Williams syndrome(WS)is a rare multisystemic disorder caused by recurrent microdeletions on 7q11.23,characterized by intellectual disability,distinctive craniofacial and dental features,and cardiovascular problems.Pre...Williams syndrome(WS)is a rare multisystemic disorder caused by recurrent microdeletions on 7q11.23,characterized by intellectual disability,distinctive craniofacial and dental features,and cardiovascular problems.Previous studies have explored the roles of individual genes within these microdeletions in contributing to WS phenotypes.Here,we report five patients with WS with 1.4 Mb-1.5 Mb microdeletions that include RFC2,as well as one patient with a 167-kb microdeletion involving RFC2 and six patients with intragenic variants within RFC2.To investigate the potential involvement of RFC2 in WS pathogenicity,we generate a rfc2 knockout(KO)zebrafish using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.Additionally,we generate a KO zebrafish of its paralog gene,rfc5,to better understand the functions of these RFC genes in development and disease.Both rfc2 and rfc5 KO zebrafish exhibit similar phenotypes reminiscent of WS,including small head and brain,jaw and dental defects,and vascular problems.RNA-seq analysis reveals that genes associated with neural cell survival and differentiation are specifically affected in rfc2 KO zebrafish.In addition,heterozygous rfc2 KO adult zebrafish demonstrate an anxiety-like behavior with increased social cohesion.These results suggest that RFC2 may contribute to the pathogenicity of WS,as evidenced by the zebrafish model.展开更多
Short stature is among the most common endocrinological disease phenotypes of childhood and may occur as an isolated finding or in conjunction with other clinical manifestations.Although the diagnostic utility of clin...Short stature is among the most common endocrinological disease phenotypes of childhood and may occur as an isolated finding or in conjunction with other clinical manifestations.Although the diagnostic utility of clinical genetic testing in short stature has been implicated,the genetic architecture and the utility of genomic studies such as exome sequencing(ES)in a sizable cohort of patients with short stature have not been investigated systematically.In this study,we recruited 561 individuals with short stature from two centers in China during a 4-year period.We performed ES for all patients and available parents.All patients were retrospectively divided into two groups:an isolated short stature group(group I,n=257)and an apparently syndromic short stature group(group II,n=304).Causal variants were identified in 135 of 561(24.1%)patients.In group I,29 of 257(11.3%)of the patients were solved by variants in 24 genes.In group II,106 of 304(34.9%)patients were solved by variants in 57 genes.Genes involved in fundamental cellularprocess played an important role in the genetic architecture of syndromic short stature.Distinct genetic architectures and pathophysiological processes underlie isolated and syndromic short stature.展开更多
基金supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government(MIST)(2020R1A5A8017671,2022R1A2C100677813,and RS-2024-00349650)。
文摘Williams syndrome(WS)is a rare multisystemic disorder caused by recurrent microdeletions on 7q11.23,characterized by intellectual disability,distinctive craniofacial and dental features,and cardiovascular problems.Previous studies have explored the roles of individual genes within these microdeletions in contributing to WS phenotypes.Here,we report five patients with WS with 1.4 Mb-1.5 Mb microdeletions that include RFC2,as well as one patient with a 167-kb microdeletion involving RFC2 and six patients with intragenic variants within RFC2.To investigate the potential involvement of RFC2 in WS pathogenicity,we generate a rfc2 knockout(KO)zebrafish using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.Additionally,we generate a KO zebrafish of its paralog gene,rfc5,to better understand the functions of these RFC genes in development and disease.Both rfc2 and rfc5 KO zebrafish exhibit similar phenotypes reminiscent of WS,including small head and brain,jaw and dental defects,and vascular problems.RNA-seq analysis reveals that genes associated with neural cell survival and differentiation are specifically affected in rfc2 KO zebrafish.In addition,heterozygous rfc2 KO adult zebrafish demonstrate an anxiety-like behavior with increased social cohesion.These results suggest that RFC2 may contribute to the pathogenicity of WS,as evidenced by the zebrafish model.
基金funded in part by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation(JQ20032 to N.W.and to 7191007 to Z.W.)National Natural Science Foundation of China(81822030 and 82072391 to N.W.,81772299and 81930068 to Z.W.,81772301 and 81972132 to G.Q.,81672123and 81972037 to J.Z.)+7 种基金Capital's Funds for Health Improvement and Research(2020-4-40114 to N.W.)Tsinghua University-Peking Union Medical College Hospital Initiative Scientific Research ProgramNational Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC0910500 to N.W.and Z.W.,2016YFC0901501 to S.Z.)the PUMC Youth Fund and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(3332019052 to Y.M.)the CAMS Initiative Fund for Medical Sciences(2016-I2M-3-003 to G.Q.and N.W.,2016-I2M-2-006 and 2017-I2M-2-001 to Z.W.)the Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences(2019PT320025 to N.W.)sponsored by GeneScience Pharmaceuticals Co.,Ltd.(Changchun,China)funded by the United States National Institutes of Health(UM1HG006542 and K08 HG008986)。
文摘Short stature is among the most common endocrinological disease phenotypes of childhood and may occur as an isolated finding or in conjunction with other clinical manifestations.Although the diagnostic utility of clinical genetic testing in short stature has been implicated,the genetic architecture and the utility of genomic studies such as exome sequencing(ES)in a sizable cohort of patients with short stature have not been investigated systematically.In this study,we recruited 561 individuals with short stature from two centers in China during a 4-year period.We performed ES for all patients and available parents.All patients were retrospectively divided into two groups:an isolated short stature group(group I,n=257)and an apparently syndromic short stature group(group II,n=304).Causal variants were identified in 135 of 561(24.1%)patients.In group I,29 of 257(11.3%)of the patients were solved by variants in 24 genes.In group II,106 of 304(34.9%)patients were solved by variants in 57 genes.Genes involved in fundamental cellularprocess played an important role in the genetic architecture of syndromic short stature.Distinct genetic architectures and pathophysiological processes underlie isolated and syndromic short stature.
