Mechanisms regulating mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) amount according to developmental stage and tissue origin are still unknown. Recent works have suggested the role of epigenetic modification at a CpG island located in POLG gene, encoding the polymerase responsible for mtDNA synthesis. We found that this CpG island is highly methylated in human tissues, whatever developmental stages […]
Compound heterozygosity for severe and hypomorphic NDUFS2 mutations cause non-syndromic LHON-like optic neuropathy
Hereditary optic neuropathies (HON) are blinding conditions that affect the optic nerve which connects the eye to the brain. Mitochondrial (mt) and nuclear DNA mutations can cause HON. mtDNA mutations in complex I subunits of the respiratory chain cause a bilateral, painless, subacute disease known as Leber HON (LHON). Here, we report for the first […]
Single synonymous mutation in factor IX alters protein properties and underlies haemophilia B
The genetic code is degenerate. Eighteen of the twenty core amino acids are each encoded by multiple, so-called synonymous codons. The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution suggests that synonymous codons will be unaffected by the selective evolutionary pressure and that synonymous mutations will be inconsequential to protein quality. However, recent reports refute this prediction. A […]
Precise long non-coding RNA modulation in visual maintenance and impairment
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of DNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides with limited protein-coding potential, have been demonstradte to be crucial and pervasive cellular regulators in various physiological or pathological processes. Vision is a complex and vital perception that comprises 80% of the sensory information we receive. Based on current findings, our review […]
Diagnostic value of exome and whole genome sequencing in craniosynostosis
Craniosynostosis (the premature fusion of the skull bones) is a common disorder affecting 1 in 2,250 children and so is often encountered by paediatricians and geneticists. Because of the many different genetic causes of this disease, standard diagnostic testing procedures can often miss the underlying genetic lesion. In our study we identified the genetic cause […]
Recessive progressive symmetric erythrokeratoderma results from a homozygous loss-of-function mutation of KRT83 and is allelic with dominant monilethrix
Progressive symmetric erythrokeratoderma (PSEK) is a genetic condition featured by the appearance of symmetrically distributed demarcated hyperkeratotic plaques, often with associated palmoplantar hyperkeratosis, with new plaques developed over time. Previously mutation in two genes LOR and GJB4 have been implicated with PSEK, while a locus for PSEK has been mapped to 21q11.2-q21.2. In this study […]
Genome-wide association study identifies variants in HORMAD2 associated with tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures in children and young adults and may be recommended in patients who experience recurrent throat infections. Using Danish health register data, we screened the genomes of more than 3,000 tonsillectomy patients and 13,000 controls. Thereby, we identified variants in the gene HORMAD2 significantly associated with tonsillectomy. […]
A novel somatic mutation achieves partial rescue in a child with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome
Progeria is a fatal premature aging disease caused by mutations in the LMNA gene, leading to production of the toxic protein progerin. We describe a child with a mixed cell population (mosaicism) carrying two different progerin-producing mutations of the same nucleotide – one causing clinically severe Progeria and one milder Progeria. The child possessed intermediate […]
The importance of dynamic re-analysis in diagnostic whole exome sequencing
Exome sequencing is a method of investigating all of a person¹s genes at the same time to look for the mutation that is causing their illness. It is often used when targeted genetic testing has run into a dead end. However, half to three quarters of patients who have their exome sequenced will still not […]
Diagnostic value of exome and whole genome sequencing in craniosynostosis
Craniosynostosis (the premature fusion of the skull bones) is a common disorder affecting 1 in 2,250 children and so is often encountered by paediatricians and geneticists. Because of the many different genetic causes of this disease, standard diagnostic testing procedures can often miss the underlying genetic lesion. In our study we identified the genetic cause […]