1
|
Tooze RS, Miller KA, Swagemakers SMA, Calpena E, McGowan SJ, Boute O, Collet C, Johnson D, Laffargue F, de Leeuw N, Morton JV, Noons P, Ockeloen CW, Phipps JM, Tan TY, Timberlake AT, Vanlerberghe C, Wall SA, Weber A, Wilson LC, Zackai EH, Mathijssen IMJ, Twigg SRF, Wilkie AOM. Pathogenic variants in the paired-related homeobox 1 gene (PRRX1) cause craniosynostosis with incomplete penetrance. Genet Med 2023; 25:100883. [PMID: 37154149 DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2023.100883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Studies have previously implicated PRRX1 in craniofacial development, including demonstration of murine Prrx1 expression in the preosteogenic cells of the cranial sutures. We investigated the role of heterozygous missense and loss-of-function (LoF) variants in PRRX1 associated with craniosynostosis. METHODS Trio-based genome, exome, or targeted sequencing were used to screen PRRX1 in patients with craniosynostosis; immunofluorescence analyses were used to assess nuclear localization of wild-type and mutant proteins. RESULTS Genome sequencing identified 2 of 9 sporadically affected individuals with syndromic/multisuture craniosynostosis, who were heterozygous for rare/undescribed variants in PRRX1. Exome or targeted sequencing of PRRX1 revealed a further 9 of 1449 patients with craniosynostosis harboring deletions or rare heterozygous variants within the homeodomain. By collaboration, 7 additional individuals (4 families) were identified with putatively pathogenic PRRX1 variants. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that missense variants within the PRRX1 homeodomain cause abnormal nuclear localization. Of patients with variants considered likely pathogenic, bicoronal or other multisuture synostosis was present in 11 of 17 cases (65%). Pathogenic variants were inherited from unaffected relatives in many instances, yielding a 12.5% penetrance estimate for craniosynostosis. CONCLUSION This work supports a key role for PRRX1 in cranial suture development and shows that haploinsufficiency of PRRX1 is a relatively frequent cause of craniosynostosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca S Tooze
- Clinical Genetics Group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kerry A Miller
- Clinical Genetics Group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Sigrid M A Swagemakers
- Department of Pathology & Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eduardo Calpena
- Clinical Genetics Group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Simon J McGowan
- Centre for Computational Biology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Odile Boute
- Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 7364 - RADEME - Maladies Rares du Développement Embryonnaire et du Métabolisme, Clinique de Génétique, Lille, France
| | - Corinne Collet
- Genetics Department, Robert Debré University Hospital, APHP, Paris, France
| | - David Johnson
- Craniofacial Unit, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Fanny Laffargue
- Clinical Genetics Service and Reference Centre for Rare Developmental Abnormalities and Intellectual Disabilities, University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Nicole de Leeuw
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jenny V Morton
- West Midlands Regional Clinical Genetics Service and Birmingham Health Partners, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Noons
- Department of Craniofacial Surgery, Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte W Ockeloen
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Julie M Phipps
- Clinical Genetics Group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Tiong Yang Tan
- Victorian Clinical Genetics Services, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Andrew T Timberlake
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Clemence Vanlerberghe
- Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 7364 - RADEME - Maladies Rares du Développement Embryonnaire et du Métabolisme, Clinique de Génétique, Lille, France
| | - Steven A Wall
- Craniofacial Unit, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Astrid Weber
- Liverpool Centre for Genomic Medicine, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Louise C Wilson
- North East Thames Regional Genetics Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elaine H Zackai
- Clinical Genetics Center, Division of Human Genetics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Irene M J Mathijssen
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Hand Surgery, Erasmus Medical Centre, University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stephen R F Twigg
- Clinical Genetics Group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | - Andrew O M Wilkie
- Clinical Genetics Group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Malik V, Zimmer D, Jauch R. Diversity among POU transcription factors in chromatin recognition and cell fate reprogramming. Cell Mol Life Sci 2018; 75:1587-1612. [PMID: 29335749 PMCID: PMC11105716 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-018-2748-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 12/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The POU (Pit-Oct-Unc) protein family is an evolutionary ancient group of transcription factors (TFs) that bind specific DNA sequences to direct gene expression programs. The fundamental importance of POU TFs to orchestrate embryonic development and to direct cellular fate decisions is well established, but the molecular basis for this activity is insufficiently understood. POU TFs possess a bipartite 'two-in-one' DNA binding domain consisting of two independently folding structural units connected by a poorly conserved and flexible linker. Therefore, they represent a paradigmatic example to study the molecular basis for the functional versatility of TFs. Their modular architecture endows POU TFs with the capacity to accommodate alternative composite DNA sequences by adopting different quaternary structures. Moreover, associations with partner proteins crucially influence the selection of their DNA binding sites. The plentitude of DNA binding modes confers the ability to POU TFs to regulate distinct genes in the context of different cellular environments. Likewise, different binding modes of POU proteins to DNA could trigger alternative regulatory responses in the context of different genomic locations of the same cell. Prominent POU TFs such as Oct4, Brn2, Oct6 and Brn4 are not only essential regulators of development but have also been successfully employed to reprogram somatic cells to pluripotency and neural lineages. Here we review biochemical, structural, genomic and cellular reprogramming studies to examine how the ability of POU TFs to select regulatory DNA, alone or with partner factors, is tied to their capacity to epigenetically remodel chromatin and drive specific regulatory programs that give cells their identities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Malik
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China
- Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510530, China
| | - Dennis Zimmer
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China
- Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510530, China
| | - Ralf Jauch
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China.
- Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510530, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Clough RL, Sud R, Davis-Silberman N, Hertzano R, Avraham KB, Holley M, Dawson SJ. Brn-3c (POU4F3) regulates BDNF and NT-3 promoter activity. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2004; 324:372-81. [PMID: 15465029 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.09.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Brn-3c is a transcription factor necessary for maturation and survival of hair cells in the inner ear. Mutations in Brn-3c are associated with deafness in mice and with hearing loss in humans. Mice lacking Brn-3c also show reduced innervation and loss of sensory neurons presumed to be an indirect effect of hair cell loss potentially through lower BDNF and NT-3 expression. Using transient transfection assays we show that Brn-3c is capable of activating both BDNF and NT-3 promoters in inner ear sensory epithelial cell lines. In vitro analysis shows that Brn-3c binds to specific elements within the promoters of both genes and these elements are sufficient to confer Brn-3c regulation on a heterologous promoter. Additionally, BDNF expression is reduced in the inner ear of a Brn-3c mutant mouse during embryogenesis. Our data suggest that Brn-3c may play a role in regulating neurotrophin gene expression in the inner ear.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Lee Clough
- Molecular Audiology, Department of Immunology and Molecular Pathology, UCL Centre for Auditory Research, Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences, University College London Medical School, The Windeyer Building, Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JF, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Faulkes DJ, Ensor E, Le Rouzic E, Latchman DS. Distinct domains of Brn-3a regulate apoptosis and neurite outgrowth in vivo. Neuroreport 2004; 15:1421-5. [PMID: 15194866 DOI: 10.1097/01.wnr.0000129371.81377.05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The Brn-3a transcription factor is critical for the normal development of the nervous system, promoting both neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth. By manipulating the Brn-3a gene in intact mice, we show that these two functions are separately controlled with an N-terminal domain being essential for neuronal survival, whereas the POU domain is essential for neurite outgrowth. Hence the two naturally occurring forms of Brn-3a, which either contain or lack the N-terminal domain, are likely to play distinct roles in the nervous system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David J Faulkes
- Medical Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|