ATMIN is a transcriptional regulator of both lung morphogenesis and ciliogenesis.

Initially identified in DNA damage repair, ATM-interactor (ATMIN) further functions as a transcriptional regulator of lung morphogenesis. Here we analyse three mouse mutants, Atmin(gpg6/gpg6), Atmin(H210Q/H210Q) and Dynll1(GT/GT), revealing how ATMIN and its transcriptional target dynein light chain LC8-type 1 (DYNLL1) are required for normal lung morphogenesis and ciliogenesis. Expression screening of ciliogenic genes confirmed Dynll1 to be controlled by ATMIN and further revealed moderately altered expression of known intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein-encoding loci in Atmin mutant embryos. Significantly, Dynll1(GT/GT) embryonic cilia exhibited shortening and bulging, highly similar to the characterised retrograde IFT phenotype of Dync2h1. Depletion of ATMIN or DYNLL1 in cultured cells recapitulated the in vivo ciliogenesis phenotypes and expression of DYNLL1 or the related DYNLL2 rescued the effects of loss of ATMIN, demonstrating that ATMIN primarily promotes ciliogenesis by regulating Dynll1 expression. Furthermore, DYNLL1 as well as DYNLL2 localised to cilia in puncta, consistent with IFT particles, and physically interacted with WDR34, a mammalian homologue of the Chlamydomonas cytoplasmic dynein 2 intermediate chain that also localised to the cilium. This study extends the established Atmin-Dynll1 relationship into a developmental and a ciliary context, uncovering a novel series of interactions between DYNLL1, WDR34 and ATMIN. This identifies potential novel components of cytoplasmic dynein 2 and furthermore provides fresh insights into the molecular pathogenesis of human skeletal ciliopathies.

Mouse mutagenesis identifies novel roles for left-right patterning genes in pulmonary, craniofacial, ocular, and limb development.

Vertebrate organs show consistent left-right (L-R) asymmetry in placement and patterning. To identify genes involved in this process we performed an ENU-based genetic screen. Of 135 lines analyzed 11 showed clear single gene defects affecting L-R patterning, including 3 new alleles of known L-R genes and mutants in novel L-R loci. We identified six lines (termed "gasping") that, in addition to abnormal L-R patterning and associated cardiovascular defects, had complex phenotypes including pulmonary agenesis, exencephaly, polydactyly, ocular and craniofacial malformations. These complex abnormalities are present in certain human disease syndromes (e.g., HYLS, SRPS, VACTERL). Gasping embryos also show defects in ciliogenesis, suggesting a role for cilia in these human congenital malformation syndromes. Our results indicate that genes controlling ciliogenesis and left-right asymmetry have, in addition to their known roles in cardiac patterning, major and unexpected roles in pulmonary, craniofacial, ocular and limb development with implications for human congenital malformation syndromes.