ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Combined immunodeficiency with multiple intestinal atresias (CID-MIA) is a rare hereditary disease characterized by intestinal obstructions and profound immune defects. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the underlying genetic causes of CID-MIA by analyzing the exomic sequences of 5 patients and their healthy direct relatives from 5 unrelated families. METHODS: We performed whole-exome sequencing on 5 patients with CID-MIA and 10 healthy direct family members belonging to 5 unrelated families with CID-MIA. We also performed targeted Sanger sequencing for the candidate gene tetratricopeptide repeat domain 7A (TTC7A) on 3 additional patients with CID-MIA. RESULTS: Through analysis and comparison of the exomic sequence of the subjects from these 5 families, we identified biallelic damaging mutations in the TTC7A gene, for a total of 7 distinct mutations. Targeted TTC7A gene sequencing in 3 additional unrelated patients with CID-MIA revealed biallelic deleterious mutations in 2 of them, as well as an aberrant splice product in the third patient. Staining of normal thymus showed that the TTC7A protein is expressed in thymic epithelial cells, as well as in thymocytes. Moreover, severe lymphoid depletion was observed in the thymus and peripheral lymphoid tissues from 2 patients with CID-MIA. CONCLUSIONS: We identified deleterious mutations of the TTC7A gene in 8 unrelated patients with CID-MIA and demonstrated that the TTC7A protein is expressed in the thymus. Our results strongly suggest that TTC7A gene defects cause CID-MIA.
Subject(s)
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes/genetics , Intestinal Atresia/genetics , Intestines/abnormalities , Proteins/genetics , Animals , Child, Preschool , Exome/genetics , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Mice , Mutation , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Thymus Gland/metabolism , Tissue Array AnalysisABSTRACT
The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that, when dysregulated, becomes a powerful oncogene found in many human cancers, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has two major subtypes: germinal center B-cell-like and activated B-cell-like. Compared with the germinal center B-cell-like form, activated B-cell-like lymphomas respond much more poorly to current therapies and often exhibit overexpression or overactivation of STAT3. To investigate how STAT3 might contribute to this aggressive phenotype, we have integrated genome-wide studies of STAT3 DNA binding using chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing with whole-transcriptome profiling using RNA-sequencing. STAT3 binding sites are present near almost a third of all genes that differ in expression between the two subtypes, and examination of the affected genes identified previously undetected and clinically significant pathways downstream of STAT3 that drive oncogenesis. Novel treatments aimed at these pathways may increase the survivability of activated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology , STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism , Binding Sites , Cell Line, Tumor , Chromatin Immunoprecipitation , Humans , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/metabolism , STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics , Signal Transduction/geneticsABSTRACT
A recent comparative analysis of the sequenced genomes of 12 Drosophila species (Drosophila 12 Genomes Consortium, 2007; Stark et al., 2007) reveals a comprehensive picture of the evolution of small animal genomes and greatly improves computational predictions of functional elements in the D. melanogaster reference sequence.