@article {1005, title = {Constrained chromatin accessibility in PU.1-mutated agammaglobulinemia patients.}, journal = {J Exp Med}, volume = {218}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Jul 05}, abstract = {

The pioneer transcription factor (TF) PU.1 controls hematopoietic cell fate by decompacting stem cell heterochromatin and allowing nonpioneer TFs to enter otherwise inaccessible genomic sites. PU.1 deficiency fatally arrests lymphopoiesis and myelopoiesis in mice, but human congenital PU.1 disorders have not previously been described. We studied six unrelated agammaglobulinemic patients, each harboring a heterozygous mutation (four de novo, two unphased) of SPI1, the gene encoding PU.1. Affected patients lacked circulating B cells and possessed few conventional dendritic cells. Introducing disease-similar SPI1 mutations into human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells impaired early in vitro B cell and myeloid cell differentiation. Patient SPI1 mutations encoded destabilized PU.1 proteins unable to nuclear localize or bind target DNA. In PU.1-haploinsufficient pro-B cell lines, euchromatin was less accessible to nonpioneer TFs critical for B cell development, and gene expression patterns associated with the pro- to pre-B cell transition were undermined. Our findings molecularly describe a novel form of agammaglobulinemia and underscore PU.1{\textquoteright}s critical, dose-dependent role as a hematopoietic euchromatin gatekeeper.

}, issn = {1540-9538}, doi = {10.1084/jem.20201750}, author = {Le Coz, Carole and Nguyen, David N and Su, Chun and Nolan, Brian E and Albrecht, Amanda V and Xhani, Suela and Sun, Di and Demaree, Benjamin and Pillarisetti, Piyush and Khanna, Caroline and Wright, Francis and Chen, Peixin Amy and Yoon, Samuel and Stiegler, Amy L and Maurer, Kelly and Garifallou, James P and Rymaszewski, Amy and Kroft, Steven H and Olson, Timothy S and Seif, Alix E and Wertheim, Gerald and Grant, Struan F A and Vo, Linda T and Puck, Jennifer M and Sullivan, Kathleen E and Routes, John M and Zakharova, Viktoria and Shcherbina, Anna and Mukhina, Anna and Rudy, Natasha L and Hurst, Anna C E and Atkinson, T Prescott and Boggon, Titus J and Hakonarson, Hakon and Abate, Adam R and Hajjar, Joud and Nicholas, Sarah K and Lupski, James R and Verbsky, James and Chinn, Ivan K and Gonzalez, Michael V and Wells, Andrew D and Marson, Alex and Poon, Gregory M K and Romberg, Neil} } @article {724, title = {Mutations in and previously unimplicated genes of the BMP, Wnt, and Hedgehog pathways in syndromic craniosynostosis.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {116}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jul 23}, pages = {15116-15121}, abstract = {

Craniosynostosis (CS) is a frequent congenital anomaly featuring the premature fusion of 1 or more sutures of the cranial vault. Syndromic cases, featuring additional congenital anomalies, make up 15\% of CS. While many genes underlying syndromic CS have been identified, the cause of many syndromic cases remains unknown. We performed exome sequencing of 12 syndromic CS cases and their parents, in whom previous genetic evaluations were unrevealing. Damaging de novo or transmitted loss of function (LOF) mutations were found in 8 genes that are highly intolerant to LOF mutation ( = 4.0 {\texttimes} 10); additionally, a rare damaging mutation in , which has a lower level of intolerance, was identified. Four probands had rare damaging mutations (2 de novo) in , a transcription factor that orchestrates neural crest cell migration and differentiation; this mutation burden is highly significant ( = 8.2 {\texttimes} 10). Three probands had rare damaging mutations in , , or , which function in the Hedgehog, BMP, and Wnt signaling pathways; other genes in these pathways have previously been implicated in syndromic CS. Similarly, damaging de novo mutations were identified in genes encoding the chromatin modifier , and , encoding catenin α-1. These findings establish as a CS gene, have implications for assessing risk to subsequent children in these families, and provide evidence implicating other genes in syndromic CS. This high yield indicates the value of performing exome sequencing of syndromic CS patients when sequencing of known disease loci is unrevealing.

}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1902041116}, author = {Timberlake, Andrew T and Jin, Sheng Chih and Nelson-Williams, Carol and Wu, Robin and Furey, Charuta G and Islam, Barira and Haider, Shozeb and Loring, Erin and Galm, Amy and Steinbacher, Derek M and Larysz, Dawid and Staffenberg, David A and Flores, Roberto L and Rodriguez, Eduardo D and Boggon, Titus J and Persing, John A and Lifton, Richard P} } @article {85, title = {Recurrent recessive mutation in deoxyguanosine kinase causes idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension.}, journal = {Hepatology}, volume = {63}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 06}, pages = {1977-86}, abstract = {

UNLABELLED: Despite advances in the diagnosis and management of idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension, its pathogenesis remains elusive. Insight may be gained from study of early-onset familial idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension, in which Mendelian mutations may account for disease. We performed exome sequencing of eight subjects from six kindreds with onset of portal hypertension of indeterminate etiology during infancy or childhood. Three subjects from two consanguineous families shared the identical rare homozygous p.N46S mutation in DGUOK, a deoxyguanosine kinase required for mitochondrial DNA replication; haplotype sharing demonstrated that the mutation in the two families was inherited from a remote common ancestor. All three affected subjects had stable portal hypertension with noncirrhotic liver disease for 6-16 years of follow-up. This mutation impairs adenosine triphosphate binding and reduces catalytic activity. Loss-of-function mutations in DGUOK have previously been implicated in cirrhosis and liver failure but not in isolated portal hypertension. Interestingly, treatment of patients with human immunodeficiency viral infection with the nucleoside analogue didanosine is known to cause portal hypertension in a subset of patients and lowers deoxyguanosine kinase levels in vitro; the current findings implicate these effects on deoxyguanosine kinase in the causal mechanism.

CONCLUSION: Our findings provide new insight into the mechanisms mediating inherited and acquired noncirrhotic portal hypertension, expand the phenotypic spectrum of DGUOK deficiency, and provide a new genetic test for a specific cause of idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension. (Hepatology 2016;63:1977-1986).

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Cattle, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA Mutational Analysis, Dogs, Female, Genes, Recessive, Homozygote, Humans, Hypertension, Portal, Infant, Liver Failure, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Pedigree, Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor), Principal Component Analysis, Rats, Young Adult}, issn = {1527-3350}, doi = {10.1002/hep.28499}, author = {Vilarinho, S{\'\i}lvia and Sari, Sinan and Yilmaz, G{\"u}ldal and Stiegler, Amy L and Boggon, Titus J and Jain, Dhanpat and Akyol, G{\"u}len and Dalgi{\c c}, Buket and G{\"u}nel, Murat and Lifton, Richard P} } @article {224, title = {Mutation of NLRC4 causes a syndrome of enterocolitis and autoinflammation.}, journal = {Nat Genet}, volume = {46}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Oct}, pages = {1135-1139}, abstract = {

Upon detection of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, innate immune receptors initiate inflammatory responses. These receptors include cytoplasmic NOD-like receptors (NLRs) whose stimulation recruits and proteolytically activates caspase-1 within the inflammasome, a multiprotein complex. Caspase-1 mediates the production of interleukin-1 family cytokines (IL1FCs), leading to fever and inflammatory cell death (pyroptosis). Mutations that constitutively activate these pathways underlie several autoinflammatory diseases with diverse clinical features. We describe a family with a previously unreported syndrome featuring neonatal-onset enterocolitis, periodic fever, and fatal or near-fatal episodes of autoinflammation. We show that the disease is caused by a de novo gain-of-function mutation in NLRC4 encoding a p.Val341Ala substitution in the HD1 domain of the protein that cosegregates with disease. Mutant NLRC4 causes constitutive IL1FC production and macrophage cell death. Infected macrophages from affected individuals are polarized toward pyroptosis and exhibit abnormal staining for inflammasome components. These findings identify and describe the cause of a life-threatening but treatable autoinflammatory disease that underscores the divergent roles of the NLRC4 inflammasome.

}, keywords = {Calcium-Binding Proteins, CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins, Enterocolitis, Exome, Family Health, Fatal Outcome, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Mutation, Missense, Pedigree, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Syndrome}, issn = {1546-1718}, doi = {10.1038/ng.3066}, author = {Romberg, Neil and Al Moussawi, Khatoun and Nelson-Williams, Carol and Stiegler, Amy L and Loring, Erin and Choi, Murim and Overton, John and Meffre, Eric and Khokha, Mustafa K and Huttner, Anita J and West, Brian and Podoltsev, Nikolai A and Boggon, Titus J and Kazmierczak, Barbara I and Lifton, Richard P} } @article {311, title = {Recessive loss of function of the neuronal ubiquitin hydrolase UCHL1 leads to early-onset progressive neurodegeneration.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {110}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Feb 26}, pages = {3489-94}, abstract = {

Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCHL1), a neuron-specific de-ubiquitinating enzyme, is one of the most abundant proteins in the brain. We describe three siblings from a consanguineous union with a previously unreported early-onset progressive neurodegenerative syndrome featuring childhood onset blindness, cerebellar ataxia, nystagmus, dorsal column dysfuction, and spasticity with upper motor neuron dysfunction. Through homozygosity mapping of the affected individuals followed by whole-exome sequencing of the index case, we identified a previously undescribed homozygous missense mutation within the ubiquitin binding domain of UCHL1 (UCHL1(GLU7ALA)), shared by all affected subjects. As demonstrated by isothermal titration calorimetry, purified UCHL1(GLU7ALA), compared with WT, exhibited at least sevenfold reduced affinity for ubiquitin. In vitro, the mutation led to a near complete loss of UCHL1 hydrolase activity. The GLU7ALA variant is predicted to interfere with the substrate binding by restricting the proper positioning of the substrate for tunneling underneath the cross-over loop spanning the catalytic cleft of UCHL1. This interference with substrate binding, combined with near complete loss of hydrolase activity, resulted in a >100-fold reduction in the efficiency of UCHL1(GLU7ALA) relative to WT. These findings demonstrate a broad requirement of UCHL1 in the maintenance of the nervous system.

}, keywords = {Adult, Age of Onset, Amino Acid Sequence, Base Sequence, Child, Preschool, Exome, Female, Genes, Recessive, Homozygote, Humans, Hydrolysis, Male, Models, Molecular, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Missense, Nerve Degeneration, Neurons, Pedigree, Protein Binding, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Substrate Specificity, Syndrome, Thermodynamics, Ubiquitin, Ubiquitin Thiolesterase}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1222732110}, author = {Bilguvar, Kaya and Tyagi, Navneet K and Ozkara, Cigdem and Tuysuz, Beyhan and Bakircioglu, Mehmet and Choi, Murim and Delil, Sakir and {\c C}a{\u g}layan, Ahmet O and Baranoski, Jacob F and Erturk, Ozdem and Yalcinkaya, Cengiz and Karacorlu, Murat and Dincer, Alp and Johnson, Michele H and Mane, Shrikant and Chandra, Sreeganga S and Louvi, Angeliki and Boggon, Titus J and Lifton, Richard P and Horwich, Arthur L and G{\"u}nel, Murat} }