Publications by authors named "S Safgren"

Article Synopsis
  • The research links the TUBA4A gene to familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) and fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), identifying pathogenic variants in patients with these conditions.* -
  • A study of 448 patients with cerebellar ataxia revealed ultra-rare, likely harmful TUBA4A variants not found in public databases, indicating a potential genetic cause for this condition.* -
  • Analysis showed a significant presence of TUBA4A mutations in inherited ataxia cases compared to controls, with experiments on patient-derived fibroblasts revealing disruptions in microtubule organization linked to the mutations.*
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Most rare disease patients (75-50%) undergoing genomic sequencing remain unsolved, often due to lack of information about variants identified. Data review over time can leverage novel information regarding disease-causing variants and genes, increasing this diagnostic yield. However, time and resource constraints have limited reanalysis of genetic data in clinical laboratories setting.

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Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by severe and childhood onset organ-specific autoimmunity caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator () gene. More recently, dominant-negative mutations within the PHD1, PHD2, and SAND domains have been associated with an incompletely penetrant milder phenotype with later onset familial clustering, often masquerading as organ-specific autoimmunity. Patients with immunodeficiencies or autoimmunity where genetic analyses revealed heterozygous mutations were included in the study and the dominant-negative effects of the mutations were functionally assessed .

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers studied active enhancer elements identified by open chromatin and H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac), but the role of enhancers without H3K27ac remains unclear.
  • They discovered a new type of enhancer, called 'macro-Bound Enhancers,' marked by macroH2A variants, which seem to control enhancer activity even when H3K27ac isn't present.
  • In breast cancer, reactivating these macro-bound enhancers is linked to cancer growth, while a deficiency in macroH2A enhances stem cell activity in normal mammary cells, suggesting a complex role in cell identity and cancer development.
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Dysregulation of kinase signaling pathways favors tumor cell survival and therapy resistance in cancer. Here, we reveal a posttranslational regulation of kinase signaling and nuclear receptor activity via deubiquitination in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We observed that the ubiquitin-specific protease 11 (USP11) is highly expressed and associates with poor prognosis in T-ALL.

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