Publications by authors named "Luisa Marsili"

Myogenic fusion, primarily regulated by the Myomaker and Myomixer proteins, is essential for skeletal muscle development, yet its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study presents the clinical and molecular details of the third and fourth reported patients with biallelic variants in MYMX, the gene that encodes Myomixer. We identified a homozygous truncating variant [c.

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Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are currently the leading cause of maternal death in Western countries. Although multidisciplinary cardio-obstetric teams are recommended to improve the management of pregnant women with CVD, data supporting this approach are scarce.

Aims: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of pregnant patients with CVD managed within the cardio-obstetric programme of a tertiary centre.

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  • Biallelic variants in the ALPK3 gene are linked to severe cardiomyopathy in children, while heterozygous variants in adults can lead to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
  • A study involving genetic testing of 16,183 cardiomyopathy cases found 36 patients with null ALPK3 variants, highlighting the gene's significance in HCM.
  • The research emphasizes the need for ALPK3 screening in patients with idiopathic HCM due to its strong association with the condition, particularly in pediatric cases presenting severe outcomes.
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Objective: Primary failure of eruption is characterized by a nonsyndromic defect in tooth eruption in the absence of mechanical obstruction. It is correlated to rare heterozygous variants in the parathyroid hormone receptor 1 gene. The management of primary failure of eruption is complex because many therapies are ineffective.

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  • Variants of uncertain significance (VUS) present challenges in diagnosing rare diseases, and episignatures have emerged as potential biomarkers to help classify these variants.
  • A study analyzed DNA methylation data from different groups, including carriers of pathogenic variants and healthy controls, using a k-nearest-neighbour classifier to assess the predictive abilities of various episignatures.
  • Results revealed that while some signatures (ATRX, DNMT3A, KMT2D, NSD1) achieved 100% sensitivity, others (CREBBP-RSTS, CHD8) showed lower performance, indicating that not all episignatures are equally reliable for diagnostic use and highlighting the need for further validation with larger sample sizes.
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Introduction: The MYH7 c.5135G > A p.(Arg1712Gln) variant has been identified in several patients worldwide and is classified as pathogenic in the ClinVar database.

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Background: Pregnant women with chronic heart failure (CHF) are at increased risk for cardiac complications. However, the frequency of obstetrical and neonatal complications in pregnant women with CHF remains unclear.

Objective: The objective of our study was to describe obstetrical and neonatal outcomes in pregnant with CHF.

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Background: Truncating variants in desmoplakin (tv) are an important cause of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy; however the genetic architecture and genotype-specific risk factors are incompletely understood. We evaluated phenotype, risk factors for ventricular arrhythmias, and underlying genetics of tv cardiomyopathy.

Methods: Individuals with tv and any cardiac phenotype, and their gene-positive family members were included from multiple international centers.

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Genetic variants in gene-encoding proteins involved in cell−cell connecting structures, such as desmosomes and gap junctions, may cause a skin and/or cardiac phenotype, of which the combination is called cardiocutaneous syndrome. The cardiac phenotype is characterized by cardiomyopathy and/or arrhythmias, while the skin particularly displays phenotypes such as keratoderma, hair abnormalities and skin fragility. The reported variants associated with cardiocutaneous syndrome, in genes DSP, JUP, DSC2, KLHL24, GJA1, are classified by interpretation guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics.

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The vast majority of reported (likely) pathogenic missense variants in the genes coding for the fibrillar collagens leads to the substitution of one of the obligatory glycine residues in the Gly-Xaa-Yaa repeat sequence of the triple helical domain. Their phenotypic consequences and deleterious effects have been well-documented. However, with increasing access to molecular diagnostic testing based on next-generation sequencing techniques, such as sequencing of multi-gene panels and whole-exome sequencing, non-glycine substitutions are more frequently identified in individuals suspected to have a heritable collagen disorder, but their pathogenic effect is often difficult to predict.

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  • Detection rates of ACTA2-related aortic disease vary significantly across studies, and a recent consensus has been established for the screening and management of these patients, but clinical outcomes are highly unpredictable.
  • A reported family showed that all affected members experienced serious aortic complications before age 30, illustrating the challenges in prevention and management strategies for patients with ACTA2 variants.
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Disease-causing variants in TGFB3 cause an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder which is hard to phenotypically delineate because of the small number of identified cases. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional multicenter study is to elucidate the genotype and phenotype in an international cohort of TGFB3 patients. Eleven (eight novel) TGFB3 disease-causing variants were identified in 32 patients (17 families).

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  • - Segmental progeroid syndromes are rare genetic disorders that speed up certain aging features and have been researched since the 20th century.
  • - The Molecular Genetics Laboratory in Marseille has been using NGS sequencing for four years to diagnose these syndromes in 66 patients, achieving a diagnostic success rate over 60% when there's a specific clinical suspicion.
  • - The study identified significant genetic variants in many patients, proposed prenatal testing for some families, and emphasized that this method is an effective first step towards diagnosing these disorders before considering whole genome sequencing.
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Simultaneous analysis of multiple genes using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has become widely available. Copy-number variations (CNVs) in disease-associated genes have emerged as a cause for several hereditary disorders. CNVs are, however, not routinely detected using NGS analysis.

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Multiple familial meningiomas occur in rare genetic syndromes, particularly neurofibromatosis type 2. The association of meningiomas and cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) has been reported in few patients in the medical literature. The purpose of our study is to corroborate a preferential association of CCMs and multiple meningiomas in subjects harbouring mutations in the PDCD10 gene (also known as CCM3).

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Introduction: In patients presenting with peritonitis, laparoscopy offers the possibility of diagnosis as well as treatment, with less abdominal trauma, reduced postoperative pain, and shorter hospital stay.

Case Report: A 30-year-old woman, presenting with diffuse abdominal pain and free pneumoperitoneum, was submitted to transumbilical single-access laparoscopy. The procedure was performed using a standard 11-mm reusable trocar in the umbilicus and curved reusable instruments inserted transumbilically without trocars.

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