Genomic organization of the KIAA0057 gene that encodes a TRAM-like protein and its exclusion as a polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 (PKHD1) candidate gene

Molecular genetics of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a severe form of inherited childhood nephropathy ( approximately 1:20,000 live births) characterized by fusiform dilatation of collecting ducts and congenital hepatic fibrosis. Up to 30% die as neonates due to respiratory insufficiency and the majority of surviving infants develop hypertension. Progression to end stage renal disease occurs in 20-45% of cases within 15 years but a proportion maintain renal function into adulthood where complications of liver disease predominate. The ARPKD disease gene, PKHD1, has recently been identified through analysis of an orthologous animal model, the PCK rat. PKHD1 is a large gene ( approximately 470 kb) with 67 exons from which multiple transcripts may be generated by alternative splicing. It is highly expressed in kidney, with lower levels in liver and pancreas. The ARPKD protein, fibrocystin (4074 aa and 447 kDa), is predicted to be an integral membrane, receptor-like protein containing multiple copies of an Ig-like domain (TIG). Fibrocystin is localized to the branching ureteric bud, collecting and biliary ducts, consistent with the disease phenotype, and often absent from ARPKD tissue. In common with other PKD-related proteins, fibrocystin is localized to the primary cilia of renal epithelial cells, reinforcing the link between ciliary dysfunction and cyst development. Screens of PKHD1 have revealed 119 different mutations of various types spread throughout the gene. Several ancestral changes have been described, some localized to specific geographic populations. The majority of patients are compound heterozygotes and preliminary genotype/phenotype studies associate two truncating mutations with severe disease. The complexities of PKHD1, marked allelic heterogeneity and high level of missense changes complicate gene-based diagnostics.

Spectrum of mutations in the gene for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD/PKHD1)

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD/PKHD1) is an important cause of renal-related and liver-related morbidity and mortality in childhood. Recently mutations in the PKHD1 gene on chromosome 6p21.1-p12 have been identified as the molecular cause of ARPKD. The longest continuous open reading frame (ORF) is encoded by a 67-exon transcript and predicted to yield a 4074-amino acid protein ("polyductin") of thus far unknown function. By now, a total of 29 different PKHD1 mutations have been described. This study reports mutation screening in 90 ARPKD patients and identifies mutations in 110 alleles making up a detection rate of 61%. Thirty-four of the detected mutations have not been reported previously. Two underlying mutations in 40 patients and one mutation in 30 cases are disclosed, and no mutation was detected on the remaining chromosomes. Mutations were found to be scattered throughout the gene without evidence of clustering at specific sites. About 45% of the changes were predicted to truncate the protein. All missense mutations were nonconservative, with the affected amino acid residues found to be conserved in the murine polyductin orthologue. One recurrent missense mutation (T36M) likely represents a mutational hotspot and occurs in a variety of populations. Two founder mutations (R496X and V3471G) make up about 60% of PKHD1 mutations in the Finnish population. Preliminary genotype-phenotype correlations could be established for the type of mutation rather than for the site of the individual mutation. All patients carrying two truncating mutations displayed a severe phenotype with perinatal or neonatal demise. PKHD1 mutation analysis is a powerful tool to establish the molecular cause of ARPKD in a given family. Direct identification of mutations allows an unequivocal diagnosis and accurate genetic counseling even in families displaying diagnostic challenges.

Refinement of the autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (PKHD1) interval and exclusion of an EF hand-containing gene as a PKHD1 candidate gene

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is an often devastating form of polycystic kidney disease that presents primarily in infancy. The locus, PKHD1 (polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1), on chromosome 6p21.1-p12, has been linked to all classical forms of this disorder. In previous studies, we cloned the PKHD1 interval in a set of overlapping YACs, converted this YAC-based framework into a BAC/PAC contig, and delimited the critical interval to a region flanked by the markers D6S1714 and D6S1024. We now have refined the genetic interval using new polymorphic markers developed from our BAC/PAC resources. In addition, we have evaluated a recently identified, EF hand-containing gene that maps to the interval of interest, established its transcript sequence, defined its genomic organization, and excluded this new gene as a PKHD1 candidate. Therefore, this study has narrowed the PKHD1 interval and excluded a potentially relevant gene as a PKHD1 candidate gene. This further refinement of the PKHD1 interval will facilitate efforts to identify the PKHD1 gene by positional cloning. These data also provide additional, highly polymorphic markers for haplotype-based diagnostic testing for ARPKD.

A novel gene encoding a TIG multiple domain protein is a positional candidate for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a common hereditary renal cystic disease in infants and children. By genetic linkage analyses, the gene responsible for this disease, termed polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 (PKHD1), was mapped on human chromosome 6p21.1-p12, and has been further localized to a 1-cM genetic interval flanked by the D6S1714/D6S243 (telomeric) and D6S1024 (centromeric) markers. We recently identified a novel gene in this genetic interval from kidney cDNA, using cloning strategies. The gene PKHD1 (PKHD1-tentative) encodes a novel 3396-amino-acid protein with no apparent homology with any known proteins. We named its gene product "tigmin" because it contains multiple TIG domains, which usually are seen in proteins containing immunoglobulin-like folds. PKHD1 encodes an 11.6-kb transcript and is composed of 61 exons spanning an approximately 365-kb genomic region on chromosome 6p12-p11.2 adjacent to the marker D6S1714. Northern blot analyses demonstrated that the gene has discrete bands with one peak signal at approximately 11 kb, indicating that PKHD1 is likely to have multiple alternative transcripts. PKHD1 is highly expressed in adult and infant kidneys and weakly expressed in liver in northern blot analysis. This expression pattern parallels the tissue involvement observed in ARPKD. In situ hybridization analysis further revealed that the expression of PKHD1 in the kidney is mainly localized to the epithelial cells of the collecting duct, the specific tubular segment involved in cyst formation in ARPKD. These features of PKHD1 make it a strong positional candidate gene for ARPKD.

PKHD1, the polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 gene, encodes a novel large protein containing multiple immunoglobulin-like plexin-transcription-factor domains and parallel beta-helix 1 repeats

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a severe form of polycystic kidney disease that presents primarily in infancy and childhood and that is characterized by enlarged kidneys and congenital hepatic fibrosis. We have identified PKHD1, the gene mutated in ARPKD. PKHD1 extends over > or =469 kb, is primarily expressed in human fetal and adult kidney, and includes a minimum of 86 exons that are variably assembled into a number of alternatively spliced transcripts. The longest continuous open reading frame encodes a 4,074-amino-acid protein, polyductin, that is predicted to have a single transmembrane (TM)-spanning domain near its carboxyl terminus, immunoglobulin-like plexin-transcription-factor domains, and parallel beta-helix 1 repeats in its amino terminus. Several transcripts encode truncated products that lack the TM and that may be secreted if translated. The PKHD1-gene products are members of a novel class of proteins that share structural features with hepatocyte growth-factor receptor and plexins and that belong to a superfamily of proteins involved in regulation of cell proliferation and of cellular adhesion and repulsion.

The gene mutated in autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease encodes a large, receptor-like protein

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is characterized by dilation of collecting ducts and by biliary dysgenesis and is an important cause of renal- and liver-related morbidity and mortality. Genetic analysis of a rat with recessive polycystic kidney disease revealed an orthologous relationship between the rat locus and the ARPKD region in humans; a candidate gene was identified. A mutation was characterized in the rat and screening the 66 coding exons of the human ortholog (PKHD1) in 14 probands with ARPKD revealed 6 truncating and 12 missense mutations; 8 of the affected individuals were compound heterozygotes. The PKHD1 transcript, approximately 16 kb long, is expressed in adult and fetal kidney, liver and pancreas and is predicted to encode a large novel protein, fibrocystin, with multiple copies of a domain shared with plexins and transcription factors. Fibrocystin may be a receptor protein that acts in collecting-duct and biliary differentiation.