Publications by authors named "Giovanni Zifarelli"

Article Synopsis
  • - WDR83OS encodes a protein called Asterix, which works with another protein, CCDC47, to help fold large proteins correctly, specifically those with transmembrane domains.
  • - Recent findings linked mutations in CCDC47 and WDR83OS to trichohepatoneurodevelopmental syndrome, showing consistent symptoms like neurodevelopmental disorders, facial dysmorphism, and liver dysfunction across multiple families.
  • - A zebrafish model lacking Wdr83os function demonstrated its crucial role in the nervous system and lipid absorption, further establishing a connection between WDR83OS mutations and neurological diseases characterized by elevated bile acids.
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Purpose: Biallelic INPP4A variants have recently been associated with severe neurodevelopmental disease in single case reports. Here, we expand and elucidate the clinical-genetic spectrum and provide a pathomechanistic explanation for genotype-phenotype correlations.

Methods: Clinical and genomic investigations of 30 individuals were undertaken alongside molecular and in silico modelling and translation reinitiation studies.

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Purpose: This study aims to comprehensively delineate the phenotypic spectrum of ACTL6B-related disorders, previously associated with both autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorders. Molecularly, the role of the nucleolar protein ACTL6B in contributing to the disease has remained unclear.

Methods: We identified 105 affected individuals, including 39 previously reported cases, and systematically analysed detailed clinical and genetic data for all individuals.

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Background: NOTCH3 encodes a transmembrane receptor critical for vascular smooth muscle cell function. NOTCH3 variants are the leading cause of hereditary cerebral small vessel disease (SVD). While monoallelic cysteine-involving missense variants in NOTCH3 are well-studied in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), patients with biallelic variants in NOTCH3 are extremely rare and not well characterised.

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Patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing lipase 8 (PNPLA8), one of the calcium-independent phospholipase A2 enzymes, is involved in various physiological processes through the maintenance of membrane phospholipids. Biallelic variants in PNPLA8 have been associated with a range of paediatric neurodegenerative disorders. However, the phenotypic spectrum, genotype-phenotype correlations and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.

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Article Synopsis
  • Biallelic variants in the ZBTB11 gene are linked to a rare intellectual developmental disorder known as MRT69, which shows a variety of clinical symptoms.
  • The study focused on analyzing clinical and genetic traits of 29 individuals (ages 2-50) with these variants, finding diverse neurodevelopmental issues and complex movement disorders among the patients.
  • Results revealed that many patients had abnormal movements (like ataxia and dystonia) and cataracts, with one patient showing improvement from deep brain stimulation, contributing 13 new genetic variants to the understanding of ZBTB11-related disorders.
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Article Synopsis
  • * All affected individuals showed symptoms like muscle weakness and spasticity starting in childhood, with nerve conduction studies indicating axonal motor neuropathy.
  • * Research on C. elegans mutants and potential treatment options indicates that targeted therapies might help manage RTN2-related conditions despite no significant structural changes observed in patient fibroblasts.
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Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is characterized by calcium deposition in the brain, causing progressive movement disorders, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive decline. PFBC is a heterogeneous disorder currently linked to variants in six different genes, but most patients remain genetically undiagnosed. Here, we identify biallelic NAA60 variants in ten individuals from seven families with autosomal recessive PFBC.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on a protein called SPOUT1/CENP-32, which is crucial for proper chromosome alignment during cell division.
  • When this protein is depleted, it causes problems like centrosome detachment and chromosome misalignment, leading to significant developmental issues.
  • The research also links genetic variants in humans to neurodevelopmental delays and identifies a disorder called SpADMiSS, characterized by symptoms like developmental delays, microcephaly, seizures, and short stature due to defects in cell division.
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BLOC-one-related complex (BORC) is a multiprotein complex composed of eight subunits named BORCS1-8. BORC associates with the cytosolic face of lysosomes, where it sequentially recruits the small GTPase ARL8 and kinesin-1 and -3 microtubule motors to promote anterograde transport of lysosomes toward the peripheral cytoplasm in non-neuronal cells and the distal axon in neurons. The physiological and pathological importance of BORC in humans, however, remains to be determined.

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  • Biallelic variants in the OGDHL gene, linked to various neurological disorders, were investigated to better understand their gene-disease relationship through a new patient cohort and various genetic analyses.
  • Researchers utilized global sequencing data and zebrafish models to explore the functional effects of these variants, revealing significant clinical variability among affected individuals.
  • Findings indicated that OGDHL is not a straightforward Mendelian gene due to the presence of alternative allele interactions and compensatory mechanisms with related genes, suggesting a more complex role in neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Over two dozen spliceosome proteins are involved in human diseases, also referred to as spliceosomopathies. WW domain-binding protein 4 (WBP4) is part of the early spliceosomal complex and has not been previously associated with human pathologies in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. Through GeneMatcher, we identified ten individuals from eight families with a severe neurodevelopmental syndrome featuring variable manifestations.

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encodes a conserved membrane protein that stabilizes the junctions of the tubular endoplasmic reticulum network playing crucial roles in diverse biological functions. Recently, homozygous variants in were shown to cause a neurodevelopmental disorder (OMIM#618090) in four patients displaying developmental delay, epilepsy and nonspecific brain malformations including corpus callosum hypoplasia and variable impairment of cerebellum. We sought to delineate the molecular and phenotypic spectrum of -related disorder.

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MED27 is a subunit of the Mediator multiprotein complex, which is involved in transcriptional regulation. Biallelic MED27 variants have recently been suggested to be responsible for an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder with spasticity, cataracts and cerebellar hypoplasia. We further delineate the clinical phenotype of MED27-related disease by characterizing the clinical and radiological features of 57 affected individuals from 30 unrelated families with biallelic MED27 variants.

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  • Genetic variants in the EZH1 chromatin modifier are linked to both dominant and recessive neurodevelopmental disorders in 19 individuals, highlighting its role in disease etiology.
  • EZH1 impacts histone modification and is essential for the differentiation of neural progenitor cells, with recessive variants causing loss of function and dominant variants resulting in gain of function due to mutations.
  • The findings underscore EZH1's crucial role in neurogenesis and offer a molecular basis for diagnosing certain neurodevelopmental disorders that were previously unclassified.
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Article Synopsis
  • Over two dozen proteins involved in the spliceosome are linked to human diseases, known as spliceosomopathies; WBP4 is a newly identified protein associated with severe neurodevelopmental syndromes.
  • Researchers identified eleven patients from eight families affected by hypotonia, developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, and various organ abnormalities, confirming that mutations in WBP4 are a key factor.
  • Genetic analyses revealed loss-of-function variants leading to a complete loss of WBP4 protein, affecting RNA splicing in genes related to the nervous and musculoskeletal systems, highlighting the need for further studies on the disease mechanisms.
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DNA transposable elements and transposase-derived genes are present in most living organisms, including vertebrates, but their function is largely unknown. PiggyBac Transposable Element Derived 5 (PGBD5) is an evolutionarily conserved vertebrate DNA transposase-derived gene with retained nuclease activity in human cells. Vertebrate brain development is known to be associated with prominent neuronal cell death and DNA breaks, but their causes and functions are not well understood.

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Article Synopsis
  • Advances in molecular diagnostics have shown that certain genetic variants linked to neurodegenerative diseases can also cause severe neurodevelopmental disorders when inherited in a biallelic manner.* -
  • The study focuses on TOR1A-associated arthrogryposis multiplex congenita 5 (AMC5), revealing a range of clinical symptoms across a cohort of 57 individuals, including severe flexion contractures, developmental delays, and various motor issues.* -
  • The research identified a phenotypic spectrum from mild symptoms to severe disabilities, with a notable survival rate of 71% and a median mortality age of 1.2 months, mainly due to complications like respiratory failure.*
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Autosomal dominant variants in LDB3 (also known as ZASP), encoding the PDZ-LIM domain-binding factor, have been linked to a late onset phenotype of cardiomyopathy and myofibrillar myopathy in humans. However, despite knockout mice displaying a much more severe phenotype with premature death, bi-allelic variants in LDB3 have not yet been reported. Here we identify biallelic loss-of-function variants in five unrelated cardiomyopathy families by next-generation sequencing.

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Purpose: The mediator (MED) multisubunit-complex modulates the activity of the transcriptional machinery, and genetic defects in different MED subunits (17, 20, 27) have been implicated in neurologic diseases. In this study, we identified a recurrent homozygous variant in MED11 (c.325C>T; p.

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Objective: Human genomics established that pathogenic variation in diverse genes can underlie a single disorder. For example, hereditary spastic paraplegia is associated with >80 genes, with frequently only few affected individuals described for each gene. Herein, we characterize a large cohort of individuals with biallelic variation in ENTPD1, a gene previously linked to spastic paraplegia 64 (Mendelian Inheritance in Man # 615683).

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ClC-6 is an intracellularly localised member of the CLC family of chloride transport proteins. It presumably functions in the endolysosomal compartment as a chloride-proton antiporter, despite a paucity of biophysical studies in direct support. Observations of lysosomal storage disease, as well as neurodegenerative disorders, emerge with its disruption by knockout or mutation, respectively.

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CLC proteins comprise Cl channels and anion/H antiporters involved in several fundamental physiological processes. ClC-7 is a lysosomal Cl/H antiporter that together with its beta subunit Ostm1 has a critical role in the ionic homeostasis of lysosomes and of the osteoclasts' resorption lacuna, although the specific underlying mechanism has so far remained elusive. Mutations in ClC-7 cause osteopetrosis, but also a form of lysosomal storage disease and neurodegeneration.

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Tumor microenvironments are often characterized by an increase in oxidative stress levels. We studied the response to oxidative stimulation in human primary (IGR39) or metastatic (IGR37) cell lines obtained from the same patient, performing patch-clamp recordings, intracellular calcium ([Ca]) imaging, and RT-qPCR gene expression analysis. In IGR39 cells, chloramine-T (Chl-T) activated large K currents (KROS) that were partially sensitive to tetraethylammonium (TEA).

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