Publications by authors named "Harald Gaspar"

Article Synopsis
  • The DIP2 gene, first found in fruit flies, is crucial for neuron branching and regeneration, with vertebrate versions (DIP2A, DIP2B, and DIP2C) being highly conserved in the central nervous system.
  • Research showed that mutations in DIP2C are linked to developmental delays in expressive language and speech articulation in 23 affected individuals.
  • Alongside developmental issues, some individuals with DIP2C variants also presented with various cardiac defects and minor facial anomalies, highlighting a connection between the gene's loss-of-function and neurocognitive and physical phenotypes.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Pediatric acute liver failure (PALF) is a serious condition with up to 50% of cases remaining unexplained, hindering effective treatment options like liver transplantation.
  • - In a study involving 260 children from 19 countries, whole-exome sequencing (WES) identified genetic causes in 37% of indeterminate PALF cases, with a particularly high diagnostic rate in infants and those with recurrent liver failure.
  • - The research uncovered 36 distinct genes associated with PALF, highlighting mitochondrial diseases as the most common cause and underscoring the need for advanced genetic testing in diagnosing and treating this condition.
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Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) of the scalp and terminal transverse limb defects (TTLD) are the characteristic findings of Adams-Oliver syndrome (AOS). The variable clinical spectrum further includes cardiac, neurologic, renal, and ophthalmological findings. Associated genes in AOS are in the Notch and the CDC42/Rac1 signaling pathways.

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Background: Moebius syndrome is a rare disorder with minimum clinical criteria of congenital facial weakness in association with impairment in abduction of one or both eyes. Mirror movements are not known to be associated with Moebius syndrome.

Case Report: We present three patients who meet minimum criteria for a diagnosis of Moebius syndrome and who also display mirror movements.

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Congenital facial weakness is present in a heterogeneous group of conditions. Among them is Moebius syndrome, which has been defined as a disorder with congenital, non-progressive facial weakness and limited abduction of one or both eyes. It is typically attributed to agenesis of the abducens and facial cranial nerves.

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Loss-of-function mutations of NSD1 and 5q35 microdeletions encompassing NSD1 are a major cause of Sotos syndrome (Sos), which is characterized by overgrowth, macrocephaly, characteristic facies, and variable intellectual disability (ID). Microduplications of 5q35.2-q35.

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Autosomal recessive cutis laxa type I (ARCL type I) is characterized by generalized cutis laxa with pulmonary emphysema and/or vascular complications. Rarely, mutations can be identified in FBLN4 or FBLN5. Recently, LTBP4 mutations have been implicated in a similar phenotype.

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Background: Holoprosencephaly (HPE), the most common malformation of the human forebrain, may result from mutations in over 12 genes. Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) was the first such gene discovered; mutations in SHH remain the most common cause of non-chromosomal HPE. The severity spectrum is wide, ranging from incompatibility with extrauterine life to isolated midline facial differences.

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Members of the highly conserved homeobox (HOX) gene family encode transcription factors that confer cellular and tissue identities along the antero-posterior axis of mice and humans. We have identified a founder homozygous missense mutation in HOXB1 in two families from a conservative German American population. The resulting phenotype includes bilateral facial palsy, hearing loss, and strabismus and correlates extensively with the previously reported Hoxb1(-/-) mouse phenotype.

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Infantile and childhood hepatoblastoma (HB) occurs more frequently in children with hereditary predisposition to familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) than in the general population. The occurrence of HB in two infant siblings is reported. The sister died of the disease.

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Germline deletions affecting the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM) gene lead to silencing of MSH2 and cause Lynch syndrome. We have recently reported that lack of EPCAM expression occurs in many, but not all tumors from Lynch syndrome patients with EPCAM germline deletions. The differences in EPCAM expression were not related to the localization of EPCAM germline deletions.

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Mutations of the cyclic nucleotide binding domain (CNBD) may disrupt human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) K(+) channel function and lead to hereditary long QT syndrome (LQTS). We identified a novel missense mutation located in close proximity to the CNBD, hERG R744P, in a patient presenting with recurrent syncope and aborted cardiac death triggered by sudden auditory stimuli. Functional properties of wild type (WT) and mutant hERG R744P subunits were studied in Xenopus laevis oocytes using two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology and Western blot analysis.

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Autosomal recessive renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD) is a severe disorder of renal tubular development characterized by early onset and persistent fetal anuria leading to oligohydramnios and the Potter sequence, associated with skull ossification defects. Early death occurs in most cases from anuria, pulmonary hypoplasia, and refractory arterial hypotension. The disease is linked to mutations in the genes encoding several components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS): AGT (angiotensinogen), REN (renin), ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme), and AGTR1 (angiotensin II receptor type 1).

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Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a multisystem disorder caused by ciliary defects. To date, mutations in 15 genes have been associated with the disease and BBS1 is most frequently affected in patients with BBS. The use of homozygosity mapping in a large consanguineous family allowed us to identify the splice donor site (SD) mutation c.

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Purpose: Nail-Patella syndrome (MIM 161200) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hypoplastic or absent patellae, dystrophic nails, dysplasia of the elbows, and iliac horn. In 40% of cases, a glomerular defect is present and, less frequently, ocular damage is observed. Inter- and intrafamilial variable expressivity of the clinical phenotype is a common finding.

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Two families and three sporadic cases have been described so far with the combination of radio-ulnar synostosis and microcephaly as main features. Some authors have discussed whether the first family reported by Giuffrè et al. [1994] and the second family described by Tsukahara et al.

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Background: Heterozygous gain-of-function mutations in various genes encoding proteins of the Ras-MAPK signalling cascade have been identified as the genetic basis of Noonan syndrome (NS) and cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome (CFCS). Mutations of SOS1, the gene encoding a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras, have been the most recent discoveries in patients with NS, but this gene has not been studied in patients with CFCS.

Methods And Results: We investigated SOS1 in a large cohort of patients with disorders of the NS-CFCS spectrum, who had previously tested negative for mutations in PTPN11, KRAS, BRAF, MEK1 and MEK2.

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