@article {566,
	title = {ROBO4 variants predispose individuals to bicuspid aortic valve and thoracic aortic aneurysm.},
	journal = {Nat Genet},
	volume = {51},
	year = {2019},
	month = {2019 01},
	pages = {42-50},
	abstract = {<p>Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a common congenital heart defect (population incidence, 1-2\%) that frequently presents with ascending aortic aneurysm (AscAA). BAV/AscAA shows autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance and male predominance. Causative gene mutations (for example, NOTCH1, SMAD6) are known for <=1\% of nonsyndromic BAV cases with and without AscAA, impeding mechanistic insight and development of therapeutic strategies. Here, we report the identification of variants in ROBO4 (which encodes a factor known to contribute to endothelial performance) that segregate with disease in two families. Targeted sequencing of ROBO4 showed enrichment for rare variants in BAV/AscAA probands compared with controls. Targeted silencing of ROBO4 or mutant ROBO4 expression in endothelial cell lines results in impaired barrier function and a synthetic repertoire suggestive of endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. This is consistent with BAV/AscAA-associated findings in patients and in animal models deficient for ROBO4. These data identify a novel endothelial etiology for this common human disease phenotype.</p>},
	keywords = {Animals, Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic, Aortic Valve, Cells, Cultured, Disease Models, Animal, Endothelial Cells, Female, Heart Valve Diseases, Humans, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Mutation, Phenotype, Receptors, Cell Surface, Zebrafish},
	issn = {1546-1718},
	doi = {10.1038/s41588-018-0265-y},
	author = {Gould, Russell A and Aziz, Hamza and Woods, Courtney E and Seman-Senderos, Manuel Alejandro and Sparks, Elizabeth and Preuss, Christoph and W{\"u}nnemann, Florian and Bedja, Djahida and Moats, Cassandra R and McClymont, Sarah A and Rose, Rebecca and Sobreira, Nara and Ling, Hua and MacCarrick, Gretchen and Kumar, Ajay Anand and Luyckx, Ilse and Cannaerts, Elyssa and Verstraeten, Aline and Bj{\"o}rk, Hanna M and Lehsau, Ann-Cathrin and Jaskula-Ranga, Vinod and Lauridsen, Henrik and Shah, Asad A and Bennett, Christopher L and Ellinor, Patrick T and Lin, Honghuang and Isselbacher, Eric M and Lino Cardenas, Christian Lacks and Butcher, Jonathan T and Hughes, G Chad and Lindsay, Mark E and Mertens, Luc and Franco-Cereceda, Anders and Verhagen, Judith M A and Wessels, Marja and Mohamed, Salah A and Eriksson, Per and Mital, Seema and Van Laer, Lut and Loeys, Bart L and Andelfinger, Gregor and McCallion, Andrew S and Dietz, Harry C}
}
@article {324,
	title = {Loss-of-function mutations in TGFB2 cause a syndromic presentation of thoracic aortic aneurysm.},
	journal = {Nat Genet},
	volume = {44},
	year = {2012},
	month = {2012 Jul 08},
	pages = {922-7},
	abstract = {<p>Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) associates with a tissue signature for high transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling but is often caused by heterozygous mutations in genes encoding positive effectors of TGF-β signaling, including either subunit of the TGF-β receptor or SMAD3, thereby engendering controversy regarding the mechanism of disease. Here, we report heterozygous mutations or deletions in the gene encoding the TGF-β2 ligand for a phenotype within the LDS spectrum and show upregulation of TGF-β signaling in aortic tissue from affected individuals. Furthermore, haploinsufficient Tgfb2(+/-) mice have aortic root aneurysm and biochemical evidence of increased canonical and noncanonical TGF-β signaling. Mice that harbor both a mutant Marfan syndrome (MFS) allele (Fbn1(C1039G/+)) and Tgfb2 haploinsufficiency show increased TGF-β signaling and phenotypic worsening in association with normalization of TGF-β2 expression and high expression of TGF-β1. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that compensatory autocrine and/or paracrine events contribute to the pathogenesis of TGF-β-mediated vasculopathies.</p>},
	keywords = {Animals, Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Fibrillin-1, Fibrillins, Haploinsufficiency, Humans, Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, Male, Marfan Syndrome, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Mice, Mutant Strains, Microfilament Proteins, Mutation, Pedigree, Phenotype, Signal Transduction, Syndrome, Transforming Growth Factor beta2},
	issn = {1546-1718},
	doi = {10.1038/ng.2349},
	author = {Lindsay, Mark E and Schepers, Dorien and Bolar, Nikhita Ajit and Doyle, Jefferson J and Gallo, Elena and Fert-Bober, Justyna and Kempers, Marlies J E and Fishman, Elliot K and Chen, Yichun and Myers, Loretha and Bjeda, Djahita and Oswald, Gretchen and Elias, Abdallah F and Levy, Howard P and Anderlid, Britt-Marie and Yang, Margaret H and Bongers, Ernie M H F and Timmermans, Janneke and Braverman, Alan C and Canham, Natalie and Mortier, Geert R and Brunner, Han G and Byers, Peter H and Van Eyk, Jennifer and Van Laer, Lut and Dietz, Harry C and Loeys, Bart L}
}
