@article{BoehmVasliMaureretal.2013, author = {B{\"o}hm, Johann and Vasli, Nasim and Maurer, Marie and Cowling, Belinda and Shelton, G. Diane and Kress, Wolfram and Toussaint, Anne and Prokic, Ivana and Schara, Ulrike and Anderson, Thomas James and Weis, Joachim and Tiret, Laurent and Laporte, Jocelyn}, title = {Altered Splicing of the BIN1 Muscle-Specific Exon in Humans and Dogs with Highly Progressive Centronuclear Myopathy}, series = {PLOS Genetics}, volume = {9}, journal = {PLOS Genetics}, number = {6}, issn = {1553-7404}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1003430}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-127590}, pages = {e1003430}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Amphiphysin 2, encoded by BIN1, is a key factor for membrane sensing and remodelling in different cell types. Homozygous BIN1 mutations in ubiquitously expressed exons are associated with autosomal recessive centronuclear myopathy (CNM), a mildly progressive muscle disorder typically showing abnormal nuclear centralization on biopsies. In addition, misregulation of BIN1 splicing partially accounts for the muscle defects in myotonic dystrophy (DM). However, the muscle-specific function of amphiphysin 2 and its pathogenicity in both muscle disorders are not well understood. In this study we identified and characterized the first mutation affecting the splicing of the muscle-specific BIN1 exon 11 in a consanguineous family with rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal centronuclear myopathy. In parallel, we discovered a mutation in the same BIN1 exon 11 acceptor splice site as the genetic cause of the canine Inherited Myopathy of Great Danes (IMGD). Analysis of RNA from patient muscle demonstrated complete skipping of exon 11 and BIN1 constructs without exon 11 were unable to promote membrane tubulation in differentiated myotubes. Comparative immunofluorescence and ultrastructural analyses of patient and canine biopsies revealed common structural defects, emphasizing the importance of amphiphysin 2 in membrane remodelling and maintenance of the skeletal muscle triad. Our data demonstrate that the alteration of the muscle-specific function of amphiphysin 2 is a common pathomechanism for centronuclear myopathy, myotonic dystrophy, and IMGD. The IMGD dog is the first faithful model for human BIN1-related CNM and represents a mammalian model available for preclinical trials of potential therapies.}, language = {en} } @article{WalterReilichThieleetal.2013, author = {Walter, Maggie C. and Reilich, Peter and Thiele, Simone and Schessl, Joachim and Schreiber, Herbert and Reiners, Karlheinz and Kress, Wolfram and M{\"u}ller-Reible, Clemens and Vorgerd, Matthias and Urban, Peter and Schrank, Bertold and Deschauer, Marcus and Schlotter-Weigel, Beate and Kohnen, Ralf and Lochm{\"u}ller, Hans}, title = {Treatment of dysferlinopathy with deflazacort: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial}, series = {Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases}, volume = {8}, journal = {Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases}, number = {26}, issn = {1750-1172}, doi = {10.1186/1750-1172-8-26}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125663}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Dysferlinopathies are autosomal recessive disorders caused by mutations in the dysferlin (DYSF) gene encoding the dysferlin protein. DYSF mutations lead to a wide range of muscular phenotypes, with the most prominent being Miyoshi myopathy (MM) and limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B). Methods: We assessed the one-year-natural course of dysferlinopathy, and the safety and efficacy of deflazacort treatment in a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. After one year of natural course without intervention, 25 patients with genetically defined dysferlinopathy were randomized to receive deflazacort and placebo for six months each (1 mg/kg/day in month one, 1 mg/kg every 2nd day during months two to six) in one of two treatment sequences. Results: During one year of natural course, muscle strength declined about 2\% as measured by CIDD (Clinical Investigation of Duchenne Dystrophy) score, and 76 Newton as measured by hand-held dynamometry. Deflazacort did not improve muscle strength. In contrast, there is a trend of worsening muscle strength under deflazacort treatment, which recovers after discontinuation of the study drug. During deflazacort treatment, patients showed a broad spectrum of steroid side effects. Conclusion: Deflazacort is not an effective therapy for dysferlinopathies, and off-label use is not warranted. This is an important finding, since steroid treatment should not be administered in patients with dysferlinopathy, who may be often misdiagnosed as polymyositis.}, language = {en} } @article{VonaMazaheriLinetal.2021, author = {Vona, Barbara and Mazaheri, Neda and Lin, Sheng-Jia and Dunbar, Lucy A. and Maroofian, Reza and Azaiez, Hela and Booth, Kevin T. and Vitry, Sandrine and Rad, Aboulfazl and R{\"u}schendorf, Franz and Varshney, Pratishtha and Fowler, Ben and Beetz, Christian and Alagramam, Kumar N. and Murphy, David and Shariati, Gholamreza and Sedaghat, Alireza and Houlden, Henry and Petree, Cassidy and VijayKumar, Shruthi and Smith, Richard J. H. and Haaf, Thomas and El-Amraoui, Aziz and Bowl, Michael R. and Varshney, Gaurav K. and Galehdari, Hamid}, title = {A biallelic variant in CLRN2 causes non-syndromic hearing loss in humans}, series = {Human Genetics}, volume = {140}, journal = {Human Genetics}, number = {6}, issn = {1432-1203}, doi = {10.1007/s00439-020-02254-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-267740}, pages = {915-931}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Deafness, the most frequent sensory deficit in humans, is extremely heterogeneous with hundreds of genes involved. Clinical and genetic analyses of an extended consanguineous family with pre-lingual, moderate-to-profound autosomal recessive sensorineural hearing loss, allowed us to identify CLRN2, encoding a tetraspan protein, as a new deafness gene. Homozygosity mapping followed by exome sequencing identified a 14.96 Mb locus on chromosome 4p15.32p15.1 containing a likely pathogenic missense variant in CLRN2 (c.494C > A, NM_001079827.2) segregating with the disease. Using in vitro RNA splicing analysis, we show that the CLRN2 c.494C > A variant leads to two events: (1) the substitution of a highly conserved threonine (uncharged amino acid) to lysine (charged amino acid) at position 165, p.(Thr165Lys), and (2) aberrant splicing, with the retention of intron 2 resulting in a stop codon after 26 additional amino acids, p.(Gly146Lysfs*26). Expression studies and phenotyping of newly produced zebrafish and mouse models deficient for clarin 2 further confirm that clarin 2, expressed in the inner ear hair cells, is essential for normal organization and maintenance of the auditory hair bundles, and for hearing function. Together, our findings identify CLRN2 as a new deafness gene, which will impact future diagnosis and treatment for deaf patients.}, language = {en} } @article{RickmanLachAbhyankaretal.2015, author = {Rickman, Kimberly A. and Lach, Francis P. and Abhyankar, Avinash and Donovan, Frank X. and Sanborn, Erica M. and Kennedy, Jennifer A. and Sougnez, Carrie and Gabriel, Stacey B. and Elemento, Olivier and Chandrasekharappa, Settara C. and Schindler, Detlev and Auerbach, Arleen D. and Smogorzewska, Agata}, title = {Deficiency of UBE2T, the E2 Ubiquitin Ligase Necessary for FANCD2 and FANCI Ubiquitination, Causes FA-T Subtype of Fanconi Anemia}, series = {Cell Reports}, volume = {12}, journal = {Cell Reports}, doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2015.06.014}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151525}, pages = {35 -- 41}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare bone marrow failure and cancer predisposition syndrome resulting from pathogenic mutations in genes encoding proteins participating in the repair of DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs). Mutations in 17 genes (FANCA-FANCS) have been identified in FA patients, defining 17 complementation groups. Here, we describe an individual presenting with typical FA features who is deficient for the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), UBE2T. UBE2T is known to interact with FANCL, the E3 ubiquitin-ligase component of the multiprotein FA core complex, and is necessary for the monoubiquitination of FANCD2 and FANCI. Proband fibroblasts do not display FANCD2 and FANCI monoubiquitination, do not form FANCD2 foci following treatment with mitomycin C, and are hypersensitive to crosslinking agents. These cellular defects are complemented by expression of wild-type UBE2T, demonstrating that deficiency of the protein UBE2T can lead to Fanconi anemia. UBE2T gene gains an alias of FANCT.}, language = {en} }