@article {907, title = {Mutations of the Transcriptional Corepressor ZMYM2 Cause Syndromic Urinary Tract Malformations.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {107}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 10 01}, pages = {727-742}, abstract = {

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) constitute one of the most frequent birth defects and represent the most common cause of chronic kidney disease in the first three decades of life. Despite the discovery of dozens of monogenic causes of CAKUT, most pathogenic pathways remain elusive. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in 551 individuals with CAKUT and identified a heterozygous de novo stop-gain variant in ZMYM2 in two different families with CAKUT. Through collaboration, we identified in total 14 different heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in ZMYM2 in 15 unrelated families. Most mutations occurred de novo, indicating possible interference with reproductive function. Human disease features are replicated in X.~tropicalis larvae with morpholino knockdowns, in which expression of truncated ZMYM2 proteins, based on individual mutations, failed to rescue renal and craniofacial defects. Moreover, heterozygous Zmym2-deficient mice recapitulated features of CAKUT with high penetrance. The ZMYM2 protein is a component of a transcriptional corepressor complex recently linked to the silencing of developmentally regulated endogenous retrovirus elements. Using protein-protein interaction assays, we show that ZMYM2 interacts with additional epigenetic silencing complexes, as well as confirming that it binds to FOXP1, a transcription factor that has also been linked to CAKUT. In summary, our findings establish that loss-of-function mutations of ZMYM2, and potentially that of other proteins in its interactome, as causes of human CAKUT, offering new routes for studying the pathogenesis of the disorder.

}, keywords = {Amphibian Proteins, Animals, Case-Control Studies, Child, Child, Preschool, DNA-Binding Proteins, Epigenesis, Genetic, Family, Female, Forkhead Transcription Factors, Heterozygote, Humans, Infant, Larva, Male, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Morpholinos, Mutation, Pedigree, Protein Binding, Repressor Proteins, Transcription Factors, Urinary Tract, Urogenital Abnormalities, Whole Exome Sequencing, Xenopus}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.08.013}, author = {Connaughton, Dervla M and Dai, Rufeng and Owen, Danielle J and Marquez, Jonathan and Mann, Nina and GrAHm-Paquin, Adda L and Nakayama, Makiko and Coyaud, Etienne and Laurent, Estelle M N and St-Germain, Jonathan R and Blok, Lot Snijders and Vino, Arianna and Kl{\"a}mbt, Verena and Deutsch, Konstantin and Wu, Chen-Han Wilfred and Kolvenbach, Caroline M and Kause, Franziska and Ottlewski, Isabel and Schneider, Ronen and Kitzler, Thomas M and Majmundar, Amar J and Buerger, Florian and Onuchic-Whitford, Ana C and Youying, Mao and Kolb, Amy and Salmanullah, Daanya and Chen, Evan and van der Ven, Amelie T and Rao, Jia and Ityel, Hadas and Seltzsam, Steve and Rieke, Johanna M and Chen, Jing and Vivante, Asaf and Hwang, Daw-Yang and Kohl, Stefan and Dworschak, Gabriel C and Hermle, Tobias and Alders, Marielle and Bartolomaeus, Tobias and Bauer, Stuart B and Baum, Michelle A and Brilstra, Eva H and Challman, Thomas D and Zyskind, Jacob and Costin, Carrie E and Dipple, Katrina M and Duijkers, Floor A and Ferguson, Marcia and FitzPatrick, David R and Fick, Roger and Glass, Ian A and Hulick, Peter J and Kline, Antonie D and Krey, Ilona and Kumar, Selvin and Lu, Weining and Marco, Elysa J and Wentzensen, Ingrid M and Mefford, Heather C and Platzer, Konrad and Povolotskaya, Inna S and Savatt, Juliann M and Shcherbakova, Natalia V and Senguttuvan, Prabha and Squire, Audrey E and Stein, Deborah R and Thiffault, Isabelle and Voinova, Victoria Y and Somers, Michael J G and Ferguson, Michael A and Traum, Avram Z and Daouk, Ghaleb H and Daga, Ankana and Rodig, Nancy M and Terhal, Paulien A and van Binsbergen, Ellen and Eid, Loai A and Tasic, Velibor and Rasouly, Hila Milo and Lim, Tze Y and Ahram, Dina F and Gharavi, Ali G and Reutter, Heiko M and Rehm, Heidi L and MacArthur, Daniel G and Lek, Monkol and Laricchia, Kristen M and Lifton, Richard P and Xu, Hong and Mane, Shrikant M and Sanna-Cherchi, Simone and Sharrocks, Andrew D and Raught, Brian and Fisher, Simon E and Bouchard, Maxime and Khokha, Mustafa K and Shril, Shirlee and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm} } @article {596, title = {Whole-Exome Sequencing Enables a Precision Medicine Approach for Kidney Transplant Recipients.}, journal = {J Am Soc Nephrol}, volume = {30}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 02}, pages = {201-215}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) finds a CKD-related mutation in approximately 20\% of patients presenting with CKD before 25 years of age. Although provision of a molecular diagnosis could have important implications for clinical management, evidence is lacking on the diagnostic yield and clinical utility of WES for pediatric renal transplant recipients.

METHODS: To determine the diagnostic yield of WES in pediatric kidney transplant recipients, we recruited 104 patients who had received a transplant at Boston Children{\textquoteright}s Hospital from 2007 through 2017, performed WES, and analyzed results for likely deleterious variants in approximately 400 genes known to cause CKD.

RESULTS: By WES, we identified a genetic cause of CKD in 34 out of 104 (32.7\%) transplant recipients. The likelihood of detecting a molecular genetic diagnosis was highest for patients with urinary stone disease (three out of three individuals), followed by renal cystic ciliopathies (seven out of nine individuals), steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (nine out of 21 individuals), congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (ten out of 55 individuals), and chronic glomerulonephritis (one out of seven individuals). WES also yielded a molecular diagnosis for four out of nine individuals with ESRD of unknown etiology. The WES-related molecular genetic diagnosis had implications for clinical care for five patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one third of pediatric renal transplant recipients had a genetic cause of their kidney disease identified by WES. Knowledge of this genetic information can help guide management of both transplant patients and potential living related donors.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Boston, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetic Testing, Graft Rejection, Graft Survival, Hospitals, Pediatric, Humans, Kidney Transplantation, Male, Precision Medicine, Prognosis, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic, Retrospective Studies, Risk Assessment, Severity of Illness Index, Survival Analysis, Transplant Recipients, Treatment Outcome, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1533-3450}, doi = {10.1681/ASN.2018060575}, author = {Mann, Nina and Braun, Daniela A and Amann, Kassaundra and Tan, Weizhen and Shril, Shirlee and Connaughton, Dervla M and Nakayama, Makiko and Schneider, Ronen and Kitzler, Thomas M and van der Ven, Amelie T and Chen, Jing and Ityel, Hadas and Vivante, Asaf and Majmundar, Amar J and Daga, Ankana and Warejko, Jillian K and Lovric, Svjetlana and Ashraf, Shazia and Jobst-Schwan, Tilman and Widmeier, Eugen and Hugo, Hannah and Mane, Shrikant M and Spaneas, Leslie and Somers, Michael J G and Ferguson, Michael A and Traum, Avram Z and Stein, Deborah R and Baum, Michelle A and Daouk, Ghaleb H and Lifton, Richard P and Manzi, Shannon and Vakili, Khashayar and Kim, Heung Bae and Rodig, Nancy M and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm} } @article {545, title = {A homozygous missense variant in VWA2, encoding an interactor of the Fraser-complex, in a patient with vesicoureteral reflux.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {13}, year = {2018}, month = {2018}, pages = {e0191224}, abstract = {

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are the most common cause (40-50\%) of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children. About 40 monogenic causes of CAKUT have so far been discovered. To date less than 20\% of CAKUT cases can be explained by mutations in these 40 genes. To identify additional monogenic causes of CAKUT, we performed whole exome sequencing (WES) and homozygosity mapping (HM) in a patient with CAKUT from Indian origin and consanguineous descent. We identified a homozygous missense mutation (c.1336C>T, p.Arg446Cys) in the gene Von Willebrand factor A domain containing 2 (VWA2). With immunohistochemistry studies on kidneys of newborn (P1) mice, we show that Vwa2 and Fraser extracellular matrix complex subunit 1 (Fras1) co-localize in the nephrogenic zone of the renal cortex. We identified a pronounced expression of Vwa2 in the basement membrane of the ureteric bud (UB) and derivatives of the metanephric mesenchyme (MM). By applying in vitro assays, we demonstrate that the Arg446Cys mutation decreases translocation of monomeric VWA2 protein and increases translocation of aggregated VWA2 protein into the extracellular space. This is potentially due to the additional, unpaired cysteine residue in the mutated protein that is used for intermolecular disulfide bond formation. VWA2 is a known, direct interactor of FRAS1 of the Fraser-Complex (FC). FC-encoding genes and interacting proteins have previously been implicated in the pathogenesis of syndromic and/or isolated CAKUT phenotypes in humans. VWA2 therefore constitutes a very strong candidate in the search for novel CAKUT-causing genes. Our results from in vitro experiments indicate a dose-dependent neomorphic effect of the Arg446Cys homozygous mutation in VWA2.

}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Amino Acid Substitution, Animals, Animals, Newborn, Biomarkers, Tumor, Child, Consanguinity, Conserved Sequence, Exons, Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Fraser Syndrome, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Homozygote, Humans, Male, Mice, Models, Animal, Models, Molecular, Mutation, Missense, Pedigree, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Urogenital Abnormalities, Urogenital System, Vesico-Ureteral Reflux}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0191224}, author = {van der Ven, Amelie T and Kobbe, Birgit and Kohl, Stefan and Shril, Shirlee and Pogoda, Hans-Martin and Imhof, Thomas and Ityel, Hadas and Vivante, Asaf and Chen, Jing and Hwang, Daw-Yang and Connaughton, Dervla M and Mann, Nina and Widmeier, Eugen and Taglienti, Mary and Schmidt, Johanna Magdalena and Nakayama, Makiko and Senguttuvan, Prabha and Kumar, Selvin and Tasic, Velibor and Kehinde, Elijah O and Mane, Shrikant M and Lifton, Richard P and Soliman, Neveen and Lu, Weining and Bauer, Stuart B and Hammerschmidt, Matthias and Wagener, Raimund and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm} } @article {457, title = {Advillin acts upstream of phospholipase C ϵ1 in steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome.}, journal = {J Clin Invest}, volume = {127}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 12 01}, pages = {4257-4269}, abstract = {

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) is a frequent cause of chronic kidney disease. Here, we identified recessive mutations in the gene encoding the actin-binding protein advillin (AVIL) in 3 unrelated families with SRNS. While all AVIL mutations resulted in a marked loss of its actin-bundling ability, truncation of AVIL also disrupted colocalization with F-actin, thereby leading to impaired actin binding and severing. Additionally, AVIL colocalized and interacted with the phospholipase enzyme PLCE1 and with the ARP2/3 actin-modulating complex. Knockdown of AVIL in human podocytes reduced actin stress fibers at the cell periphery, prevented recruitment of PLCE1 to the ARP3-rich lamellipodia, blocked EGF-induced generation of diacylglycerol (DAG) by PLCE1, and attenuated the podocyte migration rate (PMR). These effects were reversed by overexpression of WT AVIL but not by overexpression of any of the 3 patient-derived AVIL mutants. The PMR was increased by overexpression of WT Avil or PLCE1, or by EGF stimulation; however, this increased PMR was ameliorated by inhibition of the ARP2/3 complex, indicating that ARP-dependent lamellipodia formation occurs downstream of AVIL and PLCE1 function. Together, these results delineate a comprehensive pathogenic axis of SRNS that integrates loss of AVIL function with alterations in the action of PLCE1, an established SRNS protein.

}, keywords = {Actin-Related Protein 2-3 Complex, Cell Movement, Diglycerides, Female, Humans, Male, Microfilament Proteins, Mutation, Nephrotic Syndrome, Phosphoinositide Phospholipase C, Podocytes, Pseudopodia}, issn = {1558-8238}, doi = {10.1172/JCI94138}, author = {Rao, Jia and Ashraf, Shazia and Tan, Weizhen and van der Ven, Amelie T and Gee, Heon Yung and Braun, Daniela A and Feh{\'e}r, Krisztina and George, Sudeep P and Esmaeilniakooshkghazi, Amin and Choi, Won-Il and Jobst-Schwan, Tilman and Schneider, Ronen and Schmidt, Johanna Magdalena and Widmeier, Eugen and Warejko, Jillian K and Hermle, Tobias and Schapiro, David and Lovric, Svjetlana and Shril, Shirlee and Daga, Ankana and Nayir, Ahmet and Shenoy, Mohan and Tse, Yincent and Bald, Martin and Helmchen, Udo and Mir, Sevgi and Berdeli, Afig and Kari, Jameela A and El Desoky, Sherif and Soliman, Neveen A and Bagga, Arvind and Mane, Shrikant and Jairajpuri, Mohamad A and Lifton, Richard P and Khurana, Seema and Martins, Jose C and Hildebrandt, Friedhelm} }