Esco2 and cohesin regulate CRL4 ubiquitin ligase expression and thalidomide teratogenicity.

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) and Roberts syndrome (RBS) are severe developmental maladies that arise from mutation of cohesin (including , CdLS) and (RBS). Though ESCO2 activates cohesin, CdLS and RBS etiologies are currently considered non-synonymous and for which pharmacological treatments are unavailable. Here, we identify a unifying mechanism that integrates these genetic maladies to pharmacologically-induced teratogenicity via thalidomide.