Publications by authors named "Maki Sakuma"

, an X-linked gene, encodes one of the only two ubiquitin E1 enzymes, playing a pivotal role in initiating one of the most essential post-translational modifications. In late 2020, partial loss-of-function mutations in within hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were found to be responsible for VEXAS Syndrome, a previously unidentified hematoinflammatory disorder predominantly affecting older males. The condition is characterized by severe inflammation, cytopenias, and an association to hematologic malignancies.

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UBA1 is an X-linked gene and encodes an ubiquitin-activating enzyme. Three somatic mutations altering the alternative start codon (M41) in UBA1 in hematopoietic precursor cells have recently been described, resulting in a syndrome of severe inflammation, cytopenias, and the presence of intracellular vacuoles in hematopoietic precursors - termed VEXAS syndrome, a predominantly male disease. Here we present a patient with clinical features of VEXAS who harbored two novel somatic variants in UBA1 (I894S and N606I).

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Article Synopsis
  • Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic disorder affecting blood vessels, leading to symptoms like nosebleeds and malformations in organs.
  • A 49-year-old woman with a history of heart and brain issues was found to have liver vascular abnormalities, prompting a diagnosis of HHT after further investigation revealed gastrointestinal and pulmonary issues.
  • Whole-exome sequencing identified a new harmful variant in the SMAD4 gene, which is uncommon but linked to HHT, emphasizing that liver lesions may not always cause symptoms in affected patients.
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The 5' splice site mutation (IVS20+6T>C) of the () gene in familial dysautonomia (FD) is at the sixth intronic nucleotide of the 5' splice site. It is known to weaken U1 snRNP recognition and result in an aberrantly spliced mRNA product in neuronal tissue, but normally spliced mRNA in other tissues. Aberrantly spliced mRNA abrogates IKK complex-associated protein (IKAP)/elongator protein 1 (ELP1) expression and results in a defect of neuronal cell development in FD.

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Background: Recent advances in the development of small chemical compounds that can modulate RNA splicing brought excitement to the field of splicing-targeting therapy. Splicing-targeting therapy tries to ameliorate the disease by altering the exon combination of transcripts to reduce the undesired effect of genetic mutations. However, the knowledge and tools to understand factors contributing to splicing modulator compound sensitivity have been lacking.

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