Publications by authors named "Wendy J Introne"

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome type 1 (HPS-1) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder caused by defects in the biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex-3 (BLOC-3). Impaired kidney function is among its clinical manifestations. To investigate HPS-1 renal involvement, we employed 1D-gel-LC-MS/MS and compared the protein composition of urinary extracellular vesicles (uEVs) from HPS-1 patients to normal control individuals.

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Chedíak-Higashi Syndrome (CHS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the Lysosomal Trafficking Regulator (LYST) gene, leading to defective lysosomal function in immune cells, melanocytes, and neurons. Clinically, CHS is characterized by a spectrum of symptoms, including immunodeficiency, partial oculocutaneous albinism, bleeding tendencies, neurodevelopmental deficits and progressive neurodegenerative symptoms. The severity of CHS correlates with the type of LYST mutation: the classic form, linked to nonsense or frameshift mutations, presents early in childhood with severe immune dysfunction, recurrent infections, and a high risk of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a life-threatening hyperinflammatory state.

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  • * A patient with compound heterozygous DDX41 variants exhibited symptoms including bone dysplasia and ichthyosis, and analysis of their skin cells showed reduced DDX41 levels and disruption of immune gene activation.
  • * Further studies revealed significant gene dysregulation and increased periostin mRNA in the patient’s cells, indicating that impaired DDX41 function and altered periostin expression likely contribute to the patient's complex disorder.
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  • Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) types 1 and 4 lead to serious lung issues like pulmonary fibrosis, but the exact causes are still unclear.
  • This research focused on how interactions between CHI3L1 and a type of immune cell (ILC2s) affect pulmonary fibrosis in HPS and involved experiments with mice to explore these interactions.
  • The results indicated that ILC2s may enhance fibroblast activity and fibrosis through specific signaling pathways, suggesting that these immune cells play a critical role in the progression of lung scarring in HPS.
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  • Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is a rare genetic disorder that impacts the development of lysosome-related organelles, leading to varied clinical symptoms based on its genetic type, with HPS-1 and HPS-4 being more severe compared to HPS-3, HPS-5, and HPS-6.
  • This study aimed to improve understanding of kidney issues associated with HPS, using medical records and renal function tests from patients evaluated at the National Institutes of Health from 1995 to 2020.
  • Results showed that adults with HPS-1 and HPS-4 had significantly lower kidney function compared to those with HPS-3, HPS-5, or HPS-6
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Alkaptonuria is a rare disorder of tyrosine catabolism caused by deficiency of homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase that leads to accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA). Deposition of HGA-derived polymers in connective tissue causes progressive arthropathy of the spine and large joints, cardiac valvular disease, and genitourinary stones beginning in the fourth decade of life. Nitisinone, a potent inhibitor of the upstream enzyme, 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase, dramatically reduces HGA production.

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Primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening disorder associated with autosomal recessive variants in genes required for perforin-mediated lymphocyte cytotoxicity. A rapid diagnosis is crucial for successful treatment. Although defective cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) function causes pathogenesis, quantification of natural killer (NK)-cell exocytosis triggered by K562 target cells currently represents a standard diagnostic procedure for primary HLH.

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  • - Alkaptonuria is a rare genetic disorder caused by a lack of an enzyme that leads to the buildup of homogentisic acid, resulting in symptoms like dark urine, joint pain, and skin discoloration, particularly affecting connective tissues.
  • - The disease usually shows symptoms around a person's 30s, but a diagnosis can be delayed due to vague symptoms and low physician awareness; management requires a team of specialists to monitor and treat the condition effectively.
  • - Current research aims to enhance patient care and develop new treatment methods, focusing on personalized medicine to improve outcomes for individuals with alkaptonuria.
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  • - Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a rare genetic disorder marked by symptoms like skin and eye color changes, bleeding issues, immune dysfunction, and neurological problems, caused by loss-of-function variants in a specific gene involved in lysosomal regulation.
  • - The study involved clinical evaluations of CHS patients and genomic analysis which led to the discovery of 11 new pathogenic variants, along with a review that compiled a total of 147 known variants, categorizing them based on their types and effects.
  • - The findings suggest a correlation between the type of genetic variants and disease severity, indicating that those with milder disease often have certain types of variants, while those with more severe symptoms have specific nonsense or frameshift mutations.*
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Purpose Of Review: Chediak-Higashi syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by congenital immunodeficiency, bleeding diathesis, pyogenic infection, partial oculocutaneous albinism, and progressive neurodegeneration. Treatment is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or bone marrow transplantation; however, this does not treat the neurologic aspect of the disease. Mutations in the lysosomal trafficking regulator (LYST) gene were identified to be causative of Chediak-Higashi, but despite many analyses, there is little functional information about the LYST protein.

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Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by bi-allelic variants in the Lysosomal Trafficking Regulator () gene. Diagnosis is established by the detection of pathogenic variants in in combination with clinical evidence of disease. Conventional molecular genetic testing of by genomic DNA (gDNA) Sanger sequencing detects the majority of pathogenic variants, but some remain undetected for several individuals clinically diagnosed with CHS.

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Autophagy regulates the degradation of damaged organelles and protein aggregates, and is critical for neuronal development, homeostasis, and maintenance, yet few neurodevelopmental disorders have been associated with pathogenic variants in genes encoding autophagy-related proteins. We report three individuals from two unrelated families with a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by speech and motor impairment, and similar facial characteristics. Rare, conserved, bi-allelic variants were identified in ATG4D, encoding one of four ATG4 cysteine proteases important for autophagosome biogenesis, a hallmark of autophagy.

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Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder caused by biallelic mutations in the lysosomal trafficking regulator (LYST) gene. Even though enlarged lysosomes and/or lysosome-related organelles (LROs) are the typical cellular hallmarks of CHS, they have not been investigated in human neuronal models. Moreover, how and why the loss of LYST function causes a lysosome phenotype in cells has not been elucidated.

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  • * Among the three cases with confirmed kidney tumors, it marks the first known link between these two syndromes in adults, while the fourth case had skin lesions known as fibrofolliculomas.
  • * Our findings indicate that individuals with Smith-Magenis syndrome should begin kidney cancer screening at age 20, similar to guidelines for Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.
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Purpose: To describe the relationships between foveal structure and visual function in a cohort of individuals with foveal hypoplasia (FH) and to estimate FH grade and visual acuity using a deep learning classifier.

Design: Retrospective cohort study and experimental study.

Participants: A total of 201 patients with FH were evaluated at the National Eye Institute from 2004 to 2018.

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  • * The disease is characterized by the presence of giant secretory granules in white blood cells, which helps differentiate it from similar conditions like Griscelli and Hermansky-Pudlak syndromes.
  • * While the exact cause of these giant granules remains unclear, it's believed that dysregulation of lysosomal biogenesis plays a significant role; this review focuses on the clinical features and implications of enlarged lysosomes in CHS.
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Chediak-Higashi disease is a rare disease caused by bi-allelic mutations in the lysosomal trafficking regulator gene, LYST. Individuals typically present in early childhood with partial oculocutaneous albinism, a bleeding diathesis, recurrent infections secondary to immune dysfunction, and risk of developing hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Without intervention, mortality is high in the first decade of life.

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Introduction: Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a rare inherited disorder of tyrosine metabolism resulting in an accumulation of homogentisic acid oxidation products in the joints and cardiovascular system. Aortic distensibility may be a non-invasive indicator of cardiovascular complications. Descending thoracic aortic distensibility in alkaptonuria has not been studied.

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