and van Essen, Antonie J and Oufadem, Myriam and Vigeland, Magnus D and Stadheim, Barbro and Houge, Gunnar and Cox, Helen and Kingston, Helen and Clayton-Smith, Jill and Innis, Jeffrey W and Iascone, Maria and Cereda, Anna and Gabbiadini, Sara and Chung, Wendy K and Sanders, Victoria and Charrow, Joel and Bryant, Emily and Millichap, John and Vitobello, Antonio and Thauvin, Christel and Mau-Them, Frederic Tran and Faivre, Laurence and Lesca, Gaetan and Labalme, Audrey and Rougeot, Christelle and Chatron, Nicolas and Sanlaville, Damien and Christensen, Katherine M and Kirby, Amelia and Lewandowski, Raymond and Gannaway, Rachel and Aly, MAH and Lehman, Anna and Clarke, Lorne and Graul-Neumann, Luitgard and Zweier, Christiane and Lessel, Davor and Lozic, Bernarda and Aukrust, Ingvild and Peretz, Ryan and Stratton, Robert and Smol, Thomas and Dieux-Co{\"e}slier, Anne and Meira, Joanna and Wohler, Elizabeth and Sobreira, Nara and Beaver, Erin M and Heeley, Jennifer and Briere, Lauren C and High, Frances A and Sweetser, David A and Walker, Melissa A and Keegan, Catherine E and Jayakar, Parul and Shinawi, Marwan and Kerstjens-Frederikse, Wilhelmina S and Earl, Dawn L and Siu, Victoria M and Reesor, Emma and Yao, Tony and Hegele, Robert A and Vaske, Olena M and Rego, Shannon and Shapiro, Kevin A and Wong, Brian and Gambello, Michael J and McDonald, Marie and Karlowicz, Danielle and Colombo, Roberto and Serretti, Alessandro and Pais, Lynn and O{\textquoteright}Donnell-Luria, Anne and Wray, Alison and Sadedin, Simon and Chong, Belinda and Tan, Tiong Y and Christodoulou, John and White, Susan M and Slavotinek, Anne and Barbouth, Deborah and Morel Swols, Dayna and Parisot, M{\'e}lanie and Bole-Feysot, Christine and Nitschk{\'e}, Patrick and Pingault, V{\'e}ronique and Munnich, Arnold and Cho, Megan T and Cormier-Daire, Val{\'e}rie and Balcells, Susanna and Lyonnet, Stanislas and Grinberg, Daniel and Amiel, Jeanne and Urreizti, Roser and Gordon, Christopher T} }