Truncating variant in MYOF gene is associated with limb-girdle type muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathy
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Even though genetic studies of individuals with neuromuscular diseases have uncovered the molecular background of many cardiac disorders such as cardiomyopathies and inherited arrhythmic syndromes, the genetic cause of a proportion of cardiomyopathies associated with neuromuscular phenotype still remains unknown. Here, we present a clinical case with a combination of cardiomyopathy and limb-girdle type muscular dystrophy where whole exome sequencing identified myoferlin (MYOF) - a member of the Ferlin protein family and close homolog of DYSF - as the most likely candidate gene. The disease-causative role of the identified variant c.[2576delG; 2575G>C], p.G859fs is supported by functional studies in vitro using primary patient's satellite cells, including both RNA sequencing and morphological studies, as well as recapitulating of muscle phenotype in vivo in zebrafish experiments. We provide the first evidence supporting a role of MYOF in human muscle disease.
Project description:26 limb-girdle muscular dystrophy patients from Latvia and 34 patients from Lithuania with clinical symptoms of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies, along with 204 healthy unrelated controls were genotyped for 96 most frequent known limb-girdle muscular dystrophies causing mutations for the region, using VeraCode GoldenGate system. More information can be found in article Robust genotyping tool for autosomal recessive type of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders by I. Inashkina et al.
Project description:Alterations in RNA-splicing are a molecular hallmark of several neurological diseases, including muscular dystrophies where mutations in genes involved in RNA metabolism or characterised by alterations in RNA splicing have been described. Here, we present five patients from two unrelated families with a limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) phenotype carrying a biallelic variant in SNUPN gene. Snurportin-1, the protein encoded by SNUPN, plays an important role in the nuclear transport of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), essential components of the spliceosome. We combine deep phenotyping, including clinical features, histopathology and muscle magnetic resonance image (MRI), with functional studies in patient-derived cells and muscle biopsies to demonstrate that variants in SNUPN are the cause of a new type of LGMD according to current definition. Moreover, an in vivo model in Drosophila melanogaster further supports the relevance of Snurportin-1 in muscle. SNUPN patients show a similar phenotype characterised by proximal weakness starting in childhood, restrictive respiratory dysfunction and prominent contractures, although interindividual variability in terms of severity even in individuals from the same family was found. Muscle biopsy showed myofibrillar-like features consisting of myotilin deposits and Z-disc disorganisation. MRI showed predominant impairment of paravertebral, vasti, sartorius, gracilis, peroneal and medial gastrocnemius muscles. Conservation and structural analyses of Snurportin-1 p.Ile309Ser variant suggest an effect in nuclear-cytosol snRNP trafficking. In patient-derived fibroblasts and muscle, cytoplasmic accumulation of snRNP components is observed, while total expression of Snurportin-1 and snRNPs remains unchanged, which demonstrates a functional impact of SNUPN variant in snRNP metabolism. Furthermore, RNA-splicing analysis in patients’ muscle showed widespread splicing deregulation, in particular in genes relevant for muscle development and splicing factors that participate in the early steps of spliceosome assembly. In conclusion, we report that SNUPN variants are a new cause of limb girdle muscular dystrophy with specific clinical, histopathological and imaging features, supporting SNUPN as a new gene to be included in genetic testing of myopathies. These results further support the relevance of splicing-related proteins in muscle disorders.
Project description:Because myostatin normally limits skeletal muscle growth, there is an extensive effort to develop myostatin inhibitors for clinical use. One potential concern is that in patients with muscle degenerative diseases, inducing hypertrophy may increase stress on dystrophic fibers. Here, we show that blocking the myostatin pathway in dysferlin mutant mice results in early improvement in histopathology but ultimately accelerates muscle degeneration. Hence, benefits of this approach should be weighed against these potential detrimental effects. Affymetrix Mouse Exon 1.0 ST arrays were hybridized in three biologically independent experiments with RNA from quadriceps muscles of wt, Dysf-/-, F66, F66;Dysf-/- mice, and ACVR2B/Fc-injected wt and Dysf-/- mice at the age of 10 weeks (3 duplicates in 6 different groups, 18 samples).
Project description:We obtained placental issue between days 27 and 34 of pregnancy from matched mare and stallion pairs. We used whole transcriptome profiling in order to measure and compare gene expression in chorionic girdle trophoblast and adjacent regressing chorion at pregnancy day 27 (initiation of proliferation and prior to differentiation), day 30 (initiation of differentiation), day 31 (consolidation of differentiation and movement of cells) and day 34 (when the majority of the trophoblast cells have terminally differentiated into binucleate eCG-secreting trophoblast and have started to obtain invasive qualities and immunomodulatory capacities). Differentially expressed genes were then identified to determine functions and signalling pathways whose activity was modulated over this critical period of trophoblast development. A selection of genes and pathways were subsequently validated.
Project description:This project applied a dry non-invasive method to detect palaeoproteomic evidence from stained manuscripts. The manuscript analysed in this study is a medieval parchment birth girdle (Wellcome Collection Western MS. 632) made in England and thought to be used by pregnant women while giving birth. Using a dry non-invasive sampling method we were able to extract both human and non-human peptides from the stains, including evidence for the use of honey, cereals, ovicaprine milk and legumes. In addition, a large number of human peptides were detected on the birth roll, many of which are found in cervico-vaginal fluid. This suggests that the birth roll was actively used during childbirth. This study is the first to extract and analyse non-collagenous peptides from a parchment document using a dry non-invasive sampling method and demonstrates the potential of this type of analysis for stained manuscripts, providing direct biomolecular evidence for active use.
Project description:<p>The samples are drawn from a collection of patients with a heterogeneous set of neuromuscular disorders, including congenital muscular dystrophy, congenital myopathy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, and arthrogryposis, along with unaffected parents and siblings in some cases. The samples were collected by the following clinicians affiliated with the associated institutes: <ol> <li>Kathryn North and Nigel Clarke (Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia)</li> <li>Hanns Lochmuller and Kate Bushby (The Newcastle Muscle Centre, Newcastle University, UK)</li> <li>Peter Kang (Boston Children's Hospital)</li> <li>Carsten Bonnemann (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA)</li> <li>Nigel Laing (University of Western Australia)</li> </ol> </p> <p> All exome sequencing was performed at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; samples sequence capture was performed using Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon Kit v2 or Illumina's Rapid Capture Exome enrichment kit and sequencing was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 2000. In addition some samples were whole genome sequenced on Illumina HiSeq X Ten.</p>
Project description:Cardiac resident stem/progenitor cells are intensively studied as a potential therapeutic tool for cardiomyopathies. While surface marker expression and ability to generate cardiomyocytes have been characterized in some detail for several types of these progenitors, little is known on how their cardiac differentiation is regulated. Beta sarcoglycan null (bSG KO) mice are a model for limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2E (LGMD2E), and are characterized by muscular dystrophy and progressive dilated cardiomyopathy. In the present study we isolated and characterized cardiac progenitors (mesoangioblasts) from the small vessels of neonatal hearts bSG KO mice and unexpectedly observed that they differentiate spontaneously into skeletal muscle fibers both in vitro and when transplanted in regenerating muscles and infarcted hearts. The micro array data showed that dystrophic cardiac progenitor and myogenic cells (C2C12) share similar gene expression profile. Keywords: Beta sarcoglycan null mice, muscular dystrophy, cardiac mesoangioblasts, myogenic differentiation Biological triplicates of cardiac wild-type and dystrophic mesoangioblasts isolated from different heart region (atrium, ventricle, aorta) were compared. C2C12 cells were used as positive control for myogenic differentiation.
Project description:Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant disorder linked to contractions of the D4Z4 repeat array in the subtelomeric region of chromosome 4q. By comparing genome-wide gene expression data from muscle biopsies of patients with FSHD to those of 11 other neuromuscular disorders, we intend to identify disease-specific changes which are more likely to be involved in the early stages of the disease progression. The data will help to identify pathological mechanisms involved in FSHD. Experiment Overall Design: Comparison of the profiles of FSHD to 13 other conditions for disease-specific changes. The 13 conditions are NHM (Normal healthy muscle) n=15; JDM (Juvenile dermatomyositis) n=25; HSP (Human spastic paraplegia) n=4; FSHD (facioscapulohumeral dystrophy) unaffected n=5, affected n=9; FKRP (Fukutin related protein deficiency) n=7; ED-L (Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, lamin A/C deficiency) n=4; ED-E (Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, emerin deficiency) n=4; DYSF (dysferlinopathy) n=10; DMD (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) n=10; CALP (Calpain-3 deficiency) n=10; BMD (Becker Muscular Dystrophy) n=5; AQM (Acute quadriplegic myopathy) n=5; ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) n=9.