Monoallelic Mutations in Suggest a Novel Role in Human Heterotaxy and Ciliary Dysfunction.

Background: Human heterotaxy is a group of congenital disorders characterized by misplacement of one or more organs according to the left-right axis. The genetic causes of human heterotaxy are highly heterogeneous.

Methods: We performed exome sequencing in a cohort of 26 probands with heterotaxy followed by gene burden analysis for the enrichment of novel rare damaging mutations. Transcription activator-like effector nuclease was used to generate somatic loss-of-function mutants in a zebrafish model. Ciliary defects were examined by whole-mount immunostaining of acetylated α-tubulin.

Results: We identified a significant enrichment of novel rare damaging mutations in the gene. Seven occurrences of mutations were found to affect 4 highly conserved amino acid residues of the protein. Functional analyses in the transcription activator-like effector nuclease-mediated zebrafish knockout models were performed, and heterotaxy phenotypes of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems in both somatic and germline mutants were observed. Defective cilia were demonstrated by whole-mount immunostaining of acetylated α-tubulin. These abnormalities were rescued by wild-type mRNA but not mutant mRNA, strongly suggesting a loss-of-function mechanism. On the other hand, overexpression of orthologous mutations P559L and G808V (orthologous to human P532L and G781V) did not affect embryonic development.

Conclusions: Using a zebrafish model, we were able to establish a novel association of with heterotaxy and ciliary dysfunction in the F2 generation via a loss-of-function mechanism. Future mechanistic studies are needed for a better understanding of the role of in left-right patterning and ciliary dysfunction.