Similar Datasets
Project description:Aberrant alternative splicing of mRNAs results in dysregulated gene expression in multiple neurological disorders. Here we show that hundreds of mRNAs are incorrectly expressed and spliced in white blood cells and brain tissue of individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Surprisingly, the FMR1 (Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1) gene is transcribed in >70% of the FXS tissues. In all FMR1 expressing FXS tissues, FMR1 RNA itself is mis-spliced in a CGG expansion-dependent manner to generate the little-known FMR1-217 RNA isoform, which is comprised of FMR1 exon 1 and a pseudo-exon in intron 1. FMR1-217 is also expressed in FXS premutation carrier-derived skin fibroblasts and brain tissue. We show that in cells aberrantly expressing mis-spliced FMR1, antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment reduces FMR1-217, rescues full-length FMR1 RNA, and restores FMRP (Fragile X Messenger RibonucleoProtein) to normal levels. Notably, FMR1 gene reactivation in transcriptionally silent FXS cells using 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-AzadC), which prevents DNA methylation, increases FMR1-217 RNA levels but not FMRP. ASO treatment of cells prior to 5-AzadC application rescues full-length FMR1 expression and restores FMRP. These findings indicate that mis-regulated RNA processing events in blood could serve as potent biomarkers for FXS and that in those individuals expressing FMR1-217, ASO treatment may offer a new therapeutic approach to mitigate the disorder.
2023-06-14 | GSE202178 | GEO
Project description:Aberrant alternative splicing of mRNAs results in dysregulated gene expression in multiple neurological disorders. Here we show that hundreds of mRNAs are incorrectly expressed and spliced in white blood cells and brain tissue of individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Surprisingly, the FMR1 (Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1) gene is transcribed in >70% of the FXS tissues. In all FMR1 expressing FXS tissues, FMR1 RNA itself is mis-spliced in a CGG expansion-dependent manner to generate the little-known FMR1-217 RNA isoform, which is comprised of FMR1 exon 1 and a pseudo-exon in intron 1. FMR1-217 is also expressed in FXS premutation carrier-derived skin fibroblasts and brain tissue. We show that in cells aberrantly expressing mis-spliced FMR1, antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment reduces FMR1-217, rescues full-length FMR1 RNA, and restores FMRP (Fragile X Messenger RibonucleoProtein) to normal levels. Notably, FMR1 gene reactivation in transcriptionally silent FXS cells using 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-AzadC), which prevents DNA methylation, increases FMR1-217 RNA levels but not FMRP. ASO treatment of cells prior to 5-AzadC application rescues full-length FMR1 expression and restores FMRP. These findings indicate that mis-regulated RNA processing events in blood could serve as potent biomarkers for FXS and that in those individuals expressing FMR1-217, ASO treatment may offer a new therapeutic approach to mitigate the disorder.
2023-06-14 | GSE202177 | GEO
Project description:Antisense Oligonucleotide Rescue of CGG Expansion-Dependent FMR1 Mis-Splicing in Fragile X Syndrome Restores FMRP
| PRJNA834894 | ENA
Project description:Antisense Oligonucleotide Rescue of CGG Expansion-Dependent FMR1 Mis-Splicing in Fragile X Syndrome Restores FMRP
| PRJNA834889 | ENA
Project description:Antisense Oligonucleotide Rescue of CGG Expansion-Dependent FMR1 Mis-Splicing in Fragile X Syndrome Restores FMRP
| PRJNA834893 | ENA
Project description:Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is characterized by moderate to severe intellectual disability, which is accompanied by macroorchidism and distinct facial morphology. FXS is caused by the expansion of the CGG trinucleotide repeat in the 5' untranslated region of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. The syndrome has been studied in ethnically diverse populations around the world and has been extensively characterized in several populations. Similar to other trinucleotide expansion disorders, the gene-specific instability of FMR1 is not accompanied by genomic instability. Currently we do not have a comprehensive understanding of the molecular underpinnings of gene-specific instability associated with tandem repeats. Molecular evidence from in vitro experiments and animal models supports several pathways for gene-specific trinucleotide repeat expansion. However, whether the mechanisms reported from other systems contribute to trinucleotide repeat expansion in humans is not clear. To understand how repeat instability in humans could occur, the CGG repeat expansion is explored through molecular analysis and population studies which characterized CGG repeat alleles of FMR1. Finally, the review discusses the relevance of these studies in understanding the mechanism of trinucleotide repeat expansion in FXS.
| S-EPMC3288311 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fragile X syndrome, the leading heritable form of intellectual disability, is caused by hypermethylation and transcriptional silencing of large (CGG) repeat expansions (> 200 repeats) in the 5' untranslated region of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. As a consequence of FMR1 gene silencing, there is little or no production of FMR1 protein (FMRP), an important element in normal synaptic function. Although the absence of FMRP has long been known to be responsible for the cognitive impairment in fragile X syndrome, the relationship between FMRP level and cognitive ability (IQ) is only imprecisely understood. To address this issue, a high-throughput, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay has been used to quantify FMRP levels in dermal fibroblasts, and the relationship between FMRP and IQ measures was assessed by statistical analysis in a cohort of 184 individuals with CGG-repeat lengths spanning normal (< 45 CGGs) to full mutation (> 200 CGGs) repeat ranges in fibroblasts. The principal findings of the current study are twofold: i) For those with normal CGG repeats, IQ is no longer sensitive to further increases in FMRP above an FMRP threshold of ~70% of the mean FMRP level; below this threshold, IQ decreases steeply with further decreases in FMRP; and ii) For the current cohort, a mean IQ of 85 (lower bound for the normal IQ range) is attained for FMRP levels that are only ~35% of the mean FMRP level among normal CGG-repeat controls. The current results should help guide expectations for efforts to induce FMR1 gene activity and for the levels of cognitive function expected for a given range of FMRP levels.
| S-EPMC6938341 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) full-mutation expansion causes fragile X syndrome. Trans-generational fragile X syndrome transmission can be avoided by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). We describe a robust PGD strategy that can be applied to virtually any couple at risk of transmitting fragile X syndrome. This novel strategy utilises whole-genome amplification, followed by triplet-primed polymerase chain reaction (TP-PCR) for robust detection of expanded FMR1 alleles, in parallel with linked multi-marker haplotype analysis of 13 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers located within 1 Mb of the FMR1 CGG repeat, and the AMELX/Y dimorphism for gender identification. The assay was optimised and validated on single lymphoblasts isolated from fragile X reference cell lines, and applied to a simulated PGD case and a clinical in vitro fertilisation (IVF)-PGD case. In the simulated PGD case, definitive diagnosis of the expected results was achieved for all 'embryos'. In the clinical IVF-PGD case, delivery of a healthy baby girl was achieved after transfer of an expansion-negative blastocyst. FMR1 TP-PCR reliably detects presence of expansion mutations and obviates reliance on informative normal alleles for determining expansion status in female embryos. Together with multi-marker haplotyping and gender determination, misdiagnosis and diagnostic ambiguity due to allele dropout is minimised, and couple-specific assay customisation can be avoided.
| S-EPMC5733830 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Large expansions of a CGG-repeat element (>200 repeats; full mutation) in the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene cause fragile X syndrome (FXS), the leading single-gene form of intellectual disability and of autism spectrum disorder. Smaller expansions (55-200 CGG repeats; premutation) result in the neurodegenerative disorder, fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). Whereas FXS is caused by gene silencing and insufficient FMR1 protein (FMRP), FXTAS is thought to be caused by 'toxicity' of expanded-CGG-repeat mRNA. However, as FMRP expression levels decrease with increasing CGG-repeat length, lowered protein may contribute to premutation-associated clinical involvement. To address this issue, we measured brain Fmr1 mRNA and FMRP levels as a function of CGG-repeat length in a congenic (CGG-repeat knock-in) mouse model using 57 wild-type and 97 expanded-CGG-repeat mice carrying up to ~250 CGG repeats. While Fmr1 message levels increased with repeat length, FMRP levels trended downward over the same range, subject to significant inter-subject variation. Human comparisons of protein levels in the frontal cortex of 7 normal and 17 FXTAS individuals revealed that the mild FMRP decrease in mice mirrored the more limited data for FMRP expression in the human samples. In addition, FMRP expression levels varied in a subset of mice across the cerebellum, frontal cortex, and hippocampus, as well as at different ages. These results provide a foundation for understanding both the CGG-repeat-dependence of FMRP expression and for interpreting clinical phenotypes in premutation carriers in terms of the balance between elevated mRNA and lowered FMRP expression levels.
| S-EPMC4030777 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder caused by a premutation CGG-trinucleotide repeat expansion (55-200 CGG repeats) within the 5'-untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. Although FXTAS generally affects premutation carriers over 50 years of age, cognitive and psychological symptoms can appear in carriers during childhood, suggesting that the FMR1 premutation affects brain function early in life. Recent work with cultured hippocampal neurons from a premutation (Fmr1 CGG knock-in) mouse model revealed impaired development of early postnatal neurons, consistent with the developmental clinical involvement of premutation carriers. In the current work, we show that the presence of premutation CGG-repeat expansions in the mouse Fmr1 gene alters embryonic neocortical development. Specifically, embryonic premutation mice display migration defects in the neocortex and altered expression of neuronal lineage markers. The current data demonstrate that premutation alleles of the Fmr1 gene are associated with defects in developmental programs operating during prenatal stages of brain formation and provide further evidence that the FMR1 premutation has a neurodevelopmental component.
| S-EPMC3000676 | biostudies-literature