ABSTRACT
Haploinsufficiency of the human 5q35 region spanning the NSD1 gene results in a rare genomic disorder known as Sotos syndrome (Sotos), with patients displaying a variety of clinical features, including pre- and postnatal overgrowth, intellectual disability, and urinary/renal abnormalities. We used chromosome engineering to generate a segmental monosomy, i.e., mice carrying a heterozygous 1.5-Mb deletion of 36 genes on mouse chromosome 13 (4732471D19Rik-B4galt7), syntenic with 5q35.2-q35.3 in humans (Df(13)Ms2Dja ( +/- ) mice). Surprisingly Df(13)Ms2Dja ( +/- ) mice were significantly smaller for their gestational age and also showed decreased postnatal growth, in contrast to Sotos patients. Df(13)Ms2Dja ( +/- ) mice did, however, display deficits in long-term memory retention and dilation of the pelvicalyceal system, which in part may model the learning difficulties and renal abnormalities observed in Sotos patients. Thus, haploinsufficiency of genes within the mouse 4732471D19Rik-B4galt7 deletion interval play important roles in growth, memory retention, and the development of the renal pelvicalyceal system.
Subject(s)
Chromosome Deletion , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5/genetics , Disease Models, Animal , Growth and Development/genetics , Memory Disorders/genetics , Sotos Syndrome/genetics , Absorptiometry, Photon , Animals , Blotting, Southern , Body Weights and Measures , Comparative Genomic Hybridization , DNA Primers/genetics , Gene Targeting/methods , Haploinsufficiency/genetics , Histological Techniques , Humans , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence , Kidney/abnormalities , Mice , Sotos Syndrome/pathologyABSTRACT
Haploinsufficiency of part of human chromosome 21 results in a rare condition known as Monosomy 21. This disease displays a variety of clinical phenotypes, including intellectual disability, craniofacial dysmorphology, skeletal and cardiac abnormalities, and respiratory complications. To search for dosage-sensitive genes involved in this disorder, we used chromosome engineering to generate a mouse model carrying a deletion of the Lipi-Usp25 interval, syntenic with 21q11.2-q21.1 in humans. Haploinsufficiency for the 6 genes in this interval resulted in no gross morphological defects and behavioral analysis performed using an open field test, a test of anxiety, and tests for social interaction were normal in monosomic mice. Monosomic mice did, however, display impaired memory retention compared to control animals. Moreover, when fed a high-fat diet (HFD) monosomic mice exhibited a significant increase in fat mass/fat percentage estimate compared with controls, severe fatty changes in their livers, and thickened subcutaneous fat. Thus, genes within the Lipi-Usp25 interval may participate in memory retention and in the regulation of fat deposition.