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David Geneviève

Publications and source records attributed to David Geneviève.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Loss-of-function mutations in euchromatin histone methyl transferase 1 (EHMT1) cause the 9q34 subtelomeric deletion syndrome.

A clinically recognizable 9q subtelomeric deletion syndrome has recently been established. Common features seen in these patients are severe mental retardation, hypotonia, brachycephaly, flat face with hypertelorism, synophrys, anteverted nares, cupid bow or tented upper lip, everted lower lip, prognathism, macroglossia, conotruncal heart defects, and behavioral problems. The minimal critical region responsible for this 9q subtelomeric deletion (9q-) syndrome has been estimated to be <1 Mb and comprises the euchromatin histone methyl transferase 1 gene (EHMT1). Previous studies suggested that haploinsufficiency for EHMT1 is causative for 9q subtelomeric deletion syndrome. We have performed a comprehensive mutation analysis of the EHMT1 gene in 23 patients with clinical presentations reminiscent of 9q subtelomeric deletion syndrome. This analysis revealed three additional microdeletions that comprise the EHMT1 gene, including one interstitial deletion that reduces the critical region for this syndrome. Most importantly, we identified two de novo mutations--a nonsense mutation and a frameshift mutation--in the EHMT1 gene in patients with a typical 9q- phenotype. These results establish that haploinsufficiency of EHMT1 is causative for 9q subtelomeric deletion syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Exclusion of the dymeclin and PAPSS2 genes in a novel form of spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia and mental retardation.

Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasias (SEMD) represent a heterogeneous group of conditions composed of at least 15 well-defined entities. The classification is based on clinical, radiological and molecular findings. Among them, several conditions also include a mental retardation (MR) syndrome, namely Wolcott-Rallison syndrome, Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen syndrome (DMC) and lysosomal storage disorders. Here, we report on a novel form of SEMD with MR in two Pakistani sisters born to first-cousin parents. SEMD, MR, microcephaly, ataxia, facial dysmorphism and hirsutism of back and legs were noted in the two children. Skeletal findings included flat vertebral bodies with irregular vertebral plates, irregular and flared metaphyses with vertical striations, small and irregular epiphyses, small carpal bones and narrow iliac wings without lacy pelvis iliac crest. Similarities with DMC prompted us to test and eventually exclude the DMC gene, dymeclin, by direct sequencing. Similarly, we excluded the PAPSS2 gene (3'-alpha phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulphate synthase 2) responsible for SEMD Pakistani type. The combination of features observed in the two sisters does not fit with any previously reported SEMD and represents therefore a novel form of autosomal recessive SEMD with MR.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Paternal deletion of the GNAS imprinted locus (including Gnasxl) in two girls presenting with severe pre- and post-natal growth retardation and intractable feeding difficulties.

Deletions of the long arm of chromosome 20 are rare. Here, we report on two girls with a very small interstitial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 20 presenting with severe pre- and post-natal growth retardation, intractable feeding difficulties, abnormal subcutaneous adipose tissue, similar facial dysmorphism, psychomotor retardation and hypotonia. Standard cytogenetic studies were normal, but high-resolution chromosomes analysis showed the presence of a chromosome (20)(q13.2-q13.3) interstitial deletion. Karyotypes of both parents were normal. Molecular studies using FISH and microsatellite polymorphic markers showed that the deletion was of paternal origin and was approximatively 4.5 Mb in size. A review of other reported patients with similar deletions of the long arm of chromosome 20 shows that the observed phenotype might be explained in the light of the GNAS imprinted locus in particular by the absence of the Gnasxl paternally imprinted gene and the TFA2PC gene in the deleted genetic interval.

Adult↗

Clinical and molecular variability in congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia type I.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA) type I is a rare, inherited disorder characterised by ineffective erythropoiesis and macrocytic anaemia. Complex bone disease has only occasionally been associated with this disease. CDA I is caused by mutations in the CDAN1 gene encoding for codanin-1. Our aim was to characterise the CDAN1 mutation in eight unrelated patients with sporadic CDA I, three of whom had complex bone disease. Six novel mutations in the CDAN1 gene were identified. In two patients, one mutation and in another, both mutations were elusive. No patient was homozygous for a null-type mutation. However, one patient with complex bone disease was homozygous for a splice-site mutation (IVS-12+5G>A). Western blotting revealed that codanin-1 synthesis was 65% less than the control. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously unreported in the literature or the SNP database were also identified. Although the absence of codanin-1 is probably lethal, the presence of 35% of the protein was compatible with life but was associated with severe clinical manifestations. However, in most patients studied, no correlation could be established between the expected levels of codanin-1 or the nature of the mutation and the severity of the clinical manifestations.

Adolescent↗

Lamin A and ZMPSTE24 (FACE-1) defects cause nuclear disorganization and identify restrictive dermopathy as a lethal neonatal laminopathy.

Restrictive dermopathy (RD), also called tight skin contracture syndrome (OMIM 275210), is a rare disorder mainly characterized by intrauterine growth retardation, tight and rigid skin with erosions, prominent superficial vasculature and epidermal hyperkeratosis, facial features (small mouth, small pinched nose and micrognathia), sparse/absent eyelashes and eyebrows, mineralization defects of the skull, thin dysplastic clavicles, pulmonary hypoplasia, multiple joint contractures and an early neonatal lethal course. Liveborn children usually die within the first week of life. The overall prevalence of consanguineous cases suggested an autosomal recessive inheritance. We explored nine fetuses/newborns children with RD. Two were found to have an heterozygous splicing mutation in the LMNA gene, leading to the complete or partial loss of exon 11 in mRNAs encoding Lamin A and resulting in a truncated Prelamin A protein. Lamins are major constituents of the nuclear lamina, a filamentous meshwork underlying the inner nuclear envelope. In the other seven patients, a unique heterozygous insertion leading to the creation of a premature termination codon was identified in the gene ZMPSTE24, also known as FACE-1 in human. This gene encodes a metalloproteinase specifically involved in the post-translational processing of Lamin A precursor. In all patients carrying a ZMPSTE24 mutation, loss of expression of Lamin A as well as abnormal patterns of nuclear sizes and shapes and mislocalization of Lamin-associated proteins was evidenced. Our results indicate that a common pathogenetic pathway, involving defects of the nuclear lamina and matrix, is involved in all RD cases. RD is thus one of the most deleterious laminopathies identified so far in humans caused by (primary or secondary) A-type Lamin defects and nuclear structural and functional alterations.

Bone and Bones↗

Familial Mediterranean fever among patients from Karabakh and the diagnostic value of MEFV gene analysis in all classically affected populations.

OBJECTIVE: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal-recessive disorder that is common in Armenian, Turkish, Arab, and Sephardic Jewish populations. Its clinical diagnosis is one of exclusion, with the patients displaying nonspecific symptoms related to serosal inflammation. MEFV gene analysis has provided the first objective diagnostic criterion for FMF. However, in the absence of an identified mutation (NI/NI genotype), both the sensitivity of the molecular analyses and the involvement of the MEFV gene in FMF are called into question. The present study was designed to further evaluate the diagnostic value of MEFV analysis in another population of Mediterranean extraction. METHODS: The MEFV gene was screened for mutations in 50 patients living in Karabakh (near Armenia) who fulfilled the established criteria for FMF. In addition, we analyzed published series of patients from the above-mentioned at-risk populations. RESULTS: The mutation spectrum in Karabakhian patients, which consisted of only 6 mutations (with 26% of NI alleles), differed from that reported in Armenian patients. Strikingly, among patients from Karabakh and among all classically affected populations, the distribution of genotypes differed dramatically from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P = 0.0016 and P < 0.00001, respectively). These results, combined with other population genetics-based data, revealed the existence of an FMF-like condition that, depending on the patients' ancestry, was shown to affect 85-99% of those with the NI/NI genotype. CONCLUSION: These data illuminate the meaning of negative results of MEFV analyses and show that in all populations evaluated, most patients with the NI/NI genotype had disease that mimicked FMF and was unrelated to the MEFV gene. Our findings also demonstrate the high sensitivity of a search for very few mutations in order to perform a molecular diagnosis of MEFV-related FMF.

Adolescent↗