@article {574,
	title = {Biallelic mutations in valyl-tRNA synthetase gene VARS are associated with a progressive neurodevelopmental epileptic encephalopathy.},
	journal = {Nat Commun},
	volume = {10},
	year = {2019},
	month = {2019 02 12},
	pages = {707},
	abstract = {<p>Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) function to transfer amino acids to cognate tRNA molecules, which are required for protein translation. To date, biallelic mutations in 31 ARS genes are known to cause recessive, early-onset severe multi-organ diseases. VARS encodes the only known valine cytoplasmic-localized aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Here, we report seven patients from five unrelated families with five different biallelic missense variants in VARS. Subjects present with a range of global developmental delay, epileptic encephalopathy and primary or progressive microcephaly. Longitudinal assessment demonstrates progressive cortical atrophy and white matter volume loss. Variants map to the VARS tRNA binding domain and adjacent to the anticodon domain, and disrupt highly conserved residues. Patient primary cells show intact VARS protein but reduced enzymatic activity, suggesting partial loss of function. The implication of VARS in pediatric neurodegeneration broadens the spectrum of human diseases due to mutations in tRNA synthetase genes.</p>},
	keywords = {Alleles, Anticodon, Child, Child, Preschool, Disease Progression, Epilepsy, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Loss of Function Mutation, Male, Microcephaly, Models, Molecular, Mutation, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Pedigree, Protein Biosynthesis, Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs, RNA, Transfer, Valine-tRNA Ligase, Whole Exome Sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing},
	issn = {2041-1723},
	doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-07067-3},
	author = {Friedman, Jennifer and Smith, Desiree E and Issa, Mahmoud Y and Stanley, Valentina and Wang, Rengang and Mendes, Marisa I and Wright, Meredith S and Wigby, Kristen and Hildreth, Amber and Crawford, John R and Koehler, Alanna E and Chowdhury, Shimul and Nahas, Shareef and Zhai, Liting and Xu, Zhiwen and Lo, Wing-Sze and James, Kiely N and Musaev, Damir and Accogli, Andrea and Guerrero, Kether and Tran, Luan T and Omar, Tarek E I and Ben-Omran, Tawfeg and Dimmock, David and Kingsmore, Stephen F and Salomons, Gajja S and Zaki, Maha S and Bernard, Genevi{\`e}ve and Gleeson, Joseph G}
}
@article {215,
	title = {Early-onset lymphoproliferation and autoimmunity caused by germline STAT3 gain-of-function mutations.},
	journal = {Blood},
	volume = {125},
	year = {2015},
	month = {2015 Jan 22},
	pages = {591-9},
	abstract = {<p>Germline loss-of-function mutations in the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) cause immunodeficiency, whereas somatic gain-of-function mutations in STAT3 are associated with large granular lymphocytic leukemic, myelodysplastic syndrome, and aplastic anemia. Recently, germline mutations in STAT3 have also been associated with autoimmune disease. Here, we report on 13 individuals from 10 families with lymphoproliferation and early-onset solid-organ autoimmunity associated with 9 different germline heterozygous mutations in STAT3. Patients exhibited a variety of clinical features, with most having lymphadenopathy, autoimmune cytopenias, multiorgan autoimmunity (lung, gastrointestinal, hepatic, and/or endocrine dysfunction), infections, and short stature. Functional analyses demonstrate that these mutations confer a gain-of-function in STAT3 leading to secondary defects in STAT5 and STAT1 phosphorylation and the regulatory T-cell compartment. Treatment targeting a cytokine pathway that signals through STAT3 led to clinical improvement in 1 patient, suggesting a potential therapeutic option for such patients. These results suggest that there is a broad range of autoimmunity caused by germline STAT3 gain-of-function mutations, and that hematologic autoimmunity is a major component of this newly described disorder. Some patients for this study were enrolled in a trial registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as $\#$NCT00001350. </p>},
	keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Autoimmune Diseases, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Genetic Diseases, Inborn, Humans, Infant, Lymphoproliferative Disorders, Male, Mutation, Phosphorylation, STAT1 Transcription Factor, STAT3 Transcription Factor, STAT5 Transcription Factor, T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory},
	issn = {1528-0020},
	doi = {10.1182/blood-2014-09-602763},
	author = {Milner, Joshua D and Vogel, Tiphanie P and Forbes, Lisa and Ma, Chi A and Stray-Pedersen, Asbj{\o}rg and Niemela, Julie E and Lyons, Jonathan J and Engelhardt, Karin R and Zhang, Yu and Topcagic, Nermina and Roberson, Elisha D O and Matthews, Helen and Verbsky, James W and Dasu, Trivikram and Vargas-Hernandez, Alexander and Varghese, Nidhy and McClain, Kenneth L and Karam, Lina B and Nahmod, Karen and Makedonas, George and Mace, Emily M and Sorte, Hanne S and Perminow, G{\o}ri and Rao, V Koneti and O{\textquoteright}Connell, Michael P and Price, Susan and Su, Helen C and Butrick, Morgan and McElwee, Joshua and Hughes, Jason D and Willet, Joseph and Swan, David and Xu, Yaobo and Santibanez-Koref, Mauro and Slowik, Voytek and Dinwiddie, Darrell L and Ciaccio, Christina E and Saunders, Carol J and Septer, Seth and Kingsmore, Stephen F and White, Andrew J and Cant, Andrew J and Hambleton, Sophie and Cooper, Megan A}
}
