Project description:Craniosynostosis is a disease defined by premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures. The mechanistic pathology of isolated single-suture craniosynostosis is complex and while a number of genetic biomarkers and environmental predispositions have been identified, in many cases the causes remain controversial and inconclusive at best. After controlling for variables contributing to potential bias, FGF7, SFRP4, and VCAM1 emerged as potential genetic biomarkers for single-suture craniosynostosis due to their significantly large changes in gene expression compared to the control population. Furthermore, pathway analysis implicated focal adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction as differentially regulated gene networks when comparing all cases of single-suture synostosis and controls. Lastly, overall gene expression was found to be highly conserved between coronal and metopic cases, as evidenced by the fact that WNT2 and IGFBP2 were the only differentially regulated genes identified in a direct comparison. These results not only confirm the roles of previously reported craniosynostosis-related targets but also introduce novel genetic biomarkers and pathways that may play critical roles in its pathogenesis.
Project description:Craniosynostosis is a disease defined by premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures. The mechanistic pathology of isolated single-suture craniosynostosis is complex and while a number of genetic biomarkers and environmental predispositions have been identified, in many cases the causes remain controversial and inconclusive at best. After controlling for variables contributing to potential bias, FGF7, SFRP4, and VCAM1 emerged as potential genetic biomarkers for single-suture craniosynostosis due to their significantly large changes in gene expression compared to the control population. Furthermore, pathway analysis implicated focal adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction as differentially regulated gene networks when comparing all cases of single-suture synostosis and controls. Lastly, overall gene expression was found to be highly conserved between coronal and metopic cases, as evidenced by the fact that WNT2 and IGFBP2 were the only differentially regulated genes identified in a direct comparison. These results not only confirm the roles of previously reported craniosynostosis-related targets but also introduce novel genetic biomarkers and pathways that may play critical roles in its pathogenesis. In this study, gene expression data from 199 patients with isolated sagittal (n= 100), unilateral coronal (n = 50), and metopic (n = 49) synostosis are compared against both a control population (n = 50), as well as each other.
Project description:Assaying gene expression in sutural bone fragments from patients diagnosed with non-syndromic craniosynostosis. Sutural fragments were collected from both the fused and patent cranial suture of infants during cranial vault reconstruction. Gene expression was compared between the patent and fused sutures using the paired t-test. The aim was to identify thoses genes significantly differentially expressed in fused suture relative to patent.
Project description:Assaying gene expression in sutural bone fragments from patients diagnosed with non-syndromic craniosynostosis. Sutural fragments were collected from both the fused and patent cranial suture of infants during cranial vault reconstruction. Gene expression was compared between the patent and fused sutures using the paired t-test. The aim was to identify thoses genes significantly differentially expressed in fused suture relative to patent. Total RNA isolated from patent and fused human cranial sutures was assayed. Expression in synostosed suture was compared to patent suture.
Project description:Craniosynostosis (CS) is a common birth defect due to the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures. It manifests with abnormal skull shape and is associated with significant morbidities such as increased intracranial pressure, vision problems, and learning disabilities. Nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (NCS) occurs without any other associated birth defects and/or developmental delays and accounts for approximately 75% of all cases. Synostosis of the sagittal suture is the most common NCS subtype, accounting for 45-58% of all cases. Currently, surgical treatment is the only option to reshape the skull and allow for proper cranial growth. This surgical treatment is extensive and performed during the first year of life. Only one other study has examined the proteomic profile of cranial suture tissue derived from NCS patients. In order to understand how different proteins play a role in premature suture fusion and to potentially identify proteins that can serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for NCS, we identified biologically relevant differentially expressed proteins in NCS-derived tissues representing different stages in suture development.
Project description:Severity of craniosynostosis in humans varies widely even in patients with identical genetic mutations, and severity corresponds with morbidity. In this study we compared RNA sequencing data from cranial tissues of a severe form of Crouzon craniosynostosis syndrome (C57BL/6 FGFR2C342Y/+ mice) with those of a less severe form of Crouzon craniosynostosis (BALB/c FGFR2C342Y/+ mice) to identify genetic modifiers that influence craniosynostosis phenotype severity. Comparison of the mice revealed neonatal onset of coronal suture fusion in the form of suture obliteration in C57BL/6 mice (88% incidence, p<.001 between genotypes) in C57BL/6 mice. Coronal suture fusion in the form of point fusions across the suture occurred at approximately 4 weeks after birth, with less severe skull shape abnormalities, in BALB/c mice. Substantially fewer genes were differentially expressed in BALB/c FGFR2+/+ vs. FGFR2C342Y/+ mice (87 out of 15,893 expressed genes) than in C57BL/6 FGFR2C+/+ vs. FGFR2C342Y/+ mice (2,043 out of 19,097 expressed genes). Further investigation of the gene expression data revealed differential expression of coronal suture associated genes, eph/ephrin boundary genes, cell proliferation genes and osteoblast differentiation genes, among others. The most striking pattern in the data was the minimal change in gene expression seen in BALB/c FGFR2+/+ vs. FGFR2C342Y/+ mice. Analysis of protein processing and lysosomal components support the hypothesis that the craniosynostosis phenotype is less severe in BALB/c mice because the mutant FGFR2C342Y protein is not expressed to the same extent as that seen in C57BL/6 mice. Together, these results suggest that a strategy aimed at increasing degradation of the mutant receptor could lead to diminished phenotype severity.
Project description:Comparison of four craniosynostosis disease groups of 10 samples each: Apert syndrome (AS), Muenke syndrome (MS), Saetre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS), and non-syndromic craniosynostosis (NSS).