Project description:Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a rare genetic multisystemic disorder characterized by mild-to-moderate intellectual disability and hypersocial phenotype, while the most life-threatening features are cardiovascular abnormalities. Nowadays, there are no pharmacological treatments to directly ameliorate the main traits of WBS. The endocannabinoid system (ECS), given its relevance for both cognitive and cardiovascular function, could be a potential druggable target in this syndrome. We analyzed the components of the ECS in the complete deletion (CD) mouse model of WBS and assessed the impact of its pharmacological modulation in key phenotypes relevant for WBS. CD mice showed the characteristic hypersociable phenotype with no preference for social novelty and poor short-term object-recognition performance. Brain cannabinoid type-1 receptor (CB1R) in CD male mice showed alterations in density and coupling with no detectable change in main endocannabinoids. Endocannabinoid signaling modulation with subchronic (10 days) JZL184, a selective inhibitor of monoacylglycerol lipase, specifically normalized the social and cognitive phenotype of CD mice. Notably, JZL184 treatment improved cardiovascular function and restored gene expression patterns in cardiac tissue. These results reveal the modulation of the ECS as a promising novel therapeutic approach to improve key phenotypic alterations in WBS.
Project description:We have performed comparative transcriptome profile from lymphoblastoid cell lines from four Williams-Beuren syndrome patients and two patients with partial deletions of the region. The goal was to find deregulated genes specifically in WBS versus atypical deletions, and to determine the biological pathways affected in WBS patients.
Project description:Williams-Beuren Syndrome (WBS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by aa 1.5 Mb microdeletion on human chromosome 7. Although the molecular cause of the disorder is well-established, little is known about the global impact of the deletion on gene expression. Here we profiled the transcriptomes of fibroblast cell lines from 8 young girls with WBS, and 9 sex- and age-matched control individuals Keywords: disease state analysis, gene expression profiling
Project description:We have performed comparative transcriptome profile from lymphoblastoid cell lines from four Williams-Beuren syndrome patients and two patients with partial deletions of the region. The goal was to find deregulated genes specifically in WBS versus atypical deletions, and to determine the biological pathways affected in WBS patients. 6 samples were hybridized twice each: once labeled with Cy5 and once labeled with Cy3 (dye-swap). Each sample was hybridized against a pool of five controls of the same gender.
Project description:While psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are typically associated with a deficit in social behavior, the opposite trait of hypersociability is exhibited by individuals with specific neurodevelopmental disorders, e.g., Angelman Syndrome (AS) and Williams-Beuren Syndrome (WBS). We have recently reported that the deletion of the miR379-410 cluster in mice led to hypersocial behavior. To study the roles of this miRNA cluster in the context of WBS, we sent for smallRNA sequencing RNA isolated from isogenic human iPSC-derived neurons harboring a deletion present in Williams-Beuren-Syndrome patients (7q11.23). Specifically, we found that members of the miR379-410 cluster were strikingly overrepresented among downregulated miRNAs in iNeurons harboring a deletion of the WBS critical region. Thus, we obtained the first evidence for the pathophysiological significance of the miR379-410 miRNA cluster in the context of WBS. We conclude that targeting this novel pathway could have therapeutic potential for WBS and other neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by social impairments.
Project description:Williams-Beuren Syndrome (WBS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by aa 1.5 Mb microdeletion on human chromosome 7. Although the molecular cause of the disorder is well-established, little is known about the global impact of the deletion on gene expression. Here we profiled the transcriptomes of fibroblast cell lines from 8 young girls with WBS, and 9 sex- and age-matched control individuals Keywords: disease state analysis, gene expression profiling Skin fibroblast of 8 WBS and 9 control individuals were obtained from the cell culture collections of the “Centre de Biotechnologie Cellulaire, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Debrousse”, Lyon, France. Appropriate informed consent was obtained for each sample by the physicians in charge. Human skin fibroblasts were grown in HAM F-10, supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotics (Invitrogen). Total RNA was prepared using TriZOL Reagent (Invitrogen) and RNeasy Mini Columns (Qiagen) according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
Project description:Copy number variants (CNV) influence the expression of genes that map not only within, but also on their flanks. To assess the possible mechanism(s) underlying this “neighboring effect”, we compared intrachromosomal interactions and histone modifications in cell lines of patients affected by genomic disorders and control individuals. We detected alteration of intrachromosomal interactions (chromosomal looping) between the loci of affected genes and the rearranged interval using chromosome conformation capture (4C-seq). These results are consistent with the observed gene expression alterations. We also pinpointed concomitant changes in histone modifications between samples. Modified genes were often looping together, possibly forming an interacting cluster. We conclude that large genomic rearrangements can lead to chromatin conformation changes that extend far away from the structural variant, thus possibly modulating expression globally and modifying the phenotype. For example, we observe that the chromatin conformation, histone marks and relative expression levels of the AUTS2 gene, mutations of which are associated with autism and intellectual disabilities, are modified in Williams-Beuren syndrome patients cell lines. Examination of 2 different histone modifications in genomic disorders patients' cell lines.
Project description:Copy number variants (CNV) influence the expression of genes that map not only within, but also on their flanks. To assess the possible mechanism(s) underlying this “neighboring effect”, we compared intrachromosomal interactions and histone modifications in cell lines of patients affected by genomic disorders and control individuals. We detected alteration of intrachromosomal interactions (chromosomal looping) between the loci of affected genes and the rearranged interval using chromosome conformation capture (4C-seq). These results are consistent with the observed gene expression alterations. We also pinpointed concomitant changes in histone modifications between samples. Modified genes were often looping together, possibly forming an interacting cluster. We conclude that large genomic rearrangements can lead to chromatin conformation changes that extend far away from the structural variant, thus possibly modulating expression globally and modifying the phenotype. For example, we observe that the chromatin conformation, histone marks and relative expression levels of the AUTS2 gene, mutations of which are associated with autism and intellectual disabilities, are modified in Williams-Beuren syndrome patients cell lines.
Project description:Analyses were performed on stool samples collected from 41 patients affected by Williams Beuren syndrome (Wills, WBSs) to evaluate their gut microbiota metaproteome signatures by LFQ and LCA approaches in comparison to 45 healthy subjects (controls, CTRs, CTRLs)