Hemizygous deletion of COL3A1, COL5A2, and MSTN causes a complex phenotype with aortic dissection: a lesson for and from true haploinsufficiency.

Aortic dilatation/dissection (AD) can occur spontaneously or in association with genetic syndromes, such as Marfan syndrome (MFS; caused by FBN1 mutations), MFS type 2 and Loeys-Dietz syndrome (associated with TGFBR1/TGFBR2 mutations), and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) vascular type (caused by COL3A1 mutations). Although mutations in FBN1 and TGFBR1/TGFBR2 account for the majority of AD cases referred to us for molecular genetic testing, we have obtained negative results for these genes in a large cohort of AD patients, suggesting the involvement of additional genes or acquired factors. In this study we assessed the effect of COL3A1 deletions/duplications in this cohort. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis of 100 unrelated patients identified one hemizygous deletion of the entire COL3A1 gene. Subsequent microarray analyses and sequencing of breakpoints revealed the deletion size of 3,408,306 bp at 2q32.1q32.3. This deletion affects not only COL3A1 but also 21 other known genes (GULP1, DIRC1, COL5A2, WDR75, SLC40A1, ASNSD1, ANKAR, OSGEPL1, ORMDL1, LOC100129592, PMS1, MSTN, C2orf88, HIBCH, INPP1, MFSD6, TMEM194B, NAB1, GLS, STAT1, and STAT4), mutations in three of which (COL5A2, SLC40A1, and MSTN) have also been associated with an autosomal dominant disorder (EDS classical type, hemochromatosis type 4, and muscle hypertrophy). Physical and laboratory examinations revealed that true haploinsufficiency of COL3A1, COL5A2, and MSTN, but not that of SLC40A1, leads to a clinical phenotype. Our data not only emphasize the impact/role of COL3A1 in AD patients but also extend the molecular etiology of several disorders by providing hitherto unreported evidence for true haploinsufficiency of the underlying gene.

Molecular characterization of the key switch F provides a basis for understanding the rapid divergence of the sex-determining pathway in the housefly.

The housefly, Musca domestica, is an excellent model system to study the diversification of the pathway that specifies the sexual fate. A number of different mechanisms have been described in the housefly, which reflects in part the broad diversity of sex-determining strategies used in insects. In this study we present the molecular identification and characterization of F, which acts as the master switch in the housefly pathway. We provide evidence that F corresponds to the transformer ortholog in Musca (Mdtra), which, as a result of alternative processing, expresses functional products only in individuals committed to the female fate. We demonstrate that, once activated, a self-sustaining feedback loop will maintain the female-promoting functions of Mdtra. Absence of Mdtra transcripts in eggs of Arrhenogenic (Ag) mutant females suggests that maternally deployed Mdtra activity initiates this self-sustaining loop in the zygote. When an M factor is paternally transmitted to the zygote, the establishment of the loop is prevented at an early stage before cellularization and splicing of Mdtra shifts irreversibly to the male nonproductive mode. On the basis of the analysis of two mutant alleles we can explain the different sex-determining systems in the housefly largely as deviations at the level of Mdtra regulation. This plasticity in the housefly pathway may provide a suitable framework to understand the evolution of sex-determining mechanisms in other insect species. For instance, while sex determination in a close relative, the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans, differs at the level of the instructive signal, we find that its tra ortholog, Gmtra, is regulated in a mode similar to that of Mdtra.

Large genomic fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene deletions provide evidence for true haploinsufficiency in Marfan syndrome.

Mutations in the FBN1 gene are the major cause of Marfan syndrome (MFS), an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder, which displays variable manifestations in the cardiovascular, ocular, and skeletal systems. Current molecular genetic testing of FBN1 may miss mutations in the promoter region or in other noncoding sequences as well as partial or complete gene deletions and duplications. In this study, we tested for copy number variations by successively applying multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and the Affymetrix Human Mapping 500 K Array Set, which contains probes for approximately 500,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome. By analyzing genomic DNA of 101 unrelated individuals with MFS or related phenotypes in whom standard genetic testing detected no mutation, we identified FBN1 deletions in two patients with MFS. Our high-resolution approach narrowed down the deletion breakpoints. Subsequent sequencing of the junctional fragments revealed the deletion sizes of 26,887 and 302,580 bp, respectively. Surprisingly, both deletions affect the putative regulatory and promoter region of the FBN1 gene, strongly indicating that they abolish transcription of the deleted allele. This expectation of complete loss of function of one allele, i.e. true haploinsufficiency, was confirmed by transcript analyses. Our findings not only emphasize the importance of screening for large genomic rearrangements in comprehensive genetic testing of FBN1 but, importantly, also extend the molecular etiology of MFS by providing hitherto unreported evidence that true haploinsufficiency is sufficient to cause MFS.