Gene symbol: COL11A1. Disease: Marshall syndrome.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A J Griffith.
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Marshall syndrome is a rare, autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia that is phenotypically similar to the more common disorder Stickler syndrome. For a large kindred with Marshall syndrome, we demonstrate a splice-donor-site mutation in the COL11A1 gene that cosegregates with the phenotype. The G+1-->A transition causes in-frame skipping of a 54-bp exon and deletes amino acids 726-743 from the major triple-helical domain of the alpha1(XI) collagen polypeptide. The data support the hypothesis that the alpha1(XI) collagen polypeptide has an important role in skeletal morphogenesis that extends beyond its contribution to structural integrity of the cartilage extracellular matrix. Our results also demonstrate allelism of Marshall syndrome with the subset of Stickler syndrome families associated with COL11A1 mutations.
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To determine the mode of inheritance of familial nonsyndromic Mondini dysplasia. STUDY DESIGN: Correlative clinical genetic analysis of a single kindred. METHODS: Clinical history, physical examination, audiologic analysis, computed tomography of the temporal bones, and cytogenetic analysis. RESULTS: The male proband, three affected sisters, and an affected brother are offspring of unaffected parents. The mother and an unaffected brother have audiologic findings suggestive of heterozygous carrier status for a recessive hearing loss gene. CONCLUSIONS: Pedigree analysis indicates autosomal recessive inheritance in this family. The observed inheritance and clinical, audiologic, and radiologic findings are different from those previously described for another family with nonsyndromic Mondini dysplasia. The phenotype in this study family therefore represents a distinct subtype, indicating clinical and genetic heterogeneity of this disorder. This information should facilitate future molecular linkage analyses and genetic counselling of patients with inner ear malformations.
The transgene-induced mutation 9257 and the spontaneous mutation twirler cause craniofacial and inner ear malformations and are located on mouse chromosome 18 near the ataxia locus ax. To map the human homolog of 9257, a probe from the transgene insertion site was used to screen a human genomic library. Analysis of a cross-hybridizing human clone identified a 3-kb conserved sequence block that does not appear to contain protein coding sequence. Analysis of somatic cell hybrid panels assigned the human locus to 18q11. The polymorphic microsatellite markers D18S1001 and D18S1002 were isolated from the human locus and mapped by linkage analysis using the CEPH pedigrees. The 9257 locus maps close to the centromeres of human chromosome 18q and mouse chromosome 18 at the proximal end of a conserved linkage group. To evaluate the role of this locus in human craniofacial disorders, linkage to D18S1002 was tested in 11 families with autosomal dominant nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate and 3 families with autosomal dominant cleft palate only. Obligatory recombinants were observed in 8 of the families, and negative lod scores from the other families indicated that these disorders are not linked to the chromosome 18 loci.
The location of three mutations on proximal Chromosome (Chr) 18 was determined by analysis of the offspring of several backcrosses. The results demonstrate that ataxia and the insertional mutation TgN9257Mm are separated by less than 1 cM and are located approximately 3 cM from the centromere, while the balding locus is 7 cM more distal. Previous data demonstrated that the twirler locus also maps within 1 cM of ataxia. The corrected locations will contribute to identification of appropriate candidate genes for these mutations. Two polymorphic microsatellite markers for proximal Chr 18 are described, D18Umi1 and D18Umi2. The Lama3 locus encoding the alpha 3 subunit of nicein was mapped distal to ataxia and did not recombine with Tg9257.
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The large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) is a distinct clinical entity characterized by stepwise progressive sensorineural hearing loss associated with isolated enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct. A correlative clinical, audiologic, vestibular, cytogenetic, and radiographic analysis of a family with inherited LVAS was performed. The male proband and his affected brother are offspring of unaffected parents, and have no other abnormalities. Pedigree analysis suggests autosomal recessive or X-linked inheritance with variable expressivity of LVAS in this family. This study is the first description of familial inheritance of LVAS. LVAS may account for a significant number of patients with nonsyndromal, genetic sensorineural hearing loss. Future molecular analyses of this study family may identify the causative gene(s) in LVAS.
Ku, also known as nuclear Factor IV, is an abundant nuclear DNA-binding protein which requires free DNA ends for the initial interaction with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and can bind at multiple sites along dsDNA in an energy-independent manner. Its function in vivo is unknown, but it has been implicated in both DNA replication and repair and in transcriptional control. We have used an electrophoretic mobility shift assay to further define the DNA binding properties of the Ku protein. Titration of Ku to a fixed amount of any of several target linear dsDNA fragments produced ladders of shifted bands proportional to the length of DNA, confirming the multiple binding activity of Ku and demonstrating its sequence-independent nature. Using a short DNA fragment with one Ku binding site, the binding constant of Ku for dsDNA ends was calculated to be 2.4 x 10(9) M-1. Competitive inhibition experiments confirmed the requirement of a free DNA end for binding by Ku and demonstrated that Ku binds isolated nicks in dsDNA. Nick binding was also observed directly using radiolabeled singly nicked circular DNA. The relative affinities of Ku for specific nick sites and free DNA ends were approximately equal, and nick binding was sequence-independent. Finally, in a study of a possible role for Ku in protecting or repairing damaged DNA, Ku was shown to inhibit the ability of T4 DNA ligase to circularize linear dsDNA molecules, demonstrating that some Ku molecules remain at the DNA terminus rather than translocate. A similar inhibition was not observed at nicks. These experiments document a new DNA binding specificity for Ku and further suggest that the high affinity end and nick binding activity is biologically relevant to its functions in vivo.
The cDNA and partial genomic nucleotide (nt) sequences were derived for the mouse Sm B polypeptide and compared to the cDNA and genomic sequences encoding human Sm B. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequences from the mouse and human genes are identical with the exception of a single conserved aa substitution, accounting for the ability of anti-Sm antibodies to recognize the Sm polypeptides from a broad range of species. The genomic sequence of mouse B gene is similar to the human B genomic locus that extends from exon 6 to exon 7. These loci include conservation of both 3' alternative splice sites and putative branch points required to process B and B' mRNAs in human cells. However, the nt sequence downstream from the putative distal 3' splice junction and single nt flanking the 3' splice site consensus sequence, differ between mouse and human B. This results in a murine mRNA with a different predicted secondary structure around the distal 3' splice site when compared to humans. Thus, secondary structural constraints in the mRNA or changes in the exon sequence might prevent recognition of this alternative splice site to form B' mRNA in murine tissues.
The Ku protein is composed of two polypeptide subunits, p70 and p80, and binds DNA ends in vitro. Previous studies suggested that p70 and p80 are physically associated in vivo, although such an association may have been mediated by DNA. We have now utilized full-length Ku polypeptides synthesized in vitro to examine the association of p70, p80, and linear DNA to form a complex. In gel filtration chromatography, p70 migrates as a 70-kDa structure, whereas p80 migrates at 150 kDa. Co-translation of the two cDNAs yields complexes which migrate at 300 kDa and contain equimolar quantities of the p70 and p80 polypeptides, providing direct evidence that p70 and p80 assemble into a complex in the absence of DNA. To demonstrate that this recombinant protein complex binds DNA, we developed a radiolabeled protein electrophoretic mobility shift assay. When radiolabeled proteins synthesized in vitro were incubated with linear DNA and fractionated in a nonreducing, nondenaturing gel, a band representing a complex of p70, p80, and the DNA was seen. Formation of this Ku-DNA complex required free DNA ends, and binding to DNA ends was not observed with individual p70 or p80 subunits. DNA binding was not reconstituted by mixing the individual subunits together. These studies thus demonstrate that it is the complex of p70 and p80, not individual p70 or p80, which possesses the DNA binding properties previously described for native Ku protein. These results provide new information about the assembly, structure, and DNA binding properties of the Ku protein.
cDNA encoding the p70 polypeptide subunit of the human Ku autoantigen was isolated. In vitro expression analysis of the cDNA demonstrates that it encodes the entire open reading frame. Nucleotide sequence analysis and comparison to other previously described sequences indicate the existence of several single-nucleotide and amino acid polymorphisms. Southern blot analyses demonstrate the presence of multiple copies of homologous DNA sequences in the human genome. These data support the hypothesis that multiple genes encode a family of Ku(p70)-related polypeptides.
Anti-Ku (p70/p80) autoantibodies in patients with scleroderma-polymyositis overlap syndrome recognize a 70-kDa/80-kDa protein heterodimer which binds to terminal regions of double-stranded DNA. In the present study, we isolated full-length cDNAs that encode the 80-kDa Ku subunit. Initial screening of a human spleen cDNA library with anti-Ku antibodies yielded a cDNA of 1.0 kilobase (kb) (termed K71) encoding a portion of the 80-kDa Ku polypeptide (identification based on immunological criteria). In RNA blots, this cDNA hybridized with two mRNAs of 3.4 and 2.6 kb. In rescreening of a cDNA library constructed from simian virus 40-transformed human fibroblast mRNA with the K71 cDNA as a hybridization probe, three positive clones were isolated, and that bearing the longest insert (termed Ku80-6) was selected for further characterization. In vitro transcription and translation experiments produced an immunoprecipitable polypeptide which comigrated with the 80-kDa Ku subunit. The Ku80-6 cDNA proved to be 3304 nucleotides in length, with an additional poly(A) tail, closely approximating the size of the larger mRNA. It contains a single long open reading frame encoding 732 amino acids (Mr = 82,713). The putative polypeptide has a high content of acidic amino acids and a region with periodic repeat of leucine in every seventh position which may form the "leucine zipper" structure. In genomic DNA blots, probes derived from the opposite ends of cDNA Ku80-6 hybridized with several nonoverlapping restriction fragments from human leukocyte DNA, indicating that the gene encoding the 80-kDa Ku polypeptide is divided into several exons by intervening sequences.
The transgene insertional mutation 9257 on mouse chromosome 18 was originally identified by the circling behavior caused by vestibular abnormalities in heterozygous mutants. To characterize the homozygous phenotype, we generated F2 offspring from the cross (C57BL/6J-tg/+ x DBA/2J). Eye defects ranging in severity from microphthalmia to anophthalmia were observed in the tg/tg offspring. Dysmorphic development of the lens was evident as early as E10.5 in homozygous transgenic mice. Apparent agenesis of the lateral semicircular canal was evident at E14.5. Anomalies of nasomaxillary structures and olfactory neuroepithelium were present in heterozygous and homozygous transgenic mice. The 9257 mutation provides a model for analysis of the morphogenesis of these three neurosensory systems and their associated bony structures.
The clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of autoimmune inner ear disease are reviewed. Recent studies indicating an autoimmune etiology and pathogenesis are discussed, along with a comparative analysis of several promising new animal models. Further studies to define the natural history, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of the disease are suggested.