FAM111A (family with sequence similarity 111 member A) is a serine protease and removes covalent DNA-protein cross-links during DNA replication. Heterozygous gain-of-function variants in FAM111A cause skeletal dysplasias, such as the perinatal lethal osteocraniostenosis and the milder Kenny-Caffey syndrome (KCS). We report two siblings born to consanguineous parents with dysmorphic craniofacial features, postnatal growth retardation, ophthalmologic manifestations, hair and nail anomalies, and skeletal abnormalities such as thickened cortex and stenosis of the medullary cavity of the long bones suggestive of KCS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMutations in the X-linked gene coding for the calcium-/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) are associated with severe neurological disorders ranging from intellectual disability (in males) to mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia. CASK is involved in transcription control, in the regulation of trafficking of the post-synaptic NMDA and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors, and acts as a presynaptic scaffolding protein. For CASK missense mutations, it is mostly unclear which of CASK's molecular interactions and cellular functions are altered and contribute to patient phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom a GeneMatcher-enabled international collaboration, we identified ten individuals affected by intellectual disability, speech delay, ataxia, and facial dysmorphism and carrying a deleterious EBF3 variant detected by whole-exome sequencing. One 9-bp duplication and one splice-site, five missense, and two nonsense variants in EBF3 were found; the mutations occurred de novo in eight individuals, and the missense variant c.625C>T (p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndosomal sorting is an essential control mechanism for signaling through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We report here that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor αPIX, which modulates the activity of Rho-GTPases, is a potent bimodal regulator of EGFR trafficking. αPIX interacts with the E3 ubiquitin ligase c-Cbl, an enzyme that attaches ubiquitin to EGFR, thereby labelling this tyrosine kinase receptor for lysosomal degradation.
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