Project description:Scoliosis is a three-dimensional structural deformity of the spine, while the underlying pathogenesis is not fully uncovered. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), known as brittle bone disease, is a group of rare genetic disorder associated with osteopenia, deformity and scoliosis. Here we found the mutation in FKBP10 resulted in early onset of scoliosis via deleterious effects on collagen processing and osteoblast differentiation.
Project description:Comparison of paraspinal muscle imbalance between idiopathic scoliosis and congenital scoliosis may shed some light on the causality of paraspinal muscle imbalance and idiopathic scoliosis. This study aims to compare the transcriptomic profiles of paraspinal muscle imbalance between idiopathic scoliosis and congenital scoliosis.
Project description:The clinical and pathological features of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) differ from those of late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC). Our research aims to thoroughly elucidate the distinctions between them by analyzing clinical prognosis, metastatic patterns, gene expression, and genomic mutation profiles. Our deliberation will uncover latent strategies for personalized therapeutic of both EOCRC and LOCRC.
Project description:Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is a three-dimensional rotation of the spine >10 degrees with an unknown etiology. Our laboratory established a late-onset IS model in zebrafish (Danio rerio) containing a deletion in kif7. 25% of kif7co63/co63 zebrafish develop spinal curvatures and are otherwise developmentally normal, although the molecular mechanisms underlying the scoliosis are unknown. To define transcripts associated with scoliosis in this model, we performed bulk mRNA sequencing on 6 weeks past fertilization (wpf) kif7co63/co63 zebrafish with and without scoliosis. Additionally, we sequenced kif7co63/co63, kif7co63/+, and AB zebrafish (n= 3 per genotype). Sequencing reads were aligned to the GRCz11 genome and FPKM values were calculated. Differences between groups were calculated for each transcript by t-test. Principal component analysis showed that transcriptomes clustered by sample age and genotype. kif7 mRNA was mildly reduced in both homozygous and heterozygous zebrafish compared to AB. Sonic hedgehog target genes were upregulated in kif7co63/co63 zebrafish over AB, but no difference was detected between scoliotic and non-scoliotic mutants. The top upregulated genes in scoliotic zebrafish were cytoskeletal keratins.. Pankeratin staining of 6 wpf scoliotic and non-scoliotic kif7co63/co63 zebrafish showed increased keratin levels within the zebrafish musculature and intervertebral disc (IVD). Keratins are major components of the embryonic notochord, and aberrant keratin expression has been associated with intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) in both zebrafish and humans. The role of increased keratin accumulation as a molecular mechanism associated with the onset of scoliosis warrants further study.
Project description:Obesity is considered a multifactorial disorder with high heritability (50-75%), probably higher in early-onset and severe cases. Although rare monogenic forms and several genes and regions of susceptibility, including CNVs, have been defined, the genetic causes underlying the disease still remain largely unknown. We aimed to identify novel genetic and genomic abnormalities in a cohort of Spanish children with severe non-syndromic early-onset obesity (EOO). We obtained molecular karyotypes of 157 children with EOO. Large and rare CNVs were validated and segregated in the family. A higher burden of duplication-type CNVs was detected in EOO patients versus controls (OR=1.85, p-value=0.008).
Project description:The pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases is poorly understood, and therapeutic options are few. Neurodegenerative diseases are hallmarked by progressive neuronal dysfunction and loss, associated with chronic glial and immune activation1. Microglia are the resident macrophages of the nervous system thought to be important for the clearance of debris after neuronal damage and aid to repair and regeneration. Their activation is viewed in general as a reactive process in neurodegeneration1-3. Whether microglia itself may be causative of neurodegenerative diseases is unclear. Late-onset neurodegenerative disease is frequently observed in patients with histiocytoses4-10, which are clonal myeloid diseases associated with somatic mutations in the RAS/MEK/ERK pathway such as BRAFV600E 5,11,12, suggesting a possible role of somatic mutations in neurodegeneration. Yet, expression of BRAFV600E in the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) lineage does not cause neurodegeneration13,14. However, recent works from our laboratories and other have revealed that microglia belong to a lineage of adult tissue-resident myeloid cells that develop during organogenesis from yolk sac erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMP) distinct from HSC15-18. We thus hypothesized that somatic BRAFV600E mutations in the resident macrophage lineage may cause neurodegeneration. We found that while BRAFV600E expression in the HSC lineage causes leukemic and tumoral diseases13,14, its expression in the EMP lineage instead results in a severe late-onset neurodegenerative disorder. Neurological symptoms, neuronal death, astrogliosis, immune activation, and amyloid precursor protein deposition were driven by ERK-activated microglia clones and preventable by RAF inhibition. These results identify the fetal precursors of tissue-resident macrophages as a potential cell-of-origin for histiocytoses, and demonstrate that a somatic mutation in the EMP lineage can drive late-onset neurodegeneration. Moreover, these data identify activation of the MAP kinase pathway in microglia as a cause of neurodegenerative disease, and provide opportunities for therapeutic intervention aimed at preventing neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases