Project description:The etiology and pathogenesis of non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCL/P) are largely unknown. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are thought to play important roles in NSCL/P, but reports on the underlying processes are currently unavailable. Our study focused on children diagnosed with NSCL/P alone. Based on the morphology, patients were categorized as either cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) or cleft palate-only (CPO). When patients received surgery for NSCL/P, tissue excised from the trimmed wound edge was reserved to serve as experimental samples; adjacent normal tissue was used as a positive control. Target lncRNAs in the collected tissues were identified using microarray and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and RT-qPCR were used to verify the target mRNAs. Pathway, gene ontology (GO) enrichment, and TargetScan prediction were employed to construct endogenous RNA networks (ceRNA networks) and explore their potential functions. RNA-Seq analysis revealed 24 upregulated and 43 downregulated lncRNAs in the CL/P and CPO groups compared with those in the control group; of these, MALAT1and NEAT1 were screened and validated using RT-qPCR. Common NSCL/P risk factors positively correlated with MALAT1 and NEAT1 expression (ORMALAT1 = 28.111, 95% CI: 4.054-194.923; ORNEAT1 = 30.556, 95% CI: 4.422-211.142; P < 0.05). Bioinformatics predicted four ceRNA networks: MALAT1-hsa-miR-1224-3p-SP1, MALAT1-hsa-miR-6734-5p/hsa-miR-1224-3p-WNT10A, NEAT1-hsa-miR-140-3p.1-CXCR4, and NEAT1-hsa-miR-3129-5p/hsa-miR-199a-3p/hsa-miR-199b-3p-ZEB1. GO enrichment focused on the potential functions of ceRNA networks, including biosynthesis of organic cyclic compounds, formation of membrane-enclosed and organelle lumens, and Wnt-protein binding. The results of RT-qPCR were consistent with those of IHC staining with regard to expression of related mRNAs. MALAT1 and NEAT1, which are upregulated in NSCL/P, are associated with the severity of NSCL/P. This study provides a new insight into NSCL/P pathogenesis and suggests that MALAT1 and NEAT1 act as potential therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for NSCL/P.
Project description:Genome-wide DNA methylation profilinf from 67 non syndromic cleft lip and palate samples and controls using whole-blood DNA and Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450K Bead array, in which over 485000 CpGs sites were analysed per sample
Project description:Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate (NSCL/P) is a frequent malformation of the facial region. Genetic variants (SNPs) within nineteen loci have been previously associated with NSCL/P in GWAS studies of European individuals. These common variant SNPs may have subtler effects on the morphology of the lip and face in unaffected individuals. Several studies have investigated the genetic influences on facial morphology using land-marking methods, but these landmarks are sparse in the lip region. The aim of this study is to assess for associations between the nineteen NSCL/P SNPs and normal lip phenotypes, using a detailed categorical scale. Three-dimensional laser scanned facial images were obtained of 4,747 subjects recruited from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and genetic data was available for 3,643 of them. A polygenetic risk score (PRS) combining the nineteen NSCL/P SNPs was associated with V-shaped Cupid's bow (P = 3 × 10-4) and narrow philtrum (P = 2 × 10-4) phenotypes. Analysis of individual SNPs found strong evidence for association between rs227731 and skeletal II pattern (P = 5 × 10-6). This study finds that known NSCL/P SNPs affect lip phenotypes in the general population, and an increased PRS is associated with narrow philtrum and V-shaped Cupid's bow. However, the difference in NSCL/P PRS between people with and without certain lip features is unlikely to be great enough to serve as a useful marker of NSCL/P risk.
Project description:Non-syndromic cleft lip/palate (NSCL/P) is a complex, frequent congenital malformation, determined by the interplay between genetic and environmental factors during embryonic development. Previous findings have appointed an aetiological overlap between NSCL/P and cancer, and alterations in similar biological pathways may underpin both conditions. Here, using a combination of transcriptomic profiling and functional approaches, we report that NSCL/P dental pulp stem cells exhibit dysregulation of a co-expressed gene network mainly associated with DNA double-strand break repair and cell cycle control (p = 2.88x10-2 – 5.02x10-9). This network included important genes for these cellular processes, such as BRCA1, RAD51, and MSH2, which are predicted to be regulated by transcription factor E2F1. Functional assays support these findings, revealing that NSCL/P cells accumulate DNA double-strand breaks upon exposure to H2O2. Furthermore, we show that E2f1, Brca1 and Rad51 involved in DNA repair are co-expressed in the developing embryonic orofacial primordia, and may act as a molecular hub playing a role in lip and palate morphogenesis. In conclusion, we show that cellular defences against DNA damage may take part in the pathogenesis of NSCL/P, in accordance with the hypothesis of aetiological overlap between this malformation and cancer. These results provide more information regarding the aetiology of NSCL/P and have the potential tocan potentially assist incontribute to the development of future preventive strategies.
Project description:Non-syndromic cleft lip/palate (NSCL/P) is a complex, frequent congenital malformation, determined by the interplay between genetic and environmental factors during embryonic development. Previous findings have appointed an aetiological overlap between NSCL/P and cancer, and alterations in similar biological pathways may underpin both conditions. Here, using a combination of transcriptomic profiling and functional approaches, we report that NSCL/P dental pulp stem cells exhibit dysregulation of a co-expressed gene network mainly associated with DNA double-strand break repair and cell cycle control (p = 2.88x10-2 M-bM-^@M-^S 5.02x10-9). This network included important genes for these cellular processes, such as BRCA1, RAD51, and MSH2, which are predicted to be regulated by transcription factor E2F1. Functional assays support these findings, revealing that NSCL/P cells accumulate DNA double-strand breaks upon exposure to H2O2. Furthermore, we show that E2f1, Brca1 and Rad51 involved in DNA repair are co-expressed in the developing embryonic orofacial primordia, and may act as a molecular hub playing a role in lip and palate morphogenesis. In conclusion, we show that cellular defences against DNA damage may take part in the pathogenesis of NSCL/P, in accordance with the hypothesis of aetiological overlap between this malformation and cancer. These results provide more information regarding the aetiology of NSCL/P and have the potential tocan potentially assist incontribute to the development of future preventive strategies. In order to analyze differences in gene expression between NSCL/P samples and controls we used 7 NSCL/P RNA samples extracted from dental pulp stem cells cultures and 6 control RNA samples also from dental pulp stem cells cultures, all in the same culture conditions. RNA samples were used in gene expression microarrays (Affymetrix HuGene 1.0 st chips).
Project description:Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is a common birth defect with a complex, heterogeneous etiology. It is well-established that both common and rare sequence variants contribute to the formation of CL/P, however, the contribution of copy number variants (CNVs) to cleft formation remains relatively understudied. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a large-scale comparative analysis of genome-wide CNV profiles of 869 individuals from the Philippines and 233 individuals of European ancestry with CL/P with three primary goals: first, to evaluate whether differences in CNV number, amount of genomic content, or amount of coding genomic content existed within clefting subtypes; second, to assess whether CNVs in our cohort overlapped with known Mendelian clefting loci; and third, to identify unestablished Mendelian clefting genes. Significant differences in CNVs across cleft types or in individuals with non-syndromic versus syndromic clefts were not observed, however, several CNVs in our cohort overlapped with known syndromic and non-syndromic Mendelian clefting loci. Moreover, employing a filtering strategy relying on population genetics data that rare variants are on the whole more deleterious than common variants, we identify several CNV-associated gene losses likely driving non-syndromic clefting phenotypes. By prioritizing genes deleted at a rare frequency across multiple individuals with clefts yet enriched in our case cohort compared to controls, we identify COBLL1, RIC1, and ARHGEF38 as clefting genes. CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis of these genes in Xenopus laevis and Danio rerio yielded craniofacial dysmorphologies, including clefts analogous to those seen in human clefting disorders.
Project description:Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is a common birth defect with a complex, heterogeneous etiology. It is well-established that both common and rare sequence variants contribute to the formation of CL/P, however, the contribution of copy number variants (CNVs) to cleft formation remains relatively understudied. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a large-scale comparative analysis of genome-wide CNV profiles of 869 individuals from the Philippines and 233 individuals of European ancestry with CL/P with three primary goals: first, to evaluate whether differences in CNV number, amount of genomic content, or amount of coding genomic content existed within clefting subtypes; second, to assess whether CNVs in our cohort overlapped with known Mendelian clefting loci; and third, to identify unestablished Mendelian clefting genes. Significant differences in CNVs across cleft types or in individuals with non-syndromic versus syndromic clefts were not observed, however, several CNVs in our cohort overlapped with known syndromic and non-syndromic Mendelian clefting loci. Moreover, employing a filtering strategy relying on population genetics data that rare variants are on the whole more deleterious than common variants, we identify several CNV-associated gene losses likely driving non-syndromic clefting phenotypes. By prioritizing genes deleted at a rare frequency across multiple individuals with clefts yet enriched in our case cohort compared to controls, we identify COBLL1, RIC1, and ARHGEF38 as clefting genes. CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis of these genes in Xenopus laevis and Danio rerio yielded craniofacial dysmorphologies, including clefts analogous to those seen in human clefting disorders.
Project description:Cleft lip and palate are common congenital anomalies with significant medical, psychological, social, and economic ramifications, affecting one in seven hundred live births. Genetic causes of non syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCLP) include chromosomal rearrangements, genetic susceptibility to teratogenic exposures, and complex genetic contributions of multiple genes. Development of the orofacial clefts in an individual will depend on the interaction of several moderately effecting genes with environmental factors. Several candidate genes have been genotyped in different population types, using case parent trio or case control design; also genes have been sequenced and SNPs have been reported. Quantitative and molecular analysis have shown linkage and association studies to be more relevant. Recent literature search shows genome wide association studies using microarray. The aim of this paper was to review the approaches to identify genes associated with NSCLP and to analyze their differential expressions. Although no major gene has been confirmed, a lot of research is ongoing to provide an understanding of the pathophysiology of the orofacial clefts.
Project description:UnlabelledCleft lip and/or palate represent the most common congenital anomaly of the face.AimTo describe the correlation between non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate and gender, and its severity in the Brazilian population.MethodsCross-sectional study, between 2009 and 2011, in a sample of 366 patients. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression with a 95% interval to estimate the likelihood of the types of cleft lip and/or palate affecting the genders.ResultsAmong the 366 cases of non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate, the more frequent clefts were cleft lip and palate, followed respectively by cleft lip and cleft palate. The cleft palates were more frequent in females, while the cleft lip and palate and cleft lips only predominated in males. The risk of cleft li in relation the cleft palate was 2.19 times in males when compared to females; while the risk of cleft lip and palate in relation to cleft palate alone was 2.78 times in males compared to females.ConclusionThis study showed that there were differences in the distribution of the non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate between males and females.
Project description:Although several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) have been reported, more novel association signals are remained to be exploited. Here, we performed an in-depth analysis of our previously published Chinese GWAS cohort study with replication in an extra dbGaP case-parent trios and another in-house Nanjing cohort, and finally identified five novel significant association signals (rs11119445: 3' of SERTAD4, P = 6.44 × 10-14 ; rs227227 and rs12561877: intron of SYT14, P = 5.02 × 10-13 and 2.80 × 10-11 , respectively; rs643118: intron of TRAF3IP3, P = 4.45 × 10-6 ; rs2095293: intron of NR6A1, P = 2.98 × 10-5 ). The mean (standard deviation) of the weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) from these SNPs was 1.83 (0.65) for NSCL/P cases and 1.58 (0.68) for controls, respectively (P = 2.67 × 10-16 ). Rs643118 was identified as a shared susceptible factor of NSCL/P among Asians and Europeans, while rs227227 may contribute to the risk of NSCL/P as well as NSCPO. In addition, sertad4 knockdown zebrafish models resulted in down-regulation of sox2 and caused oedema around the heart and mandibular deficiency, compared with control embryos. Taken together, this study has improved our understanding of the genetic susceptibility to NSCL/P and provided further clues to its aetiology in the Chinese population.