Glaucoma-associated WDR36 variants encode functional defects in a yeast model system.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. POAG is associated with a characteristic progression of changes to ocular morphology and degeneration at the optic nerve head with the loss of visual fields. Physical mapping efforts identified genomic loci in which to search for causative POAG gene mutations. WDR36, at locus GLC1G, was initially identified as a gene with a low frequency of non-synonymous sequence variations that were exclusive to adult-onset POAG patients. It has since been shown that rare WDR36 sequence variants are also present in the normal population at similarly low frequencies. The lack of a consistent genotype:phenotype correlation prompted us to investigate the functional consequences of WDR36 sequence variations. WDR36 is involved in rRNA processing, a critical step in ribosome biogenesis, and is very similar to yeast Utp21p which is a member of the small subunit (SSU) processome complex responsible for maturation of 18S rRNA. We, therefore, developed a yeast model system to test the functional and phenotypic consequences of POAG-associated sequence variants introduced into UTP21. Alone, the POAG variants did not produce any significant defects in cell viability or rRNA processing. However, when combined with disruption of STI1 (which synthetically interacts with UTP21), 5 of the 11 tested variants had increased or decreased cell viability which corresponded to reduced or elevated levels of pre-rRNA, respectively. These results demonstrate that, in the correct genetic background, WDR36 sequence variants can lead to an altered cellular phenotype, supporting the theory that WDR36 participates in polygenic forms of glaucoma.

Analyses of a novel L130F missense mutation in FOXC1.

OBJECTIVE: To understand how the novel L130F mutation, found in 2 patients with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, disrupts function of the forkhead box C1 protein (FOXC1). METHODS: Sequencing DNA from patients with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome identified a novel missense mutation that results in an L130F substitution in the FOXC1 gene. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to introduce the L130F mutation into the FOXC1 complementary DNA. The level of L130F protein expression was determined by means of immunoblotting. We determined the mutant protein's ability to localize to the nucleus, bind DNA, and transactivate a reporter construct. RESULTS: The FOXC1 L130F mutant protein is expressed at levels similar to those of wild-type FOXC1. The L130F protein, however, migrated at an apparent reduced molecular weight compared with the wild-type protein, suggesting that the mutant and wild-type proteins may be differentially phosphorylated. The L130F protein also had a significantly impaired capacity to localize to the nucleus, bind DNA, and transactivate reporter genes. CONCLUSIONS: The disease-causing L130F mutation further demonstrates that helix 3 of the forkhead domain is important for the FOXC1 protein to properly localize to the nucleus, bind DNA, and activate gene expression. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The inability of FOXC1 to function owing to the L130F mutation provides further insight into how disruptions in the FOXC1 gene lead to human Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome.

Severe molecular defects of a novel FOXC1 W152G mutation result in aniridia.

PURPOSE: FOXC1 mutations result in Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, a disorder characterized by a broad spectrum of malformations of the anterior segment of the eye and an elevated risk for glaucoma. A novel FOXC1 W152G mutation was identified in a patient with aniridia. Molecular analysis was conducted to determine the functional consequences of the FOXC1 W152G mutation. METHODS: Site-directed mutagenesis was used to introduce the W152G mutation into the FOXC1 complementary DNA. The levels of W152G protein expression and the functional abilities of the mutant protein were determined. RESULTS: After screening for mutations in PAX6, CYP1B1, and FOXC1, a novel FOXC1 W152G mutation was identified in a newborn boy with aniridia and congenital glaucoma. Molecular analysis of the W152G mutation revealed that the mutant protein has severe molecular consequences in FOXC1, including defects in phosphorylation, protein folding, DNA-binding ability, inability to transactivate a reporter gene, and nuclear localization. Although W152G has molecular defects similar to those of the previously studied FOXC1 L130F mutation, W152G causes a more severe phenotype than L130F. Both the W152G and the L130F mutations result in the formation of protein aggregates in the cytoplasm. However, unlike the L130F aggregates, the W152G aggregates do not form microtubule-dependent inclusion bodies, known as aggresomes. CONCLUSIONS: Severe molecular consequences, including the inability of the W152G protein aggregates to form protective aggresomes, may underlie the aniridia phenotype that results from the FOXC1 W152G mutation.

Three duplicons form a novel chimeric transcription unit in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 22q11.

Pericentromeric regions of human chromosomes are preferential sites for the integration of duplicated DNA, or "duplicons", which often contain gene fragments. Although pericentromeric regions appear to be genomic junkyards, they could also be the birthplace of new genes with novel functions. We have characterized a chimeric transcription unit (cat eye syndrome critical region gene 7, CECR7) formed from three duplicons in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 22q. CECR7 exons show similarity to sequences on chromosomes 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, and elsewhere on 22. Based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of CECR7 duplicon boundaries in various primate species, and the sequence divergence between the human duplicons and their putative ancestral human loci, CECR7 was probably formed before the separation of macaque and is therefore older than most previously reported pericentromeric duplicons. Expression of CECR7 was detected by RT-PCR in humans and gorilla fibroblasts, but not orangutan, suggesting that expression did not result immediately from the formation of this novel transcription unit, or that expression was silenced in orangutan following its formation.