Photoreceptor Progenitor mRNA Analysis Reveals Exon Skipping Resulting from the ABCA4 c.5461-10T→C Mutation in Stargardt Disease.

PURPOSE: To elucidate the functional effect of the ABCA4 variant c.5461-10T→C, one of the most frequent variants associated with Stargardt disease (STGD1). DESIGN: Case series. PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen persons with STGD1 carrying ABCA4 variants and 1 control participant. METHODS: Haplotype analysis of 4 homozygotes and 11 heterozygotes for c.5461-10T→C and sequence analysis of the ABCA4 gene for a homozygous proband. Fibroblasts were reprogrammed from 3 persons with STGD1 into induced pluripotent stem cells, which were differentiated into photoreceptor progenitor cells (PPCs). The effect of the c.5461-10T→C variant on RNA splicing by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was analyzed using PPC mRNA. In vitro assays were performed with minigene constructs containing ABCA4 exon 39. We analyzed the natural history and ophthalmologic characteristics of 4 persons homozygous for c.5461-10T→C. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Haplotype and rare variant data for ABCA4, RNA splice defects, age at diagnosis, visual acuity, fundus appearance, visual field, electroretinography (ERG) results, fluorescein angiography results, and fundus autofluorescence findings. RESULTS: The frequent ABCA4 variant c.5461-10T→C has a subtle effect on splicing based on prediction programs. A founder haplotype containing c.5461-10T→C was found to span approximately 96 kb of ABCA4 and did not contain other rare sequence variants. Patient-derived PPCs showed skipping of exon 39 or exons 39 and 40 in the mRNA. HEK293T cell transduction with minigenes carrying exon 39 showed that the splice defects were the result of the c.5461-10T→C variant. All 4 subjects carrying the c.5461-10T→C variant in a homozygous state showed a young age of STGD1 onset, with low visual acuity at presentation and abnormal cone ERG results. All 4 demonstrated severe cone-rod dystrophy before 20 years of age and were legally blind by 25 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: The ABCA4 variant c.5461-10T→C is located on a founder haplotype lacking other disease-causing rare sequence variants. In vitro studies revealed that it leads to mRNA exon skipping and ABCA4 protein truncation. Given the severe phenotype in persons homozygous for this variant, we conclude that this variant results in the absence of ABCA4 activity.

RevSex duplication-induced and sex-related differences in the SOX9 regulatory region chromatin landscape in human fibroblasts.

It was recently shown that duplications of the RevSex element, located 0.5 Mb upstream of SOX9, cause XX-disorder of sex development (DSD), and that deletions cause XY-DSD. To explore how a 148 kb RevSex duplication could have turned on gonadal SOX9 expression in the absence of SRY in an XX-male, we examined the chromatin landscape in primary skin fibroblast cultures from the index, his RevSex duplication-carrier father and six controls. The ENCODE project supports the notion that chromatin state maps show overlap between different cell types, i.e., that our study of fibroblasts could be of biological relevance. We examined the SOX9 regulatory region by high-resolution ChIP-on-chip experiments (a kind of "chromatin-CGH") and DNA methylation investigations. The RevSex duplication was associated with chromatin changes predicting better accessibility of the SRY-responsive TESCO enhancer region 14-15 kb upstream of SOX9. Four kb downstream of the TESCO evolutionary conserved region, a peak of the enhancer/promoter-associated H3K4me3 mark was found together with a major dip of the repressive H3K9me3 chromatin mark. Similar differences were also found when three control males were compared with three control females. A marked male/female difference was a more open chromatin signature in males starting ~400 kb upstream of SOX9 and increasing toward the SOX9 promoter. In the RevSex duplication-carrier father, two positions of DNA hypomethylation were also found, one corresponding to the H3K4me3 peak mentioned above. Our results suggest that the RevSex duplication could operate by inducing long-range epigenetic changes. Furthermore, the differences in chromatin state maps between males and females suggest that the Y chromosome or X chromosome dosage may affect chromatin conformation, i.e., that sex-dependent gene regulation may take place by chromatin modification.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors reverse SS18-SSX-mediated polycomb silencing of the tumor suppressor early growth response 1 in synovial sarcoma.

Synovial sarcoma is a soft tissue malignancy characterized by the fusion of SS18 to either SSX1, SSX2, or SSX4 genes. SS18 and SSX are transcriptional cofactors involved in activation and repression of gene transcription, respectively. SS18 interacts with SWI/SNF, whereas SSX associates with the polycomb chromatin remodeling complex. Thus, fusion of these two proteins brings together two opposing effects on gene expression and chromatin structure. Recent studies have shown that a significant number of genes are down-regulated by the SS18-SSX fusion protein and that the clinically applicable histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor romidepsin inhibits synovial sarcoma growth. Therefore, we set out to identify direct targets of SS18-SSX among genes down-regulated in synovial sarcoma and investigated if romidepsin can specifically counteract SS18-SSX-mediated transcriptional dysregulation. Here, we report that the tumor suppressor early growth response 1 (EGR1) is repressed by the SS18-SSX protein through a direct association with the EGR1 promoter. This SS18-SSX binding correlates with trimethylation of Lys(27) of histone H3 (H3K27-M3) and recruitment of polycomb group proteins to this promoter. In addition, we found that romidepsin treatment reverts these modifications and reactivates EGR1 expression in synovial sarcoma cell models. Our data implicate polycomb-mediated epigenetic gene repression as a mechanism of oncogenesis in synovial sarcoma. Furthermore, our work highlights a possible mechanism behind the efficacy of a clinically applicable HDAC inhibitor in synovial sarcoma treatment.

The synovial-sarcoma-associated SS18-SSX2 fusion protein induces epigenetic gene (de)regulation.

Fusion of the SS18 and either one of the SSX genes is a hallmark of human synovial sarcoma. The SS18 and SSX genes encode nuclear proteins that exhibit opposite transcriptional activities. The SS18 protein functions as a transcriptional coactivator and is associated with the SWI/SNF complex, whereas the SSX proteins function as transcriptional corepressors and are associated with the polycomb complex. The domains involved in these opposite transcriptional activities are retained in the SS18-SSX fusion proteins. Here, we set out to determine the direct transcriptional consequences of conditional SS18-SSX2 fusion protein expression using complementary DNA microarray-based profiling. By doing so, we identified several clusters of SS18-SSX2-responsive genes, including a group of genes involved in cholesterol synthesis, which is a general characteristic of malignancy. In addition, we identified a group of SS18-SSX2-responsive genes known to be specifically deregulated in primary synovial sarcomas, including IGF2 and CD44. Furthermore, we observed an uncoupling of EGR1, JUNB, and WNT signaling in response to SS18-SSX2 expression, suggesting that the SWI/SNF-associated coactivation functions of the SS18 moiety are impaired. Finally, we found that SS18-SSX2 expression affects histone modifications in the CD44 and IGF2 promoters and DNA methylation levels in the IGF2 imprinting control region. Together, we conclude that the SS18-SSX2 fusion protein may act as a so-called transcriptional "activator-repressor," which induces downstream target gene deregulation through epigenetic mechanisms. Our results may have implications for both the development and clinical management of synovial sarcomas.