Publications by authors named "Natalie Shum"

The hyper-unstable Chr9p21 locus, harbouring the interferon gene cluster, oncogenes and , is linked to multiple diseases. (GGGGCC)n expansions (Exp) are associated with incompletely penetrant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia and autoimmune disorders. Exp patients display hyperactive cGAS-STING-linked interferon immune and DNA damage responses, but the source of immunostimulatory or damaged DNA is unknown.

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The hyper-unstable Chr9p21 locus, harbouring the interferon gene cluster, oncogenes and is linked to multiple diseases. (GGGGCC)n expansions ( Exp) are associated with incompletely penetrant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia and autoimmune disorders. Exp patients display hyperactive cGAS-STING-linked interferon immune and DNA damage responses, but the source of immuno-stimulatory or damaged DNA is unknown.

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Expanded tandem repeat DNAs are associated with various unusual chromosomal lesions, despiralizations, multi-branched inter-chromosomal associations, and fragile sites. Fragile sites cytogenetically manifest as localized gaps or discontinuities in chromosome structure and are an important genetic, biological, and health-related phenomena. Common fragile sites (∼230), present in most individuals, are induced by aphidicolin and can be associated with cancer; of the 27 molecularly-mapped common sites, none are associated with a particular DNA sequence motif.

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Ongoing inchworm-like CAG and CGG repeat expansions in brains, arising by aberrant processing of slipped DNAs, may drive Huntington's disease, fragile X syndrome, and autism. FAN1 nuclease modifies hyper-expansion rates by unknown means. We show that FAN1, through iterative cycles, binds, dimerizes, and cleaves slipped DNAs, yielding striking exo-nuclease pauses along slip-outs: 5'-C↓A↓GC↓A↓G-3' and 5'-C↓T↓G↓C↓T↓G-3'.

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Article Synopsis
  • Epilepsies are common neurological disorders influenced by genetics, but finding their precise genetic causes can be difficult due to their diverse nature.
  • Researchers used whole-genome sequencing on 30 adults with unexplained developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, revealing genetic variations in 32.1% of the cohort.
  • The study highlighted the discovery of both coding and non-coding tandem repeat expansions in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, emphasizing the value of whole-genome sequencing in uncovering rare genetic variations related to unexplained epilepsies.*
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Article Synopsis
  • Tandem DNA repeats are sequences in the genome that can vary in size and are linked to over 40 genetic disorders, although their role in complex genetics remains unclear.
  • A study on 17,231 genomes of families with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) found significant variations in these repeats, particularly at certain loci associated with nervous system development.
  • The research indicates that rare expansions of these tandem repeats, more prevalent in individuals with ASD compared to their non-ASD siblings, may contribute to the risk of ASD and are linked to lower IQ and adaptive abilities.
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Study Objective: Emergency physicians use noncontrast cranial computed tomographic (CT) imaging of headache patients to identify subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations. Given sufficiently high sensitivity, CT imaging could be used as a definitive diagnostic study in these patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivity of noncontrast cranial CT in detecting all spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhages and those caused by aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation.

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