Publications (3)13.73 Total impact
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Article: Whole exome sequencing and functional studies identify an intronic mutation in TRAPPC2 that causes spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDT).
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ABSTRACT: Skeletal dysplasias are challenging to diagnose because of their phenotypic variability, genetic heterogeneity, and diverse inheritance patterns. We conducted WES of a Turkish male with a suspected X-linked skeletal dysplasia of unknown etiology as well as his unaffected mother and maternal uncle. Bioinformatic filtering of variants implicated in skeletal system development revealed a novel hemizygous mutation, c.341-(11_9)delAAT, in an intron of TRAPPC2, the causative locus of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDT). We show that this deletion leads to the loss of wild-type TRAPPC2 and the generation of two functionally impaired mRNAs in patient cells. These consequences are predicted to disrupt function of SEDLIN/TRAPPC2. The clinical and research data were returned, with appropriate caveats, to the patient and informed his disease status and reproductive choices. Our findings expand the allelic repertoire of SEDT and demonstrate how prior filtering of the morbid human genome informed by inheritance pattern and phenotype, when combined with appropriate functional tests in patient-derived cells, can expedite discovery, overcome issues of missing data and help interpret variants of unknown significance. Finally, this example demonstrates how the return of a clinically confirmed mutational finding, supported by research allele pathogenicity data, can assist individuals with inherited disorders with life choices.Clinical Genetics 05/2013; · 3.13 Impact Factor -
Article: Next-generation sequencing of the human olfactory receptors.
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ABSTRACT: Humans have approximately 400 intact olfactory receptors (ORs). Among this set there are a large number of variations between individuals, a subset of which affects receptor function and can lead to interindividual variation in olfactory perception. Technological progress and cost erosion in next-generation sequencing have given us the opportunity to determine the sequence of the entire OR gene set with high fidelity and to measure the extent of variation in this functional module across many individuals. Given that whole genome sequencing remains prohibitively expensive for this purpose, especially since the OR sub-genome represents only ∼0.0125 % of the human genome, we have designed a targeted capture method to enrich the OR for next-generation sequencing, which we describe here. Using this method we have been able to sequence an individual's OR sub-genome with high coverage, enabling us to identify variation with high sensitivity and specificity. This method can be used to accurate assess the amount of variability in this module and to identify the functional role of individual ORs in olfactory perception.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) 01/2013; 1003:133-47. -
Article: TMEM237 is mutated in individuals with a Joubert syndrome related disorder and expands the role of the TMEM family at the ciliary transition zone.
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ABSTRACT: Joubert syndrome related disorders (JSRDs) have broad but variable phenotypic overlap with other ciliopathies. The molecular etiology of this overlap is unclear but probably arises from disrupting common functional module components within primary cilia. To identify additional module elements associated with JSRDs, we performed homozygosity mapping followed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and uncovered mutations in TMEM237 (previously known as ALS2CR4). We show that loss of the mammalian TMEM237, which localizes to the ciliary transition zone (TZ), results in defective ciliogenesis and deregulation of Wnt signaling. Furthermore, disruption of Danio rerio (zebrafish) tmem237 expression produces gastrulation defects consistent with ciliary dysfunction, and Caenorhabditis elegans jbts-14 genetically interacts with nphp-4, encoding another TZ protein, to control basal body-TZ anchoring to the membrane and ciliogenesis. Both mammalian and C. elegans TMEM237/JBTS-14 require RPGRIP1L/MKS5 for proper TZ localization, and we demonstrate additional functional interactions between C. elegans JBTS-14 and MKS-2/TMEM216, MKSR-1/B9D1, and MKSR-2/B9D2. Collectively, our findings integrate TMEM237/JBTS-14 in a complex interaction network of TZ-associated proteins and reveal a growing contribution of a TZ functional module to the spectrum of ciliopathy phenotypes.The American Journal of Human Genetics 12/2011; 89(6):713-30. · 10.60 Impact Factor
