Pathogenic variants in either the mitochondrial or nuclear genomes are associated with a diverse group of human disorders characterized by impaired mitochondrial function. Within this group, an increasing number of families have been identified, where Mendelian genetic disorders implicate defective mitochondrial RNA biology. The PDE12 gene encodes the poly(A)-specific exoribonuclease, involved in the quality control of mitochondrial non-coding RNAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe evolutionarily conserved histone variant H2A.Z plays a crucial role in various DNA-based processes, but the mechanisms underlying its activity are not completely understood. Recently, we identified the zinc finger (ZF) protein ZNF512B as a protein associated with H2A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMandarin orange ( Blanco) is the most common citrus fruit, covering nearly 42 % of the total citrus cultivation area in India. The main varieties of mandarin oranges cultivated in India include Nagpur Mandarin, Khasi Mandarin, Coorg Mandarin and Sikkim Mandarin. Globally, genomic data is being used to unravel the complexities and mysteries of citrus taxonomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe shift to a genotype-first approach in genetic diagnostics has revolutionized our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders, expanding both their molecular and phenotypic spectra. Kleefstra syndrome (KLEFS1) is caused by EHMT1 haploinsufficiency and exhibits broad clinical manifestations. EHMT1 encodes euchromatic histone methyltransferase-1-a pivotal component of the epigenetic machinery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs therapies, oncolytic viruses regress tumors and have the potential to induce antitumor immune responses that clear hard-to-treat and late-stage cancers. Despite this promise, clearance from the blood prevents treatment of internal solid tumors. To address this issue, we developed virus-delivering Salmonella (VDS) to carry oncolytic viruses into cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRetinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a retinal disorder that may bring about blindness in preterm infants. Early detection and treatment of ROP can prevent this blindness. The gold standard technique for ROP screening is indirect ophthalmoscopy performed by ophthalmologists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany systemically administered cancer therapies exhibit dose-limiting toxicities that reduce their effectiveness. To increase efficacy, bacterial delivery platforms have been developed that improve safety and prolong treatment. Bacteria are a unique class of therapy that selectively colonizes most solid tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGermline pathogenic variants in two genes encoding the lysine-specific histone methyltransferase genes SETD1A and SETD2 are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) characterized by developmental delay and congenital anomalies. The SETD1A and SETD2 gene products play a critical role in chromatin-mediated regulation of gene expression. Specific methylation episignatures have been detected for a range of chromatin gene-related NDDs and have impacted clinical practice by improving the interpretation of variant pathogenicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Evaluate the real-world costs over two years and costs by site of care for ocrelizumab (OCR), natalizumab (NTZ), and alemtuzumab (ATZ) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods: This retrospective study used HealthCore Integrated Research Database and included continuously enrolled adults with MS initiating OCR, NTZ, and ATZ between April 2017 and July 2019 (i.e.
Background: Adequate response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine represents an important treatment goal in caring for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Previous data so far have demonstrated lower spike-specific IgG responses following two SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations in MS patients treated with sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) compared to other disease modifying therapies (DMTs). It is unknown whether subsequent vaccinations can augment antibody responses in these patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCHD4 is an essential, widely conserved ATP-dependent translocase that is also a broad tumour dependency. In common with other SF2-family chromatin remodelling enzymes, it alters chromatin accessibility by repositioning histone octamers. Besides the helicase and adjacent tandem chromodomains and PHD domains, CHD4 features 1000 residues of N- and C-terminal sequence with unknown structure and function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman cells tightly control their dimensions, but in some cancers, normal cell size control is lost. In this study we measure cell volumes of epithelial cells from human lung adenocarcinoma progression in situ. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), we reconstruct tumor cell shapes in three dimensions (3D) and find airway type 2 cells display up to 10-fold increases in volume.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Identifying ground glass opacities (GGOs) is challenging during robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS). Intraoperative molecular imaging (IMI) using tumor-targeted fluorescent tracers may address this clinical problem, but has never been evaluated in RATS. In a pilot study, we sought to determine whether IMI during RATS (RIMI) can localize GGOs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImbalances in mitochondrial and peroxisomal dynamics are associated with a spectrum of human neurological disorders. Mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission both involve dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) oligomerisation and membrane constriction, although the precise biophysical mechanisms by which distinct DRP1 variants affect the assembly and activity of different DRP1 domains remains largely unexplored. We analysed four unreported de novo heterozygous variants in the dynamin-1-like gene affecting different highly conserved DRP1 domains, leading to developmental delay, seizures, hypotonia, and/or rare cardiac complications in infancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
March 2022
Biallelic loss-of-function (LoF) variants in CENPF gene are responsible for Strømme syndrome, a condition presenting with intestinal atresia, anterior ocular chamber anomalies, and microcephaly. Through an international collaboration, four individuals (three males and one female) carrying CENPF biallelic variants, including two missense variants in homozygous state and four LoF variants, were identified by exome sequencing. All individuals had variable degree of developmental delay/intellectual disability and microcephaly (ranging from -2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondrial disorders are clinically and genetically heterogeneous, with variants in mitochondrial or nuclear genes leading to varied clinical phenotypes. encodes a mitochondrial protein with cytidine diphosphate-diacylglycerol synthase activity: an essential early step in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin. Cardiolipin is a mitochondria-specific phospholipid that is important for many mitochondrial processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChromatin is essentially an array of nucleosomes, each of which consists of the DNA double-stranded fiber wrapped around a histone octamer. This organization supports cellular processes such as DNA replication, DNA transcription, and DNA repair in all eukaryotes. Human histone H4 is encoded by fourteen canonical histone H4 genes, all differing at the nucleotide level but encoding an invariant protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a mediastinal neuroblastoma in an octogenarian with paraneoplastic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). Neuroblastomas are very rare tumors in adults, with thoracic or mediastinal locations being especially uncommon. These neoplasms have been occasionally associated with the SIADH.
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