Tbx1 represses gene expression and is correlated with histone 3 deacetylation of the anterior heart field enhancer.

The gene is haploinsufficient in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), and genetic evidence from human patients and mouse models points to a major role of this gene in the pathogenesis of this syndrome.

Rebalancing gene haploinsufficiency in vivo by targeting chromatin.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects eight out of 1,000 live births and is a major social and health-care burden. A common genetic cause of CHD is the 22q11.2 deletion, which is the basis of the homonymous deletion syndrome (22q11.

Tbx1 regulates brain vascularization.

The transcription factor TBX1 is the major gene involved in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS).

Transcriptional control in cardiac progenitors: Tbx1 interacts with the BAF chromatin remodeling complex and regulates Wnt5a.

Mutations of the Wnt5a gene, encoding a ligand of the non-canonical Wnt pathway, and the Ror2 gene, encoding its receptor, have been found in patients with cardiac outflow tract defects. We found that Wnt5a is expressed in the second heart field (SHF), a population of cardiac progenitor cells destined to populate the cardiac outflow tract and the right ventricle. Because of cardiac phenotype similarities between Wnt5a and Tbx1 mutant mice, we tested potential interactions between the two genes.

Tbx1 regulates proliferation and differentiation of multipotent heart progenitors.

Rationale: TBX1 encodes a T-box transcription factor implicated in DiGeorge syndrome, which affects the development of many organs, including the heart. Loss of Tbx1 results into hypoplasia of heart regions derived from the second heart field, a population of cardiac progenitors cells (CPCs). Thus, we hypothesized that Tbx1 is an important player in the biology of CPCs.