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Jurkute N, Bertacchi M, Arno G, Tocco C, Kim US, Kruszewski AM, Avery RA, Bedoukian EC, Han J, Ahn SJ, Pontikos N, Acheson J, Davagnanam I, Bowman R, Kaliakatsos M, Gardham A, Wakeling E, Oluonye N, Reddy MA, Clark E, Rosser E, Amati-Bonneau P, Charif M, Lenaers G, Meunier I, Defoort S, Vincent-Delorme C, Robson AG, Holder GE, Jeanjean L, Martinez-Monseny A, Vidal-Santacana M, Dominici C, Gaggioli C, Giordano N, Caleo M, Liu GT, Webster AR, Studer M, Yu-Wai-Man P. Pathogenic NR2F1 variants cause a developmental ocular phenotype recapitulated in a mutant mouse model. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab162. [PMID: 34466801 PMCID: PMC8397830 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic NR2F1 variants cause a rare autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorder referred to as the Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy Syndrome. Although visual loss is a prominent feature seen in affected individuals, the molecular and cellular mechanisms contributing to visual impairment are still poorly characterized. We conducted a deep phenotyping study on a cohort of 22 individuals carrying pathogenic NR2F1 variants to document the neurodevelopmental and ophthalmological manifestations, in particular the structural and functional changes within the retina and the optic nerve, which have not been detailed previously. The visual impairment became apparent in early childhood with small and/or tilted hypoplastic optic nerves observed in 10 cases. High-resolution optical coherence tomography imaging confirmed significant loss of retinal ganglion cells with thinning of the ganglion cell layer, consistent with electrophysiological evidence of retinal ganglion cells dysfunction. Interestingly, for those individuals with available longitudinal ophthalmological data, there was no significant deterioration in visual function during the period of follow-up. Diffusion tensor imaging tractography studies showed defective connections and disorganization of the extracortical visual pathways. To further investigate how pathogenic NR2F1 variants impact on retinal and optic nerve development, we took advantage of an Nr2f1 mutant mouse disease model. Abnormal retinogenesis in early stages of development was observed in Nr2f1 mutant mice with decreased retinal ganglion cell density and disruption of retinal ganglion cell axonal guidance from the neural retina into the optic stalk, accounting for the development of optic nerve hypoplasia. The mutant mice showed significantly reduced visual acuity based on electrophysiological parameters with marked conduction delay and decreased amplitude of the recordings in the superficial layers of the visual cortex. The clinical observations in our study cohort, supported by the mouse data, suggest an early neurodevelopmental origin for the retinal and optic nerve head defects caused by NR2F1 pathogenic variants, resulting in congenital vision loss that seems to be non-progressive. We propose NR2F1 as a major gene that orchestrates early retinal and optic nerve head development, playing a key role in the maturation of the visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neringa Jurkute
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Gavin Arno
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Chiara Tocco
- Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Inserm, iBV, Nice, France
| | - Ungsoo Samuel Kim
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Kim's Eye Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Adam M Kruszewski
- Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robert A Avery
- Division of Ophthalmology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Emma C Bedoukian
- Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jinu Han
- Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sung Jun Ahn
- Department of Radiology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Nikolas Pontikos
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
| | - James Acheson
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Indran Davagnanam
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Department of Brain Repair & Rehabilitation, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Richard Bowman
- Department of Ophthalmology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Marios Kaliakatsos
- Paediatric Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Alice Gardham
- North West Thames Regional Genetics Service, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, UK
| | - Emma Wakeling
- North East Thames Regional Genetics Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Ngozi Oluonye
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Wolfson Neurodisability Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Maddy Ashwin Reddy
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Elaine Clark
- Department of Neuroscience, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Elisabeth Rosser
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Patrizia Amati-Bonneau
- MitoLab Team, UMR CNRS 6015 - INSERM U1083, Institut MitoVasc, Angers University and Hospital, Angers, France
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, University Hospital Angers, Angers, France
- Genetics and Immuno-cell Therapy Team, Mohammed First University, Oujda, Morocco
| | - Majida Charif
- MitoLab Team, UMR CNRS 6015 - INSERM U1083, Institut MitoVasc, Angers University and Hospital, Angers, France
- National Center for Rare Diseases, Inherited Sensory Disorders, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France
| | - Guy Lenaers
- MitoLab Team, UMR CNRS 6015 - INSERM U1083, Institut MitoVasc, Angers University and Hospital, Angers, France
| | - Isabelle Meunier
- Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier, INSERM INSERM U1051, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Sabine Defoort
- Service d'exploration de la vision et neuro-ophtalmologie, CHRU de Lille, Lille, France
| | | | - Anthony G Robson
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Graham E Holder
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Luc Jeanjean
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Nimes, Nimes, France
| | | | | | - Chloé Dominici
- University Côte d'Azur, CNRS UMR7284, INSERM U1081, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging, Nice, France
| | - Cedric Gaggioli
- University Côte d'Azur, CNRS UMR7284, INSERM U1081, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging, Nice, France
| | | | | | - Grant T Liu
- Division of Ophthalmology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Andrew R Webster
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Patrick Yu-Wai-Man
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
- Cambridge Eye Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair and MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Blasius TL, Yue Y, Prasad R, Liu X, Gennerich A, Verhey KJ. Sequences in the stalk domain regulate auto-inhibition and ciliary tip localization of the immotile kinesin-4 KIF7. J Cell Sci 2021; 134:269104. [PMID: 34114033 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.258464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The kinesin-4 member KIF7 plays critical roles in Hedgehog signaling in vertebrate cells. KIF7 is an atypical kinesin as it binds to microtubules but is immotile. We demonstrate that, like conventional kinesins, KIF7 is regulated by auto-inhibition, as the full-length protein is inactive for microtubule binding in cells. We identify a segment, the inhibitory coiled coil (inhCC), that is required for auto-inhibition of KIF7, whereas the adjacent regulatory coiled coil (rCC) that contributes to auto-inhibition of the motile kinesin-4s KIF21A and KIF21B is not sufficient for KIF7 auto-inhibition. Disease-associated mutations in the inhCC relieve auto-inhibition and result in strong microtubule binding. Surprisingly, uninhibited KIF7 proteins did not bind preferentially to or track the plus ends of growing microtubules in cells, as suggested by previous in vitro work, but rather bound along cytosolic and axonemal microtubules. Localization to the tip of the primary cilium also required the inhCC, and could be increased by disease-associated mutations regardless of the auto-inhibition state of the protein. These findings suggest that loss of KIF7 auto-inhibition and/or altered cilium tip localization can contribute to the pathogenesis of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Lynne Blasius
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Yang Yue
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - RaghuRam Prasad
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Xinglei Liu
- Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology and Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10461, USA
| | - Arne Gennerich
- Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology and Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10461, USA
| | - Kristen J Verhey
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Gyllencreutz E, Aring E, Landgren V, Landgren M, Gronlund MA. Thinner retinal nerve fibre layer in young adults with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Br J Ophthalmol 2020; 105:850-855. [PMID: 32620687 DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-316506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS Ophthalmological abnormalities such as ptosis, strabismus, refractive errors and optic nerve hypoplasia have been reported in foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether retinal thickness, retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and optic disc area (ODA) differ between individuals with FASD and healthy controls. METHODS Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in terms of logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR), refraction, and fundus variables measured by optical coherence tomography were obtained from 26 young adults with FASD (12 women, median age 23 years) and 27 controls (18 women, median age 25 years). RESULTS The total thickness of the peripapillary RNFL was significantly lower in the FASD group than in controls; median (range) in the right/left eye was 96.5 (60-109)/96 (59-107) µm in the FASD group and 105 (95-117)/103 (91-120) µm among controls (p=0.001 and p=0.0001). Macular RNFL and retinal thickness measurements from the FASD group were also lower in most of the nine ETDRS areas, except for the central parts. Median (range) BCVA in the best eye was 0.00 (-0.1-0.3) logMAR in the FASD group and 0.00 (-0.2-0.0) logMAR in controls (p=0.001). No significant differences between the groups were found regarding ODA or refraction. CONCLUSION Significant differences in peripapillary and macular RNFL, retinal thickness and BCVA were found in this group of young adults with FASD compared with healthy controls. However, there were no differences in the size of the optic disc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emelie Gyllencreutz
- Clinical Neuroscience, University of Gothenburg Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Skövde, Sweden
| | - Eva Aring
- Clinical Neuroscience, University of Gothenburg Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Skövde, Sweden
| | - Valdemar Landgren
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Goteborg, Sweden
| | - Magnus Landgren
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Goteborg, Sweden
| | - Marita Andersson Gronlund
- Clinical Neuroscience, University of Gothenburg Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Skövde, Sweden
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