Bio


Dr. Jacinda Sampson received her MD and a PhD in biochemistry from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and completed her neurology residency and neurogenetics fellowship at the University of Utah. She served at Columbia University Medical Center prior to joining Stanford University Medical Center in 2015. Her areas of interest include myotonic dystrophies, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and neurogenetic disorders such as neurofibromatosis, hereditary spastic paraparesis, spinocerebellar ataxia, among others. She is interested in clinical trials for treatment of neurogenetic disorders, and in the clinical application of next-generation genomic sequencing to genetic testing.

Clinical Focus


  • Neurogenetics
  • Neuromuscular Medicine

Honors & Awards


  • Stephen Q. Shafer Award for Humanism in Neurology, Columbia University Neurology Residents (2014)

Professional Education


  • Fellowship: University of Utah School of Medicine (2006) UT
  • Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology (2005)
  • Residency: University of Utah School of Medicine (2004) UT
  • Internship: University of Utah School of Medicine (2001) UT
  • Medical Education: University of Alabama at Birmingham (2000) AL
  • Fellowship, University of Utah School of Medicine, Neurogenetics (2006)
  • Residency, University of Utah School of Medicine, Neurology (2004)
  • Internship, University of Utah School of Medicine, Internal Medicine (2001)
  • PhD, University of Alabama, Biochemistry (1999)
  • MD, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Medical Degree (2000)

Clinical Trials


  • A Clinical Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Leriglitazone in Adult Male Subjects With Cerebral Adrenoleukodystrophy Recruiting

    A Clinical Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Leriglitazone in Adults Male Subjects with Cerebral Adrenoleukodystrophy.

    View full details

2024-25 Courses


All Publications


  • Large-scale mutational analysis identifies UNC93B1 variants that drive TLR-mediated autoimmunity in mice and humans. The Journal of experimental medicine Rael, V. E., Yano, J. A., Huizar, J. P., Slayden, L. C., Weiss, M. A., Turcotte, E. A., Terry, J. M., Zuo, W., Thiffault, I., Pastinen, T., Farrow, E. G., Jenkins, J. L., Becker, M. L., Wong, S. C., Stevens, A. M., Otten, C., Allenspach, E. J., Bonner, D. E., Bernstein, J. A., Wheeler, M. T., Saxton, R. A., Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Liu, B., Majer, O., Barton, G. M., Acosta, M. T., Adams, D. R., Alvarez, R. L., Alvey, J., Allworth, A., Andrews, A., Ashley, E. A., Afzali, B., Bacino, C. A., Bademci, G., Balasubramanyam, A., Baldridge, D., Bale, J., Bamshad, M., Barbouth, D., Bayrak-Toydemir, P., Beck, A., Beggs, A. H., Behrens, E., Bejerano, G., Bellen, H. J., Bennett, J., Bernstein, J. A., Berry, G. T., Bican, A., Bivona, S., Blue, E., Bohnsack, J., Bonner, D., Botto, L., Briere, L. C., Brown, G., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Byers, P., Byrd, W. E., Carey, J., Cassini, T., Chanprasert, S., Chao, H., Chinn, I., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cobban, L. A., Cogan, J. D., Coggins, M., Cole, F. S., Colley, H. A., Corona, R., Craigen, W. J., Crouse, A. B., Cunningham, M., D'Souza, P., Dai, H., Dasari, S., Davis, J., Dayal, J. G., Delgado, M., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dipple, K., Doherty, D., Dorrani, N., Doss, A. L., Douine, E. D., Earl, D., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Eng, C. M., Falk, M., Fieg, E. L., Fisher, P. G., Fogel, B. L., Fu, J., Gahl, W. A., Glass, I., Goddard, P. C., Godfrey, R. A., Gropman, A., Halley, M. C., Hamid, R., Hanchard, N., Hassey, K., Hayes, N., High, F., Hing, A., Hisama, F. M., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Horike-Pyne, M., Huang, A., Huang, Y., Hutchison, S., Introne, W., Izumi, K., Jarvik, G. P., Jarvik, J., Jayadev, S., Jean-Marie, O., Jobanputra, V., Kaitryn, E., Ketkar, S., Kiley, D., Kilich, G., Kobren, S. N., Kohane, I. S., Kohler, J. N., Korrick, S., Krakow, D., Krasnewich, D. M., Kravets, E., Lalani, S. R., Lam, C., Lanpher, B. C., Lanza, I. R., LeBlanc, K., Lee, B. H., Lewis, R. A., Liu, P., Longo, N., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., Macnamara, E. F., MacRae, C. A., Maduro, V. V., Maghiro, A., Mahoney, R., Malicdan, M. C., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Mao, R., Marom, R., Marth, G., Martin, B. A., Martin, M. G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., McConkie-Rosell, A., McCray, A. T., McGee, E., Might, M., Mikati, M., Miller, D., Mirzaa, G., Morava, E., Moretti, P., Morimoto, M., Mulvihill, J. J., Nakano-Okuno, M., Nelson, S. F., Nieves-Rodriguez, S., Novacic, D., Oglesbee, D., Orengo, J. P., Pace, L., Pak, S., Pallais, J. C., Papp, J. C., Parker, N. H., Petcharet, L., Phillips, J. A., Posey, J. E., Potocki, L., Pusey Swerdzewski, B. N., Quinlan, A., Rao, D. A., Raper, A., Raskind, W., Renteria, G., Reuter, C. M., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Rosenthal, E., Rossignol, F., Ruzhnikov, M., Sabaii, M., Sampson, J. B., Schedl, T., Schoch, K., Scott, D. A., Seto, E., Sharma, P., Shashi, V., Shelkowitz, E., Sheppeard, S., Shin, J., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Sisco, K., Smith, K. S., Solnica-Krezel, L., Solomon, B., Spillmann, R. C., Stergachis, A., Stoler, J. M., Sullivan, K., Sutton, S., Sweetser, D. A., Sybert, V., Tabor, H. K., Tan, Q. K., Tan, A. L., Tarakad, A., Taylor, H., Tekin, M., Thorson, W., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Ungar, R. A., Urv, T. K., Vanderver, A., Velinder, M., Viskochil, D., Vogel, T. P., Wahl, C. E., Walker, M., Walley, N. M., Wambach, J., Wan, J., Wang, L., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Wegner, D., Hubshman, M. W., Wener, M., Wenger, T., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Whitlock, J., Wolfe, L. A., Worley, K., Yamamoto, S., Zhang, Z., Zuchner, S. 2024; 221 (8)

    Abstract

    Nucleic acid-sensing Toll-like receptors (TLR) 3, 7/8, and 9 are key innate immune sensors whose activities must be tightly regulated to prevent systemic autoimmune or autoinflammatory disease or virus-associated immunopathology. Here, we report a systematic scanning-alanine mutagenesis screen of all cytosolic and luminal residues of the TLR chaperone protein UNC93B1, which identified both negative and positive regulatory regions affecting TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 responses. We subsequently identified two families harboring heterozygous coding mutations in UNC93B1, UNC93B1+/T93I and UNC93B1+/R336C, both in key negative regulatory regions identified in our screen. These patients presented with cutaneous tumid lupus and juvenile idiopathic arthritis plus neuroinflammatory disease, respectively. Disruption of UNC93B1-mediated regulation by these mutations led to enhanced TLR7/8 responses, and both variants resulted in systemic autoimmune or inflammatory disease when introduced into mice via genome editing. Altogether, our results implicate the UNC93B1-TLR7/8 axis in human monogenic autoimmune diseases and provide a functional resource to assess the impact of yet-to-be-reported UNC93B1 mutations.

    View details for DOI 10.1084/jem.20232005

    View details for PubMedID 38780621

  • The Undiagnosed Diseases Network: Characteristics of solvable applicants and diagnostic suggestions for non-accepted ones. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics Mulvihill, J. J., Findley, L., Ni, W., Sinsheimer, J. S., Cole, F. S., Esteves, C., Bernstein, J. A., Newman, J. H., Wheeler, M. T., Mokry, J. R. 2024: 101203

    Abstract

    Can certain characteristics identify as solvable some undiagnosed patients who seek extensive evaluation and thorough record review, like by the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN)?The UDN is a national research resource to solve medical mysteries through team science. Applicants provide informed consent to access to their medical records. After review, expert panels assess if applicants meet inclusion and exclusion criteria to select participants. When not accepting applicants, UDN experts may offer suggestions for diagnostic efforts. Using minimal information from initial applications, we compare features in applicants not accepted with those accepted and either solved or still not solved by the UDN. The diagnostic suggestions offered to non-accepted applicants and their clinicians were tallied.Non-accepted applicants were more often female, older at first symptoms and application, and longer in review than accepted applicants. The accepted and successfully diagnosed applicants were younger in ages, shorter in review time, more often non-white, of Hispanic ethnicity, and presenting with nervous system features. Half of non-accepted applicants were given suggestions for further local diagnostic evaluation. A few seemed to have two major diagnoses or a provocative environmental exposure history.Comprehensive UDN record review generates possibly helpful advice.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101203

    View details for PubMedID 38967101

  • Loss of function of FAM177A1, a Golgi complex localized protein, causes a novel neurodevelopmental disorder. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics Kohler, J. N., Legro, N. R., Baldridge, D., Shin, J., Bowman, A., Ugur, B., Jackstadt, M. M., Shriver, L. P., Patti, G. J., Zhang, B., Feng, W., McAdow, A. R., Goddard, P., Ungar, R. A., Jensen, T., Smith, K. S., Fresard, L., Alvarez, R., Bonner, D., Reuter, C. M., McCormack, C., Kravets, E., Marwaha, S., Holt, J. M., Worthey, E., Ashley, E. A., Montgomery, S. B., Fisher, P., Postlethwait, J., De Camilli, P., Solnica-Krezel, L., Bernstein, J. A., Wheeler, M. T. 2024: 101166

    Abstract

    The function of FAM177A1 and its relationship to human disease is largely unknown. Recent studies have demonstrated FAM177A1 to be a critical immune-associated gene. One previous case study has linked FAM177A1 to a neurodevelopmental disorder in four siblings.We identified five individuals from three unrelated families with biallelic variants in FAM177A1. The physiological function of FAM177A1 was studied in a zebrafish model organism and human cell lines with loss-of-function variants similar to the affected cohort.These individuals share a characteristic phenotype defined by macrocephaly, global developmental delay, intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral abnormalities, hypotonia, and gait disturbance. We show that FAM177A1 localizes to the Golgi complex in mammalian and zebrafish cells. Intersection of the RNA-seq and metabolomic datasets from FAM177A1-deficient human fibroblasts and whole zebrafish larvae demonstrated dysregulation of pathways associated with apoptosis, inflammation, and negative regulation of cell proliferation.Our data sheds light on the emerging function of FAM177A1 and defines FAM177A1-related neurodevelopmental disorder as a new clinical entity.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101166

    View details for PubMedID 38767059

  • Immunological and hematological findings as major features in a patient with a new germline pathogenic CBL variant. American journal of medical genetics. Part A Stellacci, E., Carter, J. N., Pannone, L., Stevenson, D., Moslehi, D., Venanzi, S., Bernstein, J. A., Tartaglia, M., Martinelli, S. 2024: e63627

    Abstract

    Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (CBL) encodes an adaptor protein with E3-ligase activity negatively controlling intracellular signaling downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases. Somatic CBL mutations play a driver role in a variety of cancers, particularly myeloid malignancies, whereas germline defects in the same gene underlie a RASopathy having clinical overlap with Noonan syndrome (NS) and predisposing to juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia and vasculitis. Other features of the disorder include cardiac defects, postnatal growth delay, cryptorchidism, facial dysmorphisms, and predisposition to develop autoimmune disorders. Here we report a novel CBL variant (c.1202G>T; p.Cys401Phe) occurring de novo in a subject with café-au-lait macules, feeding difficulties, mild dysmorphic features, psychomotor delay, autism spectrum disorder, thrombocytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, and recurrent hypertransaminasemia. The identified variant affects an evolutionarily conserved residue located in the RING finger domain, a known mutational hot spot of both germline and somatic mutations. Functional studies documented enhanced EGF-induced ERK phosphorylation in transiently transfected COS1 cells. The present findings further support the association of pathogenic CBL variants with immunological and hematological manifestations in the context of a presentation with only minor findings reminiscent of NS or a clinically related RASopathy.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/ajmg.a.63627

    View details for PubMedID 38613168

  • Exome and genome sequencing in a heterogeneous population of patients with rare disease: Identifying predictors of a diagnosis. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics Pucel, J., Briere, L. C., Reuter, C., Gochyyev, P., LeBlanc, K. 2024: 101115

    Abstract

    Exome (ES) and genome sequencing (GS) are increasingly being utilized for individuals with rare and undiagnosed diseases; however, guidelines on their use remain limited. This study aimed to identify factors associated with diagnosis by ES and/or GS in a heterogeneous population of patients with rare and undiagnosed diseases.In this case control study, we reviewed data from 400 diagnosed and 400 undiagnosed randomly selected participants in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), all of whom had undergone ES and/or GS. We analyzed factors associated with receiving a diagnosis by ES and/or GS.Factors associated with a decreased odds of being diagnosed included adult symptom onset, singleton sequencing, and having undergone ES and/or GS prior to acceptance to the UDN (48%, 51%, and 32% lower odds, respectively). Factors that increased the odds of being diagnosed by ES and/or GS included having primarily neurological symptoms and having undergone prior chromosomal microarray testing (44% and 59% higher odds, respectively).We identified several factors that were associated with receiving a diagnosis by ES and/or GS. This will ideally inform the utilization of ES and/or GS and help manage expectations of individuals and families undergoing these tests.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101115

    View details for PubMedID 38436216

  • Recurring homozygous ACTN2 variant (p.Arg506Gly) causes a recessive myopathy. Annals of clinical and translational neurology Donkervoort, S., Mohassel, P., O'Leary, M., Bonner, D. E., Hartley, T., Acquaye, N., Brull, A., Mozaffar, T., Saporta, M. A., Dyment, D. A., Sampson, J. B., Pajusalu, S., Austin-Tse, C., Hurth, K., Cohen, J. S., McWalter, K., Warman-Chardon, J., Crunk, A., Foley, A. R., Mammen, A. L., Wheeler, M. T., O'Donnell-Luria, A., Bönnemann, C. G. 2024

    Abstract

    ACTN2, encoding alpha-actinin-2, is essential for cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcomeric function. ACTN2 variants are a known cause of cardiomyopathy without skeletal muscle involvement. Recently, specific dominant monoallelic variants were reported as a rare cause of core myopathy of variable clinical onset, although the pathomechanism remains to be elucidated. The possibility of a recessively inherited ACTN2-myopathy has also been proposed in a single series.We provide clinical, imaging, and histological characterization of a series of patients with a novel biallelic ACTN2 variant.We report seven patients from five families with a recurring biallelic variant in ACTN2: c.1516A>G (p.Arg506Gly), all manifesting with a consistent phenotype of asymmetric, progressive, proximal, and distal lower extremity predominant muscle weakness. None of the patients have cardiomyopathy or respiratory insufficiency. Notably, all patients report Palestinian ethnicity, suggesting a possible founder ACTN2 variant, which was confirmed through haplotype analysis in two families. Muscle biopsies reveal an underlying myopathic process with disruption of the intermyofibrillar architecture, Type I fiber predominance and atrophy. MRI of the lower extremities demonstrate a distinct pattern of asymmetric muscle involvement with selective involvement of the hamstrings and adductors in the thigh, and anterior tibial group and soleus in the lower leg. Using an in vitro splicing assay, we show that c.1516A>G ACTN2 does not impair normal splicing.This series further establishes ACTN2 as a muscle disease gene, now also including variants with a recessive inheritance mode, and expands the clinical spectrum of actinopathies to adult-onset progressive muscle disease.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/acn3.51983

    View details for PubMedID 38311799

  • Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteomic Changes after Nusinersen in Patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Journal of clinical medicine Beaudin, M., Kamali, T., Tang, W., Hagerman, K. A., Dunaway Young, S., Ghiglieri, L., Parker, D. M., Lehallier, B., Tesi-Rocha, C., Sampson, J. B., Duong, T., Day, J. W. 2023; 12 (20)

    Abstract

    Disease-modifying treatments have transformed the natural history of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), but the cellular pathways altered by SMN restoration remain undefined and biomarkers cannot yet precisely predict treatment response. We performed an exploratory cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomic study in a diverse sample of SMA patients treated with nusinersen to elucidate therapeutic pathways and identify predictors of motor improvement. Proteomic analyses were performed on CSF samples collected before treatment (T0) and at 6 months (T6) using an Olink panel to quantify 1113 peptides. A supervised machine learning approach was used to identify proteins that discriminated patients who improved functionally from those who did not after 2 years of treatment. A total of 49 SMA patients were included (10 type 1, 18 type 2, and 21 type 3), ranging in age from 3 months to 65 years. Most proteins showed a decrease in CSF concentration at T6. The machine learning algorithm identified ARSB, ENTPD2, NEFL, and IFI30 as the proteins most predictive of improvement. The machine learning model was able to predict motor improvement at 2 years with 79.6% accuracy. The results highlight the potential application of CSF biomarkers to predict motor improvement following SMA treatment. Validation in larger datasets is needed.

    View details for DOI 10.3390/jcm12206696

    View details for PubMedID 37892834

  • Genomics Research with Undiagnosed Children: Ethical Challenges at the Boundaries of Research and Clinical Care JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS Halley, M. C., Young, J. L., Tang, C., Mintz, K. T., Lucas-Griffin, S., Maghiro, A., Ashley, E. A., Tabor, H. K., Undiagnosed Diseases Network 2023; 261
  • Correction: Distinct germline genetic susceptibility profiles identified for common non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes. Leukemia Berndt, S. I., Vijai, J., Benavente, Y., Camp, N. J., Nieters, A., Wang, Z., Smedby, K. E., Kleinstern, G., Hjalgrim, H., Besson, C., Skibola, C. F., Morton, L. M., Brooks-Wilson, A. R., Teras, L. R., Breeze, C., Arias, J., Adami, H. O., Albanes, D., Anderson, K. C., Ansell, S. M., Bassig, B., Becker, N., Bhatti, P., Birmann, B. M., Boffetta, P., Bracci, P. M., Brennan, P., Brown, E. E., Burdett, L., Cannon-Albright, L. A., Chang, E. T., Chiu, B. C., Chung, C. C., Clavel, J., Cocco, P., Colditz, G., Conde, L., Conti, D. V., Cox, D. G., Curtin, K., Casabonne, D., De Vivo, I., Diepstra, A., Diver, W. R., Dogan, A., Edlund, C. K., Foretova, L., Fraumeni, J. F., Gabbas, A., Ghesquières, H., Giles, G. G., Glaser, S., Glenn, M., Glimelius, B., Gu, J., Habermann, T. M., Haiman, C. A., Haioun, C., Hofmann, J. N., Holford, T. R., Holly, E. A., Hutchinson, A., Izhar, A., Jackson, R. D., Jarrett, R. F., Kaaks, R., Kane, E., Kolonel, L. N., Kong, Y., Kraft, P., Kricker, A., Lake, A., Lan, Q., Lawrence, C., Li, D., Liebow, M., Link, B. K., Magnani, C., Maynadie, M., McKay, J., Melbye, M., Miligi, L., Milne, R. L., Molina, T. J., Monnereau, A., Montalvan, R., North, K. E., Novak, A. J., Onel, K., Purdue, M. P., Rand, K. A., Riboli, E., Riby, J., Roman, E., Salles, G., Sborov, D. W., Severson, R. K., Shanafelt, T. D., Smith, M. T., Smith, A., Song, K. W., Song, L., Southey, M. C., Spinelli, J. J., Staines, A., Stephens, D., Sutherland, H. J., Tkachuk, K., Thompson, C. A., Tilly, H., Tinker, L. F., Travis, R. C., Turner, J., Vachon, C. M., Vajdic, C. M., Van Den Berg, A., Van Den Berg, D. J., Vermeulen, R. C., Vineis, P., Wang, S. S., Weiderpass, E., Weiner, G. J., Weinstein, S., Doo, N. W., Ye, Y., Yeager, M., Yu, K., Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, A., Zhang, Y., Zheng, T., Ziv, E., Sampson, J., Chatterjee, N., Offit, K., Cozen, W., Wu, X., Cerhan, J. R., Chanock, S. J., Slager, S. L., Rothman, N. 2023

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41375-023-01978-x

    View details for PubMedID 37666943

  • A Phase 3 Clinical Trial of Leriglitazone with Adaptive Placebo-Controlled Treatment Duration in Adults with Cerebral Adrenoleukodystrophy Fatemi, A., Koehler, W., Eichler, F., Mochel, F., Sadjadi, R., Lund, T., Sampson, J., Shuhaiber, H., Amartino, H., Sgobbi, P., Kappler, M., Kay, R., Pina, G., Mistry, A., Pascual, M., Pascual, S., Martinell, M. WILEY. 2023: S138-S139
  • Learning Spectral Fractional Anisotropy and Mean Diffusivity Features as Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Tracking White Matter Integrity Changes in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Patients using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference Kamali, T., Day, J. W., Deutsch, G. K., Sampson, J. B., Murad, A., Chaufty, J., Parker, D., Wozniak, J. R. 2023; 2023: 1-4

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic neuromuscular progressive multisystem disease that results in a broad spectrum of clinical central nervous system (CNS) involvement, including problems with memory, attention, executive functioning, and social cognition. Fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity along-tract data calculated using diffusion tensor imaging techniques play a vital role in assessing white matter microstructural changes associated with neurodegeneration caused by DM1. In this work, a novel spectrogram-based deep learning method is proposed to characterize white matter network alterations in DM1 with the goal of building a deep learning model as neuroimaging biomarkers of DM1. The proposed method is evaluated on fractional anisotropies and mean diffusivities along-tract data calculated for 25 major white matter tracts of 46 DM1 patients and 96 unaffected controls. The evaluation data consists of a total of 7100 spectrogram images. The model achieved 91% accuracy in identifying DM1, a significant improvement compared to previous methods.Clinical relevance- Clinical care of DM1 is particularly challenging due to DM1 multisystem involvement and the disease variability. Patients with DM1 often experience neurological and psychological symptoms, such as excessive sleepiness and apathy, that greatly impact their quality of life. Some of DM1 CNS symptoms may be responsive to treatment. The goal of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of DM1 on the CNS and to develop a deep learning model that can serve as a biomarker for the disease, with the potential to be used in future clinical trials as an outcome measure.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/EMBC40787.2023.10340468

    View details for PubMedID 38083393

  • Genomics Research with Undiagnosed Children: Ethical Challenges at the Boundaries of Research and Clinical Care. The Journal of pediatrics Halley, M. C., Young, J. L., Tang, C., Mintz, K. T., Lucas-Griffin, S., Maghiro, A. S., Ashley, E. A., Tabor, H. K. 2023: 113537

    Abstract

    To explore the perspectives of parents of undiagnosed children enrolled in genomic diagnosis research regarding their motivations for enrolling their children, their understanding of the potential burdens and benefits, and the extent to which their experiences ultimately aligned with or diverged from their original expectations.In-depth interviews were conducted with parents, audio-recorded and transcribed. A structured codebook was applied to each transcript, after which iterative memoing was used to identify themes.Fifty-four parents participated, including 17 (31.5%) whose child received a diagnosis through research. Themes describing parents' expectations and experiences of genomic diagnosis research included: 1) the extent to which parents' motivations for participation focused on their hope that it would directly benefit their child; 2) the ways in which parents' frustrations regarding the research process confused the dual clinical and research goals of their participation; and 3) the limited clinical benefits parents ultimately experienced for their children.Our results suggest that parents of undiagnosed children seeking enrollment in genomic diagnosis research are at risk of a form of therapeutic misconception - in this case, diagnostic misconception. These findings indicate the need to examine the processes and procedures associated with this research in order to appropriately communicate and balance the potential burdens and benefits of study participation.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113537

    View details for PubMedID 37271495

  • Choroid plexus mis-splicing and altered cerebrospinal fluid composition in myotonic dystrophy type 1. Brain : a journal of neurology Nutter, C. A., Kidd, B. M., Carter, H. A., Hamel, J. I., Mackie, P. M., Kumbkarni, N., Davenport, M. L., Tuyn, D. M., Gopinath, A., Creigh, P. D., Sznajder, Ł. J., Wang, E. T., Ranum, L. P., Khoshbouei, H., Day, J. W., Sampson, J. B., Prokop, S., Swanson, M. S. 2023

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophy type 1 is a dominantly inherited multisystemic disease caused by CTG tandem repeat expansions in the DMPK 3' untranslated region. These expanded repeats are transcribed and produce toxic CUG RNAs that sequester and inhibit activities of the MBNL family of developmental RNA processing factors. Although myotonic dystrophy is classified as a muscular dystrophy, the brain is also severely affected by an unusual cohort of symptoms, including hypersomnia, executive dysfunction, as well as early onsets of tau/MAPT pathology and cerebral atrophy. To address the molecular and cellular events that lead to these pathological outcomes, we recently generated a mouse Dmpk CTG expansion knockin model and identified choroid plexus epithelial cells as particularly affected by the expression of toxic CUG expansion RNAs. To determine if toxic CUG RNAs perturb choroid plexus functions, alternative splicing analysis was performed on lateral and hindbrain choroid plexi from Dmpk CTG knockin mice. Choroid plexus transcriptome-wide changes were evaluated in Mbnl2 knockout mice, a developmental-onset model of myotonic dystrophy brain dysfunction. To determine if transcriptome changes also occurred in the human disease, we obtained post-mortem choroid plexus for RNA-seq from donors without neurologically unaffected (two females, three males; ages 50-70) and myotonic dystrophy type 1 donors (one female, three males; ages 50-70). To test that choroid plexus transcriptome alterations resulted in altered CSF composition, we obtained CSF via lumbar puncture from patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (five females, five males; ages 35-55) and non-myotonic dystrophy patients (three females, four males; ages 26-51) and Western blot and osmolarity analyses were used to test CSF alterations predicted by choroid plexus transcriptome analysis. We determined that CUG RNA induced toxicity was more robust in the lateral choroid plexus of Dmpk CTG knockin mice due to comparatively higher Dmpk and lower Mbnl RNA levels. Impaired transitions to adult splicing patterns during choroid plexus development were identified in Mbnl2 knockout mice, including mis-splicing previously found in Dmpk CTG knockin mice. Whole transcriptome analysis of myotonic dystrophy type 1 choroid plexus revealed disease-associated RNA expression and mis-splicing events. Based on these RNA changes, predicted alterations in ion homeostasis, secretory output, and CSF composition were confirmed by analysis of myotonic dystrophy type 1 CSF. Our results implicate choroid plexus spliceopathy and concomitant alterations in CSF homeostasis as an unappreciated contributor to myotonic dystrophy type 1 CNS pathogenesis.

    View details for DOI 10.1093/brain/awad148

    View details for PubMedID 37143315

  • A Multimodal Neuroimaging Feature Extraction Framework for Biomarker Discovery in Myotonic Dystrophies Kamali, T., Day, J., Sampson, J., Murad, A., Chaufty, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2023
  • Participation in a national diagnostic research study: assessing the patient experience. Orphanet journal of rare diseases Rosenfeld, L. E., LeBlanc, K., Nagy, A., Ego, B. K., Undiagnosed Diseases Network, McCray, A. T., Acosta, M. T., Adam, M., Adams, D. R., Alvarez, R. L., Alvey, J., Amendola, L., Andrews, A., Ashley, E. A., Bacino, C. A., Bademci, G., Balasubramanyam, A., Baldridge, D., Bale, J., Bamshad, M., Barbouth, D., Bayrak-Toydemir, P., Beck, A., Beggs, A. H., Behrens, E., Bejerano, G., Bellen, H. J., Bennett, J., Berg-Rood, B., Bernstein, J. A., Berry, G. T., Bican, A., Bivona, S., Blue, E., Bohnsack, J., Bonner, D., Botto, L., Boyd, B., Briere, L. C., Brokamp, E., Brown, G., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Byers, P., Byrd, W. E., Carey, J., Carrasquillo, O., Cassini, T., Chang, T. C., Chanprasert, S., Chao, H., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cobban, L. A., Cogan, J. D., Coggins, M., Cole, F. S., Colley, H. A., Cooper, C. M., Cope, H., Corona, R., Craigen, W. J., Crouse, A. B., Cunningham, M., D'Souza, P., Dai, H., Dasari, S., Davis, J., Dayal, J. G., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dipple, K., Doherty, D., Dorrani, N., Doss, A. L., Douine, E. D., Duncan, L., Earl, D., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Eng, C. M., Falk, M., Fieg, E. L., Fisher, P. G., Fogel, B. L., Forghani, I., Gahl, W. A., Glass, I., Gochuico, B., Goddard, P. C., Godfrey, R. A., Golden-Grant, K., Grajewski, A., Hadley, D., Hahn, S., Halley, M. C., Hamid, R., Hassey, K., Hayes, N., High, F., Hing, A., Hisama, F. M., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Horike-Pyne, M., Huang, A., Hutchison, S., Introne, W., Isasi, R., Izumi, K., Jamal, F., Jarvik, G. P., Jarvik, J., Jayadev, S., Jean-Marie, O., Jobanputra, V., Karaviti, L., Kennedy, J., Ketkar, S., Kiley, D., Kilich, G., Kobren, S. N., Kohane, I. S., Kohler, J. N., Korrick, S., Kozuira, M., Krakow, D., Krasnewich, D. M., Kravets, E., Lalani, S. R., Lam, B., Lam, C., Lanpher, B. C., Lanza, I. R., Lee, B. H., Levitt, R., Lewis, R. A., Liu, P., Liu, X. Z., Longo, N., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., Macnamara, E. F., MacRae, C. A., Maduro, V. V., Mahoney, R., Malicdan, M. C., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Mao, R., Maravilla, K., Marom, R., Marth, G., Martin, B. A., Martin, M. G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., McCauley, J., McConkie-Rosell, A., McGee, E., Mefford, H., Merritt, J. L., Might, M., Mirzaa, G., Morava, E., Moretti, P., Mulvihill, J., Nakano-Okuno, M., Nelson, S. F., Newman, J. H., Nicholas, S. K., Nickerson, D., Nieves-Rodriguez, S., Novacic, D., Oglesbee, D., Orengo, J. P., Pace, L., Pak, S., Pallais, J. C., Palmer, C. G., Papp, J. C., Parker, N. H., Phillips, J. A., Posey, J. E., Potocki, L., Swerdzewski, B. N., Quinlan, A., Rao, D. A., Raper, A., Raskind, W., Renteria, G., Reuter, C. M., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Rosenwasser, N., Rossignol, F., Ruzhnikov, M., Sacco, R., Sampson, J. B., Saporta, M., Schaechter, J., Schedl, T., Schoch, K., Scott, D. A., Scott, C. R., Shashi, V., Shin, J., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Sisco, K., Smith, E. C., Smith, K. S., Solem, E., Solnica-Krezel, L., Solomon, B., Spillmann, R. C., Stoler, J. M., Sullivan, K., Sullivan, J. A., Sun, A., Sutton, S., Sweetser, D. A., Sybert, V., Tabor, H. K., Tan, Q. K., Tan, A. L., Tekin, M., Telischi, F., Thorson, W., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Ungar, R. A., Urv, T. K., Vanderver, A., Velinder, M., Viskochil, D., Vogel, T. P., Wahl, C. E., Walker, M., Wallace, S., Walley, N. M., Wambach, J., Wan, J., Wang, L., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Wegner, D., Hubshman, M. W., Wener, M., Wenger, T., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Whitlock, J., Wolfe, L. A., Worley, K., Xiao, C., Yamamoto, S., Yang, J., Zhang, Z., Zuchner, S. 2023; 18 (1): 73

    Abstract

    INTRODUCTION: The Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), a clinical research study funded by the National Institutes of Health, aims to provide answers for patients with undiagnosed conditions and generate knowledge about underlying disease mechanisms. UDN evaluations involve collaboration between clinicians and researchers and go beyond what is possible in clinical settings. While medical and research outcomes of UDN evaluations have been explored, this is the first formal assessment of the patient and caregiver experience.METHODS: We invited UDN participants and caregivers to participate in focus groups via email, newsletter, and a private participant Facebook group. We developed focus group questions based on research team expertise, literature focused on patients with rare and undiagnosed conditions, and UDN participant and family member feedback. In March 2021, we conducted, recorded, and transcribed four 60-min focus groups via Zoom. Transcripts were evaluated using a thematic analysis approach.RESULTS: The adult undiagnosed focus group described the UDN evaluation as validating and an avenue for access to medical providers. They also noted that the experience impacted professional choices and helped them rely on others for support. The adult diagnosed focus group described the healthcare system as not set up for rare disease. In the pediatric undiagnosed focus group, caregivers discussed a continued desire for information and gratitude for the UDN evaluation. They also described an ability to rule out information and coming to terms with not having answers. The pediatric diagnosed focus group discussed how the experience helped them focus on management and improved communication. Across focus groups, adults (undiagnosed/diagnosed) noted the comprehensiveness of the evaluation. Undiagnosed focus groups (adult/pediatric) discussed a desire for ongoing communication and care with the UDN. Diagnosed focus groups (adult/pediatric) highlighted the importance of the diagnosis they received in the UDN. The majority of the focus groups noted a positive future orientation after participation.CONCLUSION: Our findings are consistent with prior literature focused on the patient experience of rare and undiagnosed conditions and highlight benefits from comprehensive evaluations, regardless of whether a diagnosis is obtained. Focus group themes also suggest areas for improvement and future research related to the diagnostic odyssey.

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s13023-023-02695-5

    View details for PubMedID 37032333

  • Safety and efficacy of leriglitazone for preventing disease progression in men with adrenomyeloneuropathy (ADVANCE): a randomised, double-blind, multi-centre, placebo-controlled phase 2-3 trial. The Lancet. Neurology Kohler, W., Engelen, M., Eichler, F., Lachmann, R., Fatemi, A., Sampson, J., Salsano, E., Gamez, J., Molnar, M. J., Pascual, S., Rovira, M., Vila, A., Pina, G., Martin-Ugarte, I., Mantilla, A., Pizcueta, P., Rodriguez-Pascau, L., Traver, E., Vilalta, A., Pascual, M., Martinell, M., Meya, U., Mochel, F., ADVANCE Study Group, Mc Govern, E., Yazbeck, E., Barbier, M., Luton, M., Pousset, F., Hogrel, J., Adanyeguh, I., Then Bergh, F., Bergner, C., Unterlauft, A., Roicke, H., Hoffmann, K., Scherlach, C., Kalb, A., Meilick, B., Reuschel, M., Fenu, S., Mauro, E., Murphy, E., Krishna, G., Beyene, T., Sierra, A., Quinoa, S., Belen Canovas, A., Grosz, Z., Gyorgyi, B., van de Stadt, S. I., Huffnagel, I. C., van Ballegoij, W. J., Voermans, M. M., Seyedsadjadi, R., Corre, C., Godbole, N., Grant, N. R., Brito Pires, C. M., Trovato, M., Yeh, N., Goodman, J., Keller, J., Joseph, C., Van Haren, K., Sakamuri, S., Duong, T., Perrone, L., Tran, S., Dunaway Young, S., Hashmi, S. 2023; 22 (2): 127-136

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Adult patients with adrenoleukodystrophy have a poor prognosis owing to development of adrenomyeloneuropathy. Additionally, a large proportion of patients with adrenomyeloneuropathy develop life-threatening progressive cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. Leriglitazone is a novel selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist that regulates expression of key genes that contribute to neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes implicated in adrenoleukodystrophy disease progression. We aimed to assess the effect of leriglitazone on clinical, imaging, and biochemical markers of disease progression in adults with adrenomyeloneuropathy.METHODS: ADVANCE was a 96-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2-3 trial done at ten hospitals in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Ambulatory men aged 18-65 years with adrenomyeloneuropathy without gadolinium enhancing lesions suggestive of progressive cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy were randomly assigned (2:1 without stratification) to receive daily oral suspensions of leriglitazone (150 mg starting dose; between baseline and week 12, doses were increased or decreased to achieve plasma concentrations of 200 mug·h/mL [SD 20%]) or placebo by means of an interactive response system and a computer-generated sequence. Investigators and patients were masked to group assignment. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline in the Six-Minute Walk Test distance at week 96, analysed in the full-analysis set by means of a mixed model for repeated measures with restricted maximum likelihood and baseline value as a covariate. Adverse events were also assessed in the full-analysis set. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03231878; the primary study is complete; patients had the option to continue treatment in an open-label extension, which is ongoing.FINDINGS: Between Dec 8, 2017, and Oct 16, 2018, of 136 patients screened, 116 were randomly assigned; 62 [81%] of 77 patients receiving leriglitazone and 34 [87%] of 39 receiving placebo completed treatment. There was no between-group difference in the primary endpoint (mean [SD] change from baseline leriglitazone: -27·7 [41·4] m; placebo: -30·3 [60·5] m; least-squares mean difference -1·2 m; 95% CI -22·6 to 20·2; p=0·91). The most common treatment emergent adverse events in both the leriglitazone and placebo groups were weight gain (54 [70%] of 77 vs nine [23%] of 39 patients, respectively) and peripheral oedema (49 [64%] of 77 vs seven [18%] of 39). There were no deaths. Serious treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 14 (18%) of 77 patients receiving leriglitazone and ten (26%) of 39 patients receiving placebo. The most common serious treatment emergent adverse event, clinically progressive cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, occurred in six [5%] of 116 patients, all of whom were in the placebo group.INTERPRETATION: The primary endpoint was not met, but leriglitazone was generally well tolerated and rates of adverse events were in line with the expected safety profile for this drug class. The finding that cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a life-threatening event for patients with adrenomyeloneuropathy, occurred only in patients in the placebo group supports further investigation of whether leriglitazone might slow the progression of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy.FUNDING: Minoryx Therapeutics.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/S1474-4422(22)00495-1

    View details for PubMedID 36681445

  • Safety and efficacy of leriglitazone for preventing disease progression in men with adrenomyeloneuropathy (ADVANCE): a randomised, double-blind, multi-centre, placebo-controlled phase 2-3 trial LANCET NEUROLOGY Koehler, W., Engelen, M., Eichler, F., Lachmann, R., Fatemi, A., Sampson, J., Salsano, E., Gamez, J., Molnar, M., Pascual, S., Rovira, M., Vila, A., Pina, G., Martin-Ugarte, I., Mantilla, A., Pizcueta, P., Rodriguez-Pascau, L., Traver, E., Vilalta, A., Pascual, M., Martinell, M., Meya, U., Mochel, F., Adv Study Grp 2023; 22 (2): 127-136
  • A concurrent dual analysis of genomic data augments diagnoses: experiences of two clinical sites in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics Spillmann, R. C., Tan, Q. K., Reuter, C., Schoch, K., Kohler, J., Bonner, D., Zastrow, D., Alkelai, A., Baugh, E., Cope, H., Marwaha, S., Wheeler, M. T., Bernstein, J. A., Shashi, V. 2022

    Abstract

    Next generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized the diagnostic process for rare/ultra-rare conditions. However, diagnosis rates differ between analytical pipelines. In the NIH-Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) study, each individual's NGS data are concurrently analyzed by the UDN sequencing core laboratory and the clinical sites. We examined the outcomes of this practice.A retrospective review was performed at two UDN clinical sites, to compare variants, and diagnoses/candidate genes identified with the dual analyses of the NGS data.Ninety-five individuals had 100 diagnoses/candidate genes. There was 59% concordance between the UDN sequencing core laboratories and the clinical sites in identifying diagnoses/candidate genes. The core laboratory provided more diagnoses, while the clinical sites prioritized more research variants/candidate genes (p <0.001). The clinical sites solely identified 15% of the diagnoses/candidate genes. The differences between the two pipelines were more often due to variant prioritization disparities, than variant detection.The unique dual analysis of NGS data in the UDN synergistically enhances outcomes. The core laboratory provides a clinical analysis with more diagnoses and the clinical sites prioritized more research variants/candidate genes. Implementing such concurrent dual analyses in other genomic research studies and clinical settings can improve both variant detection and prioritization.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.gim.2022.12.001

    View details for PubMedID 36481303

  • Multimodal fusion of neuroimaging and neuropsych data: A machine learning approach to study brain alterations linked with cognitive domains in DM1 Kamali, T., Parker, D., Deutsch, G., Sampson, J., Day, J., Wozniak, J. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. 2022: S132
  • Evaluating 2-3 year responses to disease modifying treatment in adults with spinal muscular atrophy Duong, T., Tang, W., Young, S., Parker, D., Wolford, C., Sampson, J., Day, J. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. 2022: S90
  • Correction: Healthcare resource utilization, total costs, and comorbidities among patients with myotonic dystrophy using U.S. insurance claims data from 2012 to 2019. Orphanet journal of rare diseases Howe, S. J., Lapidus, D., Hull, M., Yeaw, J., Stevenson, T., Sampson, J. B. 2022; 17 (1): 260

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s13023-022-02401-x

    View details for PubMedID 35818080

  • Cognitive Impairment Analysis of Myotonic Dystrophy via Weakly Supervised Classification of Neuropsychological Features. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference Kamali, T., Deutsch, G. K., Hagerman, K. A., Parker, D., Day, J. W., Sampson, J. B., Wozniak, J. R. 2022; 2022: 4377-4382

    Abstract

    The myotonic dystrophies (DM1 and DM2) are dominantly inherited disorders that cause pathological changes throughout the body. Many individuals with DM experience cognitive, behavioral and other functional central nervous system effects that impact their quality of life. The extent of psychological impairment that will develop in each patient is variable and unpredictable. Hence, it is difficult to get strong supervision information like fully ground truth labels for all cognitive involvement patterns. This study is to assess cognitive involvement among healthy controls and patients with DM. The DM cognitive impairment pattern observation is modeled in a weakly supervised setting and supervision information is used to transform the input feature space to a more discriminative representation suitable for pattern observation. This study incorporated results from 59 adults with DM and 92 control subjects. The developed system categorized the neuropsychological testing data into five cognitive clusters. The quality of the obtained clustering solution was assessed using an internal validity metric. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can discover interesting patterns and useful information from neuropsychological data, which will be be crucial in planning clinical trials and monitoring clinical performance. The proposed system resulted in an average classification accuracy of 88%, which is very promising considering the unique challenges present in this population.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/EMBC48229.2022.9871626

    View details for PubMedID 36086274

  • Mesial Temporal Enlargement in Adult-Onset Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Fecto, F., Parker, D., Sampson, J., Mueller, B., Lim, K., Wozniak, J., Hagerman, K., Day, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2022
  • Mesial Temporal Enlargement in Adult-Onset Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Fecto, F., Parker, D., Sampson, J., Mueller, B., Lim, K., Wozniak, J., Hagerman, K., Day, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2022
  • Exploring Protein Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Patients Pre-Nusinersen vs. Post-Nusinersen Treatment using Bayesian Machine Learning Algorithms Kamali, T., Hagerman, K., Duong, T., Parker, D., Young, S., Tang, W., Sampson, J., Day, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2022
  • Healthcare resource utilization, total costs, and comorbidities among patients with myotonic dystrophy using U.S. insurance claims data from 2012 to 2019. Orphanet journal of rare diseases Howe, S. J., Ladipus, D., Hull, M., Yeaw, J., Stevenson, T., Sampson, J. B. 2022; 17 (1): 79

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a rare, inherited disorder with multi-systemic effects that impact the skeletal muscles, eyes, heart, skin and gastrointestinal, endocrine, respiratory, and central nervous systems. DM is divided into two subtypes: DM1 can present from early childhood through adulthood and also has a congenital form (cDM) while DM2 typically manifests during mid-adulthood. Both forms are progressive with no approved treatments, and unmet need for disease-modifying therapies remains high. This study interrogated health insurance claims data to explore the clinical experience, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and all-cause costs for DM.RESULTS: A total of 8541 patients with DM and 242 patients with cDM and their matched controls were selected from a database of over 200 million claimants. HCRU and all-cause costs, including pharmacy, outpatient, and inpatient services, were analyzed across four years in 12-month follow-up periods. Mean all-cause costs per DM patient were high in each of the four periods (range $14,640-$16,704) and showed a steady increase from 13 to 23months on, while the control group mean costs declined from $9671 in the first 12months after the index event, to approach the US population average ($5193) over time. For cDM, the highest mean costs were in the first 12-months ($66,496 vs. $2818 for controls), and remained high (above $17,944) across all subsequent periods, while control mean costs approached $0. For DM and cDM, HCRU was higher compared to controls across all study periods and all-cause healthcare costs were mostly driven by inpatient and outpatient encounters. Analysis of all diagnosis codes over the study period (comorbidities) demonstrated an elevated comorbidity profile consistent with the clinical profile of DM.CONCLUSIONS: This study is among the first to utilize claims data to increase understanding of the clinical experience and health economic outcomes associated with DM. The markedly elevated HCRU patterns and comorbidity profile presented here add to the broad body of scientific and clinical knowledge on DM. These insights can inform clinical care and support the development of disease modifying and/or symptom-targeting therapies that address the multi-systemic, progressive nature of DM.

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s13023-022-02241-9

    View details for PubMedID 35197080

  • Brief assessment of cognitive function in myotonic dystrophy: multicenter longitudinal study using computer-assisted evaluation. Muscle & nerve Deutsch, G. K., Hagerman, K. A., Sampson, J., Dent, G., Dekdebrun, J., Parker, D. M., Thornton, C. A., Heatwole, C. R., Subramony, S. H., Mankodi, A. K., Ashizawa, T., Statland, J. M., Arnold, W. D., Moxley, R. T., Day, J. W. 2022

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is known to affect cognitive function, but the best methods to assess CNS involvement in multicenter studies have not been determined. This study's primary aim was to evaluate the potential of computerized cognitive tests to assess cognition in DM1.We conducted a prospective, longitudinal, observational study of 113 adults with DM1 at 6 sites. Psychomotor speed, attention, working memory, and executive functioning were assessed at baseline, 3-months and 12-months using computerized cognitive tests. Results were compared with assessments of muscle function and patient reported outcomes (PROs), including the Myotonic Dystrophy Health Index (MDHI) and EQ-5D-5L.Based on intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs), computerized cognitive tests had moderate to good reliability for psychomotor speed (0.76), attention (0.82), working memory speed (0.79), working memory accuracy (0.65), and executive functioning (0.87). Performance at baseline was lowest for working memory accuracy (p < 0.0001). Executive function performance improved from baseline to 3-months (p < 0.0001), without further changes over one year. There was a moderate correlation between poorer executive function and larger CTG repeat size (r = -0.433). There were some weak associations between PROs and cognitive performance.Computerized tests of cognition are feasible in multicenter studies of DM1. Poor performance was exhibited in working memory, which may be a useful variable in clinical trials. Learning effects may have contributed to the improvement in executive functioning. The relationship between PROs and cognitive impairment in DM1 requires further study. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/mus.27520

    View details for PubMedID 35179228

  • Leriglitazone Reduces Cerebral Lesions and Improves Biomarkers Related to Axonal Degeneration, Inflammation and Compromised Blood-Brain-Barrier in Patients with Adrenomyeloneuropathy Mochel, F., Eichler, F., Engelen, M., Lachman, R., Fatemi, A., Sampson, J., Salsano, E., Gamez, J., Judith Molnar, M., Vilalta, A., Rodriguez-Pascau, L., Pizcueta, P., Pascual, S., Vila, A., Rovira, M., Pina, G., Mantilla, A., Pascual, M., Martinell, M., Meya, U., Kohler, W. WILEY. 2021: S129
  • Genetic counselor roles in the undiagnosed diseases network research study: Clinical care, collaboration, and curation. Journal of genetic counseling Kohler, J. N., Kelley, E. G., Boyd, B. M., Sillari, C. H., Marwaha, S., Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Wheeler, M. T., Acosta, M. T., Adam, M., Adams, D. R., Agrawal, P. B., Alejandro, M. E., Alvey, J., Amendola, L., Andrews, A., Ashley, E. A., Azamian, M. S., Bacino, C. A., Bademci, G., Baker, E., Balasubramanyam, A., Baldridge, D., Bale, J., Bamshad, M., Barbouth, D., Bayrak-Toydemir, P., Beck, A., Beggs, A. H., Behrens, E., Bejerano, G., Bennet, J., Berg-Rood, B., Bernstein, J. A., Berry, G. T., Bican, A., Bivona, S., Blue, E., Bohnsack, J., Bonnenmann, C., Bonner, D., Botto, L., Boyd, B., Briere, L. C., Brokamp, E., Brown, G., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Byers, P., Byrd, W. E., Carey, J., Carrasquillo, O., Chang, T. C., Chanprasert, S., Chao, H., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cobban, L. A., Cogan, J. D., Coggins, M., Sessions Cole, F., Colley, H. A., Cooper, C. M., Cope, H., Craigen, W. J., Crouse, A. B., Cunningham, M., D'Souza, P., Dai, H., Dasari, S., Davis, J., Dayal, J. G., Deardorff, M., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dhar, S. U., Dipple, K., Doherty, D., Dorrani, N., Doss, A. L., Douine, E. D., Draper, D. D., Duncan, L., Earl, D., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Eng, C. M., Esteves, C., Falk, M., Fernandez, L., Ferreira, C., Fieg, E. L., Findley, L. C., Fisher, P. G., Fogel, B. L., Forghani, I., Fresard, L., Gahl, W. A., Glass, I., Gochuico, B., Godfrey, R. A., Golden-Grant, K., Goldman, A. M., Goldrich, M. P., Goldstein, D. B., Grajewski, A., Groden, C. A., Gutierrez, I., Hahn, S., Hamid, R., Hanchard, N. A., Hassey, K., Hayes, N., High, F., Hing, A., Hisama, F. M., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Horike-Pyne, M., Huang, A., Huang, Y., Huryn, L., Isasi, R., Jamal, F., Jarvik, G. P., Jarvik, J., Jayadev, S., Karaviti, L., Kennedy, J., Kiley, D., Kobren, S. N., Kohane, I. S., Kohler, J. N., Krakow, D., Krasnewich, D. M., Kravets, E., Korrick, S., Koziura, M., Krier, J. B., Lalani, S. R., Lam, B., Lam, C., LaMoure, G. L., Lanpher, B. C., Lanza, I. R., Latham, L., LeBlanc, K., Lee, B. H., Lee, H., Levitt, R., Lewis, R. A., Lincoln, S. A., Liu, P., Liu, X. Z., Longo, N., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., MacDowall, J., Macnamara, E. F., MacRae, C. A., Maduro, V. V., Majcherska, M. M., Mak, B. C., Maclidan, M. C., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Mao, R., Maravilla, K., Markello, T. C., Marom, R., Marth, G., Martin, B. A., Martin, M. G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., McCauley, J., McConkie-Rosell, A., McCormack, C. E., McCray, A. T., McGee, E., Mefford, H., Lawrence Merritt, J., Might, M., Mirzaa, G., Morava, E., Moretti, P. M., Mosbrook-Davis, D., Mulvihill, J. J., Murdock, D. R., Nagy, A., Nakano-Okuno, M., Nath, A., Nelson, S. F., Newman, J. H., Nicholas, S. K., Nickerson, D., Nieves-Rodriguez, S., Novacic, D., Oglesbee, D., Orengo, J. P., Pace, L., Pak, S., Carl Pallais, J., Palmer, C. G., Papp, J. C., Parker, N. H., Phillips, J. A., Posey, J. E., Potocki, L., Power, B., Pusey, B. N., Quinlan, A., Raskind, W., Raja, A. N., Rao, D. A., Renteria, G., Reuter, C. M., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Rosenwasser, N., Rossignol, F., Ruzhnikov, M., Sacco, R., Sampson, J. B., Samson, S. L., Saporta, M., Ron Scott, C., Schaechter, J., Schedl, T., Schoch, K., Scott, D. A., Shashi, V., Shin, J., Signer, R., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Sisco, K., Smith, E. C., Smith, K. S., Solem, E., Solnica-Krezel, L., Solomon, B., Spillmann, R. C., Stoler, J. M., Sullivan, J. A., Sullivan, K., Sun, A., Sutton, S., Sweetser, D. A., Sybert, V., Tabor, H. K., Tan, A. L., Tan, Q. K., Tekin, M., Telischi, F., Thorson, W., Thurm, A., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Tucker, B. M., Urv, T. K., Vanderver, A., Velinder, M., Viskochil, D., Vogel, T. P., Wahl, C. E., Wallace, S., Walley, N. M., Walsh, C. A., Walker, M., Wambach, J., Wan, J., Wang, L., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Wegner, D., Wener, M., Wenger, T., Perry, K. W., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Whitlock, J., Wolfe, L. A., Woods, J. D., Yamamoto, S., Yang, J., Yousef, M., Zastrow, D. B., Zein, W., Zhao, C., Zuchner, S. 2021

    Abstract

    Genetic counselors (GCs) are increasingly filling important positions on research study teams, but there is limited literature describing the roles of GCs in these settings. GCs on the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) study team serve in a variety of roles across the research network and provide an opportunity to better understand genetic counselor roles in research. To quantitatively characterize the tasks regularly performed and professional fulfillment derived from these tasks, two surveys were administered to UDN GCs in a stepwise fashion. Responses from the first, free-response survey elicited the scope of tasks which informed development of a second structured, multiple-select survey. In survey 2, respondents were asked to select which roles they performed. Across 19 respondents, roles in survey 2 received a total of 947 selections averaging approximately 10 selections per role. When asked to indicate what roles they performed, respondent selected a mean of 50 roles (range 22-70). Survey 2 data were analyzed via thematic coding of responses and hierarchical cluster analysis to identify patterns in responses. From the thematic analysis, 20 non-overlapping codes emerged in seven categories: clinical interaction and care, communication, curation, leadership, participant management, research, and team management. Three themes emerged from the categories that represented the roles of GCs in the UDN: clinical care, collaboration, and curation. Cluster analyses showed that responses were more similar among individuals at the same institution than between institutions. This study highlights the ways GCs apply their unique skill set in the context of a clinical translational research network. Additionally, findings from this study reinforce the wide applicability of core skills that are part of genetic counseling training. Clinical literacy, genomics expertise and analysis, interpersonal, psychosocial and counseling skills, education, professional practice skills, and an understanding of research processes make genetic counselors well suited for such roles and poised to positively impact research experiences and outcomes for participants.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jgc4.1493

    View details for PubMedID 34374469

  • Characterization of HNRNPA1 mutations defines diversity in pathogenic mechanisms and clinical presentation. JCI insight Beijer, D., Kim, H. J., Guo, L., O'Donovan, K., Mademan, I., Deconinck, T., Van Schil, K., Fare, C. M., Drake, L. E., Ford, A. F., Kochanski, A., Kabzinska, D., Dubuisson, N., Van den Bergh, P., Voermans, N. C., Lemmers, R. J., van der Maarel, S. M., Bonner, D., Sampson, J. B., Wheeler, M. T., Mehrabyan, A., Palmer, S., De Jonghe, P., Shorter, J., Taylor, J. P., Baets, J. 2021; 6 (14)

    Abstract

    Mutations in HNRNPA1 encoding heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A1 are a rare cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multisystem proteinopathy (MSP). hnRNPA1 is part of the group of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that assemble with RNA to form RNPs. hnRNPs are concentrated in the nucleus and function in pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA stability, and the regulation of transcription and translation. During stress, hnRNPs, mRNA, and other RBPs condense in the cytoplasm to form stress granules (SGs). SGs are implicated in the pathogenesis of (neuro-)degenerative diseases, including ALS and inclusion body myopathy (IBM). Mutations in RBPs that affect SG biology, including FUS, TDP-43, hnRNPA1, hnRNPA2B1, and TIA1, underlie ALS, IBM, and other neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we characterize 4 potentially novel HNRNPA1 mutations (yielding 3 protein variants: *321Eext*6, *321Qext*6, and G304Nfs*3) and 2 known HNRNPA1 mutations (P288A and D262V), previously connected to ALS and MSP, in a broad spectrum of patients with hereditary motor neuropathy, ALS, and myopathy. We establish that the mutations can have different effects on hnRNPA1 fibrillization, liquid-liquid phase separation, and SG dynamics. P288A accelerated fibrillization and decelerated SG disassembly, whereas *321Eext*6 had no effect on fibrillization but decelerated SG disassembly. By contrast, G304Nfs*3 decelerated fibrillization and impaired liquid phase separation. Our findings suggest different underlying pathomechanisms for HNRNPA1 mutations with a possible link to clinical phenotypes.

    View details for DOI 10.1172/jci.insight.148363

    View details for PubMedID 34291734

  • A variant of uncertain significance in SDHAF1, the succinate dehydrogenase chaperone protein, in an adult patient with spastic paraparesis and leukoencephalopathy. Multiple sclerosis and related disorders Vlahovic, L., Lock, C. B., Han, M. H., Van Haren, K., Sampson, J. B. 2021; 54: 103132

    Abstract

    Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), or respiratory complex II, consists of four nuclear-encoded subunits. The chaperone protein succinate dehydrogenase assembly factor 1 (SDHAF1) plays an essential role in the assembly of SDH, and in the incorporation of iron-sulfur clusters into the SDHB subunit. SDHB couples the oxidation of succinate to fumarate with the reduction of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) to ubiquinol. Previously reported mutations in SDHAF1 have been associated with infantile leukoencephalopathy. We report an adult case with a homozygous variant of uncertain significance (VUS) mutation in SDHAF1, presenting with dementia, spastic paraparesis, and cardiomyopathy, initially diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103132

    View details for PubMedID 34289436

  • Advances in the therapy of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The Journal of pediatrics Klotz, J., Rocha, C. T., Young, S. D., Duong, T., Buu, M., Sampson, J., Day, J. W. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.06.033

    View details for PubMedID 34197889

  • Nusinersen Treatment in Adults With Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Neurology. Clinical practice Duong, T., Wolford, C., McDermott, M. P., Macpherson, C. E., Pasternak, A., Glanzman, A. M., Martens, W. B., Kichula, E., Darras, B. T., De Vivo, D. C., Zolkipli-Cunningham, Z., Finkel, R. S., Zeineh, M., Wintermark, M., Sampson, J., Hagerman, K. A., Young, S. D., Day, J. W. 2021; 11 (3): e317-e327

    Abstract

    Objective: To determine changes in motor and respiratory function after treatment with nusinersen in adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) during the first two years of commercial availability in the USA.Methods: Data were collected prospectively on adult (age >17 years at treatment initiation) SMA participants in the Pediatric Neuromuscular Clinical Research (PNCR) Network. Baseline assessments of SMA outcomes including the Expanded Hammersmith Functional Rating Scale (HFMSE), Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM), and 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) occurred <5 months before treatment, and post-treatment assessments were made up to 24 months after nusinersen initation. Patient-reported experiences, safety laboratory tests and adverse events were monitored. The mean annual rate of change over time was determined for outcome measures using linear mixed effects models.Results: Forty-two adult SMA participants (mean age: 34 years, range 17-66) receiving nusinersen for a mean of 12.5 months (range 3-24 months) were assessed. Several motor and respiratory measures showed improvement distinct from the progressive decline typically seen in untreated adults. Participants also reported qualitative improvements including muscle strength, stamina, breathing and bulbar related outcomes. All participants tolerated nusinersen with normal surveillance labs and no significant adverse events.Conclusions: Trends of improvement emerged in functional motor, patient-reported, and respiratory measures, suggesting nusinersen may be efficacious in adults with SMA. Larger well-controlled studies and additional outcome measures are needed to firmly establish the efficacy of nusinersen in adults with SMA.Classification of Evidence: This study provides Class IV evidence regarding nusinersen tolerability and efficacy based on reported side effects and pulmonary and physical therapy assessments in an adult SMA cohort.

    View details for DOI 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000001033

    View details for PubMedID 34476123

  • Dominant and Recessive Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes Caused by SYT2 Mutations. Muscle & nerve Maselli, R. A., Wei, D. T., Hodgson, T. S., Sampson, J., Vazquez, J., Smith, H. L., Pytel, P., Ferns, M. 2021

    Abstract

    INTRODUCTION: We studied a patient with a congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) caused by a dominant mutation in the synaptotagmin 2 gene (SYT2) and compared the clinical features of this patient with those of a previously described patient with a recessive mutation in the same gene.METHODS: We performed electrodiagnostic (EDX) studies, genetic studies, muscle biopsy, microelectrode recordings and electron microscopy (EM).RESULTS: Both patients presented with muscle weakness and bulbar deficits, which were worse in the recessive form. EDX studies showed presynaptic failure, which was more prominent in the recessive form. Microelectrode studies in the dominant form showed a marked reduction of the quantal content, which increased linearly with higher frequencies of nerve stimulation. The MEPP frequencies were normal at rest but increased markedly with higher frequencies of nerve stimulation. The EM demonstrated overdeveloped postsynaptic folding, and abundant endosomes, multivesicular bodies and degenerative lamellar bodies inside small nerve terminals.DISCUSSION: The recessive form of CMS caused by a SYT2 mutation showed far more severe clinical manifestations than the dominant form. The pathogenesis of the dominant form likely involves a dominant-negative effect due to disruption of the dual function of synaptotagmin as a Ca2+ -sensor and modulator of synaptic vesicle exocytosis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/mus.27332

    View details for PubMedID 34037996

  • A resource of lipidomics and metabolomics data from individuals with undiagnosed diseases SCIENTIFIC DATA Kyle, J. E., Stratton, K. G., Zink, E. M., Kim, Y., Bloodsworth, K. J., Monroe, M. E., Bacino, C. A., Bacino, C. A., Hanchard, N. A., Lewis, R. A., Rosenfeld, J. A., Scott, D. A., Tran, A. A., Ward, P. A., Burrage, L. C., Clark, G. D., Alejandro, M. E., Posey, J. E., Wangler, M. F., Lee, B. H., Craigen, W. J., Bellen, H. J., Nicholas, S. K., Bostwick, B. L., Samson, S. L., Goldman, A. M., Moretti, P. M., Eng, C. M., Muzny, D. M., Orengo, J. P., Vogel, T. P., Lalani, S. R., Murdock, D. R., Azamian, M. S., Orange, J. S., Emrick, L. T., Dhar, S. U., Balasubramanyam, A., Potocki, L., Yamamoto, S., Yang, Y., Chen, S., Jamal, F., Karaviti, L., Marom, R., Lincoln, S. A., Walsh, C. A., Beggs, A. H., Rodan, L. H., Stoler, J. M., Berry, G. T., Cobban, L. A., MacRae, C. A., Krier, J. B., Silverman, E. K., Fieg, E. L., Maas, R. L., Loscalzo, J., Aday, A., Korrick, S., Goldstein, D. B., Stong, N., Sullivan, J. A., Spillmann, R. C., Pena, L. M., Tan, Q., Walley, N. M., Jiang, Y., McConkie-Rosell, A., Schoch, K., Shashi, V., Cope, H., Holm, I. A., Kohane, I. S., McCray, A. T., Esteves, C., LeBlanc, K., Might, M., Kelley, E., Worthey, E. A., Dorset, D. C., Boone, B. E., Levy, S. E., Birch, C. L., Jones, A. L., Brown, D. M., Bick, D. P., Newberry, J., Lazar, J., May, T., Sweetser, D. A., Briere, L. C., Pallais, J., Cooper, C. M., High, F., Walker, M., Colley, H. A., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Burke, E. A., Godfrey, R. A., Groden, C. A., Gahl, W. A., Wolfe, L. A., Markello, T. C., Lau, C., Draper, D. D., Gould, S. E., Nehrebecky, M. E., Wahl, C. E., Batzli, G. F., Macnamara, E. F., Dayal, J. G., Eckstein, D. J., Mulvihill, J. J., Tifft, C. J., Urv, T. K., Wise, A. L., Murphy, J. L., Gropman, A. L., Howerton, E. M., Krasnewich, D. M., Johnston, J. M., Pusey, B. N., Adams, D. R., Maduro, V. V., Malicdan, M. V., Davids, M., Estwick, T., Novacic, D., Sharma, P., Toro, C., Yu, G., Behnam, B., D'Souza, P., Ferreira, C., Morimoto, M., Baker, E. H., Yang, J., Gourdine, J. F., Brush, M., Haendel, M., Ashley, E. A., Bernstein, J. A., Sampson, J. B., Zastrow, D. B., Friedman, N. D., Merker, J. D., McCormack, C. E., Fisher, P. G., Davidson, J. M., Dries, A. M., Enns, G. M., Majcherska, M. M., Reuter, C. M., Waggott, D. M., Kohler, J. N., Coakley, T. R., Smith, K. S., Wheeler, M. T., Bonner, D., Fernandez, L., Hom, J., Huang, Y., Marwaha, S., Zhao, C., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Papp, J. C., Douine, E. D., Nelson, S. F., Martin, M. G., Palmer, C., Parker, N. H., Butte, M. J., Yoon, A. J., Loo, S. K., Fogel, B. L., Dipple, K. M., Sinsheimer, J. S., Allard, P., Barseghyan, H., Dorrani, N., Lee, H., Vilain, E., Eskin, A., Renteria, G., Signer, R., Wan, J., Zheng, A., Westerfield, M., Phillips, J. A., Cogan, J. D., Newman, J. H., Robertson, A. K., Hamid, R., Bican, A., Brokamp, E., Duncan, L., Kozuira, M., Rives, L., Shakachite, L., Waters, K. M., Webb-Robertson, B. M., Koeller, D. M., Metz, T. O., Undiagnosed Dis Network 2021; 8 (1): 114

    Abstract

    Every year individuals experience symptoms that remain undiagnosed by healthcare providers. In the United States, these rare diseases are defined as a condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals. However, there are an estimated 7000 rare diseases, and there are an estimated 25-30 million Americans in total (7.6-9.2% of the population as of 2018) affected by such disorders. The NIH Common Fund Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) seeks to provide diagnoses for individuals with undiagnosed disease. Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics analyses could advance the collective understanding of individual symptoms and advance diagnoses for individuals with heretofore undiagnosed disease. Here, we report the mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics analyses of blood plasma, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid from 148 patients within the UDN and their families, as well as from a reference population of over 100 individuals with no known metabolic diseases. The raw and processed data are available to the research community so that they might be useful in the diagnoses of current or future patients suffering from undiagnosed disorders.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41597-021-00894-y

    View details for Web of Science ID 000642148100001

    View details for PubMedID 33883556

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8060404

  • Results of Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Dose Range Finding, Crossover Study of Single Day Administration of ERX-963 (IV Flumazenil) in Adults with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Sampson, J., Wang, E., Day, J., Gutmann, L., Mezerhane, E., Seto, A., Ehrich, E. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2021
  • Variants in PRKAR1B cause a neurodevelopmental disorder with autism spectrum disorder, apraxia, and insensitivity to pain GENETICS IN MEDICINE Marbach, F., Stoyanov, G., Erger, F., Stratakis, C. A., Settas, N., London, E., Rosenfeld, J. A., Torti, E., Haldeman-Englert, C., Sklirou, E., Kessler, E., Ceulemans, S., Nelson, S. F., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Palmer, C. S., Signer, R. H., Acosta, M. T., Adam, M., Adams, D. R., Agrawal, P. B., Alejandro, M. E., Alvey, J., Amendola, L., Andrews, A., Ashley, E. A., Azamian, M. S., Bacino, C. A., Bademci, G., Baker, E., Balasubramanyam, A., Baldridge, D., Bale, J., Bamshad, M., Barbouth, D., Bayrak-Toydemir, P., Beck, A., Beggs, A. H., Behrens, E., Bejerano, G., Bennett, J., Berg-Rood, B., Bernstein, J. A., Berry, G. T., Bican, A., Bivona, S., Blue, E., Bohnsack, J., Bonnenmann, C., Bonner, D., Botto, L., Boyd, B., Briere, L. C., Brokamp, E., Brown, G., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Byers, P., Byrd, W. E., Carey, J., Carrasquillo, O., Chang, T., Chanprasert, S., Chao, H., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cobban, L. A., Cogan, J. D., Coggins, M., Cole, F., Colley, H. A., Cooper, C. M., Cope, H., Craigen, W. J., Crouse, A. B., Cunningham, M., D'Souza, P., Dai, H., Dasari, S., Davis, J., Daya, J. G., Deardorff, M., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dhar, S. U., Dipple, K., Doherty, D., Dorrani, N., Doss, A. L., Douine, E. D., Draper, D. D., Duncan, L., Earl, D., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Eng, C. M., Esteves, C., Falk, M., Fernandez, L., Ferreira, C., Fieg, E. L., Findley, L. C., Fisher, P. G., Fogel, B. L., Forghani, I., Fresard, L., Gahl, W. A., Glass, I., Gochuico, B., Godfrey, R. A., Golden-Grant, K., Goldman, A. M., Goldrich, M. P., Goldstein, D. B., Grajewski, A., Groden, C. A., Gutierrez, I., Hahn, S., Hamid, R., Hanchard, N. A., Hassey, K., Hayes, N., High, F., Hing, A., Hisama, F. M., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Horike-Pyne, M., Huang, A., Huang, Y., Huryn, L., Isasi, R., Jamal, F., Jarvik, G. P., Jarvik, J., Jayadev, S., Karaviti, L., Kennedy, J., Kiley, D., Kohane, I. S., Kohler, J. N., Korrick, S., Kozuira, M., Krakow, D., Krasnewich, D. M., Kravets, E., Krier, J. B., LaMoure, G. L., Lalani, S. R., Lam, B., Lam, C., Lanpher, B. C., Lanza, I. R., Latham, L., LeBlanc, K., Lee, B. H., Lee, H., Levitt, R., Lewis, R. A., Lincoln, S. A., Liu, P., Liu, X., Longo, N., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., MacDowall, J., MacRae, C. A., Macnamara, E. F., Maduro, V. V., Majcherska, M. M., Mak, B. C., Malicdan, M. V., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Mao, R., Maravilla, K., Markello, T. C., Marom, R., Marth, G., Martin, B. A., Martin, M. G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., McCauley, J., McConkie-Rosell, A., McCormack, C. E., McCray, A. T., McGee, E., Mefford, H., Merritt, J., Might, M., Mirzaa, G., Morava, E., Moretti, P. M., Moretti, P., Mosbrook-Davis, D., Mulvihill, J. J., Murdock, D. R., Nagy, A., Nakano-Okuno, M., Nath, A., Nelson, S. F., Newman, J. H., Nicholas, S. K., Nickerson, D., Nieves-Rodriguez, S., Novacic, D., Oglesbee, D., Orengo, J. P., Pace, L., Pak, S., Pallais, J., Palmer, C. S., Papp, J. C., Parker, N. H., Phillips, J. A., Posey, J. E., Potocki, L., Power, B., Pusey, B. N., Quinlan, A., Raja, A. N., Rao, D. A., Raskind, W., Renteria, G., Reuter, C. M., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Rosenwasser, N., Rossignol, F., Ruzhnikov, M., Sacco, R., Sampson, J. B., Samson, S. L., Saporta, M., Schaechter, J., Schedl, T., Schoch, K., Scott, C., Scott, D. A., Shashi, V., Shin, J., Signer, R. H., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Sisco, K., Smith, E. C., Smith, K. S., Solem, E., Solnica-Krezel, L., Ben Solomon, Spillmann, R. C., Stoler, J. M., Sullivan, J. A., Sullivan, K., Sun, A., Sutton, S., Sweetser, D. A., Sybert, V., Tabor, H. K., Tan, A. M., Tan, Q., Tekin, M., Telischi, F., Thorson, W., Thurm, A., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Tucker, B. M., Urv, T. K., Vanderver, A., Velinder, M., Viskochil, D., Vogel, T. P., Wahl, C. E., Walker, M., Wallace, S., Walley, N. M., Walsh, C. A., Wambach, J., Wan, J., Wang, L., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Wegner, D., Wener, M., Wenger, T., Perry, K., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Whitlock, J., Wolfe, L. A., Woods, J. D., Yamamoto, S., Yang, J., Yousef, M., Zastrow, D. B., Zein, W., Zhao, C., Zuchner, S., Andrews, M. V., Grange, D. K., Willaert, R., Person, R., Telegrafi, A., Sievers, A., Laugsch, M., Theiss, S., Cheng, Y., Lichtarge, O., Katsonis, P., Stocco, A., Schaaf, C. P., Undiagnosed Diseases Network 2021

    Abstract

    We characterize the clinical and molecular phenotypes of six unrelated individuals with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder who carry heterozygous missense variants of the PRKAR1B gene, which encodes the R1β subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA).Variants of PRKAR1B were identified by single- or trio-exome analysis. We contacted the families and physicians of the six individuals to collect phenotypic information, performed in vitro analyses of the identified PRKAR1B-variants, and investigated PRKAR1B expression during embryonic development.Recent studies of large patient cohorts with neurodevelopmental disorders found significant enrichment of de novo missense variants in PRKAR1B. In our cohort, de novo origin of the PRKAR1B variants could be confirmed in five of six individuals, and four carried the same heterozygous de novo variant c.1003C>T (p.Arg335Trp; NM_001164760). Global developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, and apraxia/dyspraxia have been reported in all six, and reduced pain sensitivity was found in three individuals carrying the c.1003C>T variant. PRKAR1B expression in the brain was demonstrated during human embryonal development. Additionally, in vitro analyses revealed altered basal PKA activity in cells transfected with variant-harboring PRKAR1B expression constructs.Our study provides strong evidence for a PRKAR1B-related neurodevelopmental disorder.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41436-021-01152-7

    View details for Web of Science ID 000638059400001

    View details for PubMedID 33833410

  • Exome testing most useful for people with recessive CMT Siskind, C., Sampson, J., Goyal, N., Rocha, A., Day, J. WILEY. 2021: 141–42
  • Commonalities across computational workflows for uncovering explanatory variants in undiagnosed cases. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics Kobren, S. N., Baldridge, D., Velinder, M., Krier, J. B., LeBlanc, K., Esteves, C., Pusey, B. N., Zuchner, S., Blue, E., Lee, H., Huang, A., Bastarache, L., Bican, A., Cogan, J., Marwaha, S., Alkelai, A., Murdock, D. R., Liu, P., Wegner, D. J., Paul, A. J., Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Sunyaev, S. R., Kohane, I. S., Acosta, M. T., Adam, M., Adams, D. R., Agrawal, P. B., Alejandro, M. E., Alvey, J., Amendola, L., Andrews, A., Ashley, E. A., Azamian, M. S., Bacino, C. A., Bademci, G., Baker, E., Balasubramanyam, A., Baldridge, D., Bale, J., Bamshad, M., Barbouth, D., Bayrak-Toydemir, P., Beck, A., Beggs, A. H., Behrens, E., Bejerano, G., Bennett, J., Berg-Rood, B., Bernstein, J. A., Berry, G. T., Bican, A., Bivona, S., Blue, E., Bohnsack, J., Bonnenmann, C., Bonner, D., Botto, L., Boyd, B., Briere, L. C., Brokamp, E., Brown, G., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Byers, P., Byrd, W. E., Carey, J., Carrasquillo, O., Chang, T. C., Chanprasert, S., Chao, H., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cobban, L. A., Cogan, J. D., Coggins, M., Cole, F. S., Colley, H. A., Cooper, C. M., Cope, H., Craigen, W. J., Crouse, A. B., Cunningham, M., D'Souza, P., Dai, H., Dasari, S., Davis, J., Daya, J. G., Deardorff, M., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dhar, S. U., Dipple, K., Doherty, D., Dorrani, N., Doss, A. L., Douine, E. D., Draper, D. D., Duncan, L., Earl, D., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Eng, C. M., Esteves, C., Falk, M., Fernandez, L., Ferreira, C., Fieg, E. L., Findley, L. C., Fisher, P. G., Fogel, B. L., Forghani, I., Fresard, L., Gahl, W. A., Glass, I., Gochuico, B., Godfrey, R. A., Golden-Grant, K., Goldman, A. M., Goldrich, M. P., Goldstein, D. B., Grajewski, A., Groden, C. A., Gutierrez, I., Hahn, S., Hamid, R., Hanchard, N. A., Hassey, K., Hayes, N., High, F., Hing, A., Hisama, F. M., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Horike-Pyne, M., Huang, A., Huang, Y., Huryn, L., Isasi, R., Jamal, F., Jarvik, G. P., Jarvik, J., Jayadev, S., Karaviti, L., Kennedy, J., Kiley, D., Kohane, I. S., Kohler, J. N., Korrick, S., Kozuira, M., Krakow, D., Krasnewich, D. M., Kravets, E., Krier, J. B., LaMoure, G. L., Lalani, S. R., Lam, B., Lam, C., Lanpher, B. C., Lanza, I. R., Latham, L., LeBlanc, K., Lee, B. H., Lee, H., Levitt, R., Lewis, R. A., Lincoln, S. A., Liu, P., Liu, X. Z., Longo, N., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., MacDowall, J., MacRae, C. A., Macnamara, E. F., Maduro, V. V., Majcherska, M. M., Mak, B. C., Malicdan, M. C., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Mao, R., Maravilla, K., Markello, T. C., Marom, R., Marth, G., Martin, B. A., Martin, M. G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., McCauley, J., McConkie-Rosell, A., McCormack, C. E., McCray, A. T., McGee, E., Mefford, H., Merritt, J. L., Might, M., Mirzaa, G., Morava, E., Moretti, P. M., Moretti, P., Mosbrook-Davis, D., Mulvihill, J. J., Murdock, D. R., Nagy, A., Nakano-Okuno, M., Nath, A., Nelson, S. F., Newman, J. H., Nicholas, S. K., Nickerson, D., Nieves-Rodriguez, S., Novacic, D., Oglesbee, D., Orengo, J. P., Pace, L., Pak, S., Pallais, J. C., Palmer, C. G., Papp, J. C., Parker, N. H., Phillips, J. A., Posey, J. E., Potocki, L., Power, B., Pusey, B. N., Quinlan, A., Raja, A. N., Rao, D. A., Raskind, W., Renteria, G., Reuter, C. M., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Rosenwasser, N., Rossignol, F., Ruzhnikov, M., Sacco, R., Sampson, J. B., Samson, S. L., Saporta, M., Schaechter, J., Schedl, T., Schoch, K., Scott, C. R., Scott, D. A., Shashi, V., Shin, J., Signer, R. H., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Sisco, K., Smith, E. C., Smith, K. S., Solem, E., Solnica-Krezel, L., Ben Solomon, S., Spillmann, R. C., Stoler, J. M., Sullivan, J. A., Sullivan, K., Sun, A., Sutton, S., Sweetser, D. A., Sybert, V., Tabor, H. K., Tan, A. L., Tan, Q. K., Tekin, M., Telischi, F., Thorson, W., Thurm, A., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Tucker, B. M., Urv, T. K., Vanderver, A., Velinder, M., Viskochil, D., Vogel, T. P., Wahl, C. E., Walker, M., Wallace, S., Walley, N. M., Walsh, C. A., Wambach, J., Wan, J., Wang, L., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Wegner, D., Wener, M., Wenger, T., Perry, K. W., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Whitlock, J., Wolfe, L. A., Woods, J. D., Yamamoto, S., Yang, J., Yousef, M., Zastrow, D. B., Zein, W., Zhao, C., Zuchner, S. 2021

    Abstract

    PURPOSE: Genomic sequencing has become an increasingly powerful and relevant tool to be leveraged for the discovery of genetic aberrations underlying rare, Mendelian conditions. Although the computational tools incorporated into diagnostic workflows for this task are continually evolving and improving, we nevertheless sought to investigate commonalities across sequencing processing workflows to reveal consensus and standard practice tools and highlight exploratory analyses where technical and theoretical method improvements would be most impactful.METHODS: We collected details regarding the computational approaches used by a genetic testing laboratory and 11 clinical research sites in the United States participating in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network via meetings with bioinformaticians, online survey forms, and analyses of internal protocols.RESULTS: We found that tools for processing genomic sequencing data can be grouped into four distinct categories. Whereas well-established practices exist for initial variant calling and quality control steps, there is substantial divergence across sites in later stages for variant prioritization and multimodal data integration, demonstrating a diversity of approaches for solving the most mysterious undiagnosed cases.CONCLUSION: The largest differences across diagnostic workflows suggest that advances in structural variant detection, noncoding variant interpretation, and integration of additional biomedical data may be especially promising for solving chronically undiagnosed cases.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41436-020-01084-8

    View details for PubMedID 33580225

  • Transcriptome alterations in myotonic dystrophy frontal cortex. Cell reports Otero, B. A., Poukalov, K. n., Hildebrandt, R. P., Thornton, C. A., Jinnai, K. n., Fujimura, H. n., Kimura, T. n., Hagerman, K. A., Sampson, J. B., Day, J. W., Wang, E. T. 2021; 34 (3): 108634

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is caused by expanded CTG/CCTG repeats, causing symptoms in skeletal muscle, heart, and central nervous system (CNS). CNS issues are debilitating and include hypersomnolence, executive dysfunction, white matter atrophy, and neurofibrillary tangles. Here, we generate RNA-seq transcriptomes from DM and unaffected frontal cortex and identify 130 high-confidence splicing changes, most occurring only in cortex, not skeletal muscle or heart. Mis-spliced exons occur in neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels, and synaptic scaffolds, and GRIP1 mis-splicing modulates kinesin association. Optical mapping of expanded CTG repeats reveals extreme mosaicism, with some alleles showing >1,000 CTGs. Mis-splicing severity correlates with CTG repeat length across individuals. Upregulated genes tend to be microglial and endothelial, suggesting neuroinflammation, and downregulated genes tend to be neuronal. Many gene expression changes strongly correlate with mis-splicing, suggesting candidate biomarkers of disease. These findings provide a framework for mechanistic and therapeutic studies of the DM CNS.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108634

    View details for PubMedID 33472074

  • Toward Developing Robust Myotonic Dystrophy Brain Biomarkers using White Matter Tract Profiles Sub-Band Energy and A Framework of Ensemble Predictive Learning. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference Kamali, T., Parker, D., Day, J. W., Sampson, J., Deutsch, G. K., Wozniak, J. R. 2021; 2021: 3838-3841

    Abstract

    The myotonic dystrophies (DM1 and DM2) are dominantly inherited disorders that cause pathological changes throughout the body and the brain. DM patients have difficulties with memory, attention, executive functioning, social cognition, and visuospatial function. Quantifying and understanding diffusion measures along main brain white matter fiber tracts offer a unique opportunity to reveal new insights into DM development and characterization. In this work, a novel supervised system is proposed, which is based on Tract Profiles sub-band energy information. The proposed system utilizes a Bayesian stacked random forest to diagnose, characterize, and predict DM clinical outcomes. The evaluation data consists of fractional anisotropies calculated for twelve major white matter tracts of 96 healthy controls and 62 DM patients. The proposed system discriminates DM vs. control with 86% accuracy, which is significantly higher than previous works. Additionally, it discovered DM brain biomarkers that are accurate and robust and will be helpful in planning clinical trials and monitoring clinical performance.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/EMBC46164.2021.9630544

    View details for PubMedID 34892071

  • Meta-analyses of ataluren randomized controlled trials in nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Journal of comparative effectiveness research Campbell, C., Barohn, R. J., Bertini, E., Chabrol, B., Comi, G. P., Darras, B. T., Finkel, R. S., Flanigan, K. M., Goemans, N., Iannaccone, S. T., Jones, K. J., Kirschner, J., Mah, J. K., Mathews, K. D., McDonald, C. M., Mercuri, E., Nevo, Y., Pereon, Y., Renfroe, J. B., Ryan, M. M., Sampson, J. B., Schara, U., Sejersen, T., Selby, K., Tulinius, M., Vilchez, J. J., Voit, T., Wei, L., Wong, B. L., Elfring, G., Souza, M., McIntosh, J., Trifillis, P., Peltz, S. W., Muntoni, F., PTC124-GD-007-DMD Study Group, ACT DMD Study Group, Clinical Evaluator Training Groups 2020

    Abstract

    Aim: Assess the totality of efficacy evidence for ataluren inpatients withnonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD). Materials & methods: Data from the two completed randomized controlled trials (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00592553; NCT01826487) of ataluren in nmDMD were combined to examine the intent-to-treat (ITT) populations and two patient subgroups (baseline 6-min walk distance [6MWD] ≥300-<400 or <400m). Meta-analyses examined 6MWD change from baseline to week 48. Results: Statistically significant differences in 6MWD change with ataluren versus placebo were observed across all three meta-analyses. Least-squares mean difference (95% CI): ITT (n=342), +17.2 (0.2-34.1) m, p=0.0473; ≥300-<400m (n=143), +43.9 (18.2-69.6) m, p=0.0008; <400m (n=216), +27.7 (6.4-49.0) m, p=0.0109. Conclusion: These meta-analyses support previous evidence for ataluren in slowing disease progression versus placebo in patients with nmDMDover 48weeks. Treatment benefit was most evident in patients with a baseline 6MWD ≥300-<400m (the ambulatory transition phase), thereby informing future trial design.

    View details for DOI 10.2217/cer-2020-0095

    View details for PubMedID 32851872

  • Diagnosis of Myotonic Dystrophy Based on Resting State fMRI Using Convolutional Neural Networks. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference Kamali, T., Hagerman, K. A., Day, J. W., Sampson, J., Lim, K. O., Mueller, B. A., Wozniak, J. 2020; 2020: 1714–17

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophies (DM) are neuromuscular conditions that cause widespread effects throughout the body. There are brain white matter changes on MRI in patients with DM that correlate with neuropsychological functional changes. How these brain alterations causally relate to the presence and severity of cognitive symptoms remains largely unknown. Deep neural networks have significantly improved the performance of image classification of huge datasets. However, its application in brain imaging is limited and not well described, due to the scarcity of labeled training data. In this work, we propose an approach for the diagnosis of DM based on a spatio-temporal deep learning paradigm. The obtained accuracy (73.71%) and sensitivities and specificities showed that the implemented approach based on 4-D convolutional neural networks leads to a compact, discriminative, and fast computing DM-based clinical medical decision support system.Clinical relevance- Many adults with DM experience cognitive and neurological effects impacting their quality of life, and ability to maintain employment. A robust and reliable DM-based clinical decision support system may help reduce the long diagnostic delay common to DM. Furthermore, it can help neurologists better understand the pathophysiology of the disease and analyze effects of new drugs that aim to address the neurological symptoms of DM.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9176455

    View details for PubMedID 33018327

  • Revised Recommendations for the Treatment of Infants Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Via Newborn Screening Who Have 4 Copies of SMN2. Journal of neuromuscular diseases Glascock, J., Sampson, J., Connolly, A. M., Darras, B. T., Day, J. W., Finkel, R., Howell, R. R., Klinger, K. W., Kuntz, N., Prior, T., Shieh, P. B., Crawford, T. O., Kerr, D., Jarecki, J. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.3233/JND-190468

    View details for PubMedID 32007960

  • Diagnosis of Myotonic Dystrophy Based on Resting State fMRI Using Convolutional Neural Networks Kamali, T., Hagerman, K. A., Day, J. W., Sampson, J., Lim, K. O., Mueller, B. A., Wozniak, J., IEEE IEEE. 2020: 1714–17
  • Successful liver transplantation in mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE). Molecular genetics and metabolism Kripps, K. n., Nakayuenyongsuk, W. n., Shayota, B. J., Berquist, W. n., Gomez-Ospina, N. n., Esquivel, C. O., Concepcion, W. n., Sampson, J. B., Cristin, D. J., Jackson, W. E., Gilliland, S. n., Pomfret, E. A., Kueht, M. L., Pettit, R. W., Sherif, Y. A., Emrick, L. T., Elsea, S. H., Himes, R. n., Hirano, M. n., Van Hove, J. L., Scaglia, F. n., Enns, G. M., Larson, A. A. 2020

    Abstract

    Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is a fatal disorder characterized by progressive gastrointestinal dysmotility, peripheral neuropathy, leukoencephalopathy, skeletal myopathy, ophthalmoparesis, and ptosis. MNGIE stems from deficient thymidine phosphorylase activity (TP) leading to toxic elevations of plasma thymidine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) restores TP activity and halts disease progression but has high transplant-related morbidity and mortality. Liver transplant (LT) was reported to restore TP activity in two adult MNGIE patients. We report successful LT in four additional MNGIE patients, including a pediatric patient. Our patients were diagnosed between ages 14 months and 36 years with elevated thymidine levels and biallelic pathogenic variants in TYMP. Two patients presented with progressive gastrointestinal dysmotility, and three demonstrated progressive peripheral neuropathy with two suffering limitations in ambulation. Two patients, including the child, had liver dysfunction and cirrhosis. Following LT, thymidine levels nearly normalized in all four patients and remained low for the duration of follow-up. Disease symptoms stabilized in all patients, with some manifesting improvements, including intestinal function. No patient died, and LT appeared to have a more favorable safety profile than HSCT, especially when liver disease is present. Follow-up studies will need to document the long-term impact of this new approach on disease outcome. Take Home Message: Liver transplantation is effective in stabilizing symptoms and nearly normalizing thymidine levels in patients with mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) and may have an improved safety profile over hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ymgme.2020.03.001

    View details for PubMedID 32173240

  • Clinical sites of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network: unique contributions to genomic medicine and science. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics Schoch, K. n., Esteves, C. n., Bican, A. n., Spillmann, R. n., Cope, H. n., McConkie-Rosell, A. n., Walley, N. n., Fernandez, L. n., Kohler, J. N., Bonner, D. n., Reuter, C. n., Stong, N. n., Mulvihill, J. J., Novacic, D. n., Wolfe, L. n., Abdelbaki, A. n., Toro, C. n., Tifft, C. n., Malicdan, M. n., Gahl, W. n., Liu, P. n., Newman, J. n., Goldstein, D. B., Hom, J. n., Sampson, J. n., Wheeler, M. T., Cogan, J. n., Bernstein, J. A., Adams, D. R., McCray, A. T., Shashi, V. n. 2020

    Abstract

    The NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) evaluates participants with disorders that have defied diagnosis, applying personalized clinical and genomic evaluations and innovative research. The clinical sites of the UDN are essential to advancing the UDN mission; this study assesses their contributions relative to standard clinical practices.We analyzed retrospective data from four UDN clinical sites, from July 2015 to September 2019, for diagnoses, new disease gene discoveries and the underlying investigative methods.Of 791 evaluated individuals, 231 received 240 diagnoses and 17 new disease-gene associations were recognized. Straightforward diagnoses on UDN exome and genome sequencing occurred in 35% (84/240). We considered these tractable in standard clinical practice, although genome sequencing is not yet widely available clinically. The majority (156/240, 65%) required additional UDN-driven investigations, including 90 diagnoses that occurred after prior nondiagnostic exome sequencing and 45 diagnoses (19%) that were nongenetic. The UDN-driven investigations included complementary/supplementary phenotyping, innovative analyses of genomic variants, and collaborative science for functional assays and animal modeling.Investigations driven by the clinical sites identified diagnostic and research paradigms that surpass standard diagnostic processes. The new diagnoses, disease gene discoveries, and delineation of novel disorders represent a model for genomic medicine and science.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41436-020-00984-z

    View details for PubMedID 33093671

  • De novo EIF2AK1 and EIF2AK2 Variants Are Associated with Developmental Delay, Leukoencephalopathy, and Neurologic Decompensation. American journal of human genetics Mao, D. n., Reuter, C. M., Ruzhnikov, M. R., Beck, A. E., Farrow, E. G., Emrick, L. T., Rosenfeld, J. A., Mackenzie, K. M., Robak, L. n., Wheeler, M. T., Burrage, L. C., Jain, M. n., Liu, P. n., Calame, D. n., Küry, S. n., Sillesen, M. n., Schmitz-Abe, K. n., Tonduti, D. n., Spaccini, L. n., Iascone, M. n., Genetti, C. A., Koenig, M. K., Graf, M. n., Tran, A. n., Alejandro, M. n., Lee, B. H., Thiffault, I. n., Agrawal, P. B., Bernstein, J. A., Bellen, H. J., Chao, H. T. 2020

    Abstract

    EIF2AK1 and EIF2AK2 encode members of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase (EIF2AK) family that inhibits protein synthesis in response to physiologic stress conditions. EIF2AK2 is also involved in innate immune response and the regulation of signal transduction, apoptosis, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Despite these findings, human disorders associated with deleterious variants in EIF2AK1 and EIF2AK2 have not been reported. Here, we describe the identification of nine unrelated individuals with heterozygous de novo missense variants in EIF2AK1 (1/9) or EIF2AK2 (8/9). Features seen in these nine individuals include white matter alterations (9/9), developmental delay (9/9), impaired language (9/9), cognitive impairment (8/9), ataxia (6/9), dysarthria in probands with verbal ability (6/9), hypotonia (7/9), hypertonia (6/9), and involuntary movements (3/9). Individuals with EIF2AK2 variants also exhibit neurological regression in the setting of febrile illness or infection. We use mammalian cell lines and proband-derived fibroblasts to further confirm the pathogenicity of variants in these genes and found reduced kinase activity. EIF2AKs phosphorylate eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit 1 (EIF2S1, also known as EIF2α), which then inhibits EIF2B activity. Deleterious variants in genes encoding EIF2B proteins cause childhood ataxia with central nervous system hypomyelination/vanishing white matter (CACH/VWM), a leukodystrophy characterized by neurologic regression in the setting of febrile illness and other stressors. Our findings indicate that EIF2AK2 missense variants cause a neurodevelopmental syndrome that may share phenotypic and pathogenic mechanisms with CACH/VWM.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.02.016

    View details for PubMedID 32197074

  • Multiomics Approach to Diagnosing Undiagnosed Patients Wheeler, M. T., Kohler, J. N., Bonner, D. E., Zastrow, D. B., Reuter, C., Majcherska, M., Fernandez, L., McCormack, C., Marwaha, S., Curnin, C., Dries, A., Ruzhnikov, M., Hom, J., Sampson, J., Fisher, P. G., Ashley, E. A., Bernstein, J. A., Undiagnosed Dis Network NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019: 1163–64
  • Connexin43 is Dispensable for Early Stage Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Adipogenic Differentiation But is Protective against Cell Senescence. Biomolecules Shao, Q., Esseltine, J. L., Huang, T., Novielli-Kuntz, N., Ching, J. E., Sampson, J., Laird, D. W. 2019; 9 (9)

    Abstract

    In the last couple of decades, there has been a growing optimism surrounding the potential transformative use of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for regenerative medicine and disease treatment. In order for this to occur, it is first essential to understand the mechanisms underpinning their cell-fate specification, which includes cell signaling via gap junctional intercellular communication. Here, we investigated the role of the prototypical gap junction protein, connexin43 (Cx43), in governing the differentiation of iPSCs into MSCs and MSC differentiation along the adipogenic lineage. We found that control iPSCs, as well as iPSCs derived from oculodentodigital dysplasia patient fibroblasts harboring a GJA1 (Cx43) gene mutation, successfully and efficiently differentiated into LipidTox and perilipin-positive cells, indicating cell differentiation along the adipogenic lineage. Furthermore, the complete CRISPR-Cas9 ablation of Cx43 from iPSCs did not prevent their differentiation into bona fide MSCs or pre-adipocytes, strongly suggesting that even though Cx43 expression is upregulated during adipogenesis, it is expendable. Interestingly, late passage Cx43-ablated MSCs senesced more quickly than control cells, resulting in failure to properly differentiate in vitro. We conclude that despite being upregulated during adipogenesis, Cx43 plays no detectable role in the early stages of human iPSC-derived MSC adipogenic differentiation. However, Cx43 may play a more impactful role in protecting MSCs from premature senescence.

    View details for DOI 10.3390/biom9090474

    View details for PubMedID 31514306

  • Explaining RLS families using risk SNPs from GWAS Tilch, E., Zhao, C., Salminen, A., Antic, A., Schormair, B., Oexle, K., Sampson, J. B., Muller-Myhsok, B., Winkelmann, J., EU-RLS-Gene Consortium NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019: 658–59
  • Extracutaneous manifestations in phacomatosis cesioflammea and cesiomarmorata: Case series and literature review AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART A Kumar, A., Zastrow, D. B., Kravets, E. J., Beleford, D., Ruzhnikov, M. Z., Grove, M. E., Dries, A. M., Kohler, J. N., Waggott, D. M., Yang, Y., Huang, Y., Mackenzie, K. M., Eng, C. M., Fisher, P. G., Ashley, E. A., Teng, J. M., Stevenson, D. A., Shieh, J. T., Wheeler, M. T., Bernstein, J. A., Adams, D. R., Aday, A., Alejandro, M. E., Allard, P., Azamian, M. S., Bacino, C. A., Baker, E., Balasubramanyam, A., Barseghyan, H., Batzli, G. F., Beggs, A. H., Behnam, B., Bellen, H. J., Bican, A., Bick, D. P., Birch, C. L., Bonner, D., Boone, B. E., Bostwick, B. L., Briere, L. C., Brokamp, E., Brown, D. M., Brush, M., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Chen, S., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cogan, J. D., Colley, H. A., Cooper, C. M., Cope, H., Craigen, W. J., D'Souza, P., Davids, M., Davidson, J. M., Dayal, J. G., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dhar, S. U., Dipple, K. M., Donnell-Fink, L. A., Dorrani, N., Dorset, D. C., Douine, E. D., Draper, D. D., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Enns, G. M., Eskin, A., Esteves, C., Estwick, T., Fairbrother, L., Fernandez, L., Ferreira, C., Fieg, E. L., Fogel, B. L., Friedman, N. D., Gahl, W. A., Glanton, E., Godfrey, R. A., Goldman, A. M., Goldstein, D. B., Gould, S. E., Gourdine, J. F., Groden, C. A., Gropman, A. L., Haendel, M., Hamid, R., Hanchard, N. A., High, F., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Howerton, E. M., Jamal, F., Jiang, Y., Johnston, J. M., Jones, A. L., Karaviti, L., Koeller, D. M., Kohane, I. S., Krasnewich, D. M., Korrick, S., Koziura, M., Krier, J. B., Kyle, J. E., Lalani, S. R., Lau, C., Lazar, J., LeBlanc, K., Lee, B. H., Lee, H., Levy, S. E., Lewis, R. A., Lincoln, S. A., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., Macnamara, E. F., MacRae, C. A., Maduro, V. V., Majcherska, M. M., Malicdan, M., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Markello, T. C., Marom, R., Martin, M. G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., May, T., McConkie-Rosell, A., McCormack, C. E., McCray, A. T., Merker, J. D., Metz, T. O., Might, M., Moretti, P. M., Morimoto, M., Mulvihill, J. J., Murdock, D. R., Murphy, J. L., Muzny, D. M., Nehrebecky, M. E., Nelson, S. F., Newberry, J., Newman, J. H., Nicholas, S. K., Novacic, D., Orange, J. S., Orengo, J. P., Pallais, J., Palmer, C. S., Papp, J. C., Parker, N. H., Pena, L. M., Phillips, J. A., Posey, J. E., Postlethwait, J. H., Potocki, L., Pusey, B. N., Reuter, C. M., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Sampson, J. B., Samson, S. L., Schoch, K., Scott, D. A., Shakachite, L., Sharma, P., Shashi, V., Signer, R., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Smith, K. S., Spillmann, R. C., Staler, J. M., Stong, N., Sullivan, J. A., Sweetser, D. A., Tan, Q., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Urv, T. K., Vilain, E., Vogel, T. P., Wahl, C. E., Walley, N. M., Walsh, C. A., Walker, M., Wan, J., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Waters, K. M., Webb-Robertson, B. M., Westerfield, M., Wise, A. L., Wolfe, L. A., Worthey, E. A., Yamamoto, S., Yang, J., Yoon, A. J., Yu, G., Zhao, C., Zheng, A., Undiagnosed Dis Network 2019; 179 (6): 966–77
  • A Patient with Sjogren's Syndrome and Subsequent Diagnosis of Inclusion Body Myositis and Light-Chain Amyloidosis JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE Hom, J., Marwaha, S., Postolova, A., Kittle, J., Vasquez, R., Davidson, J., Kohler, J., Dries, A., Fernandez-Betancourt, L., Majcherska, M., Dearlove, J., Raghavan, S., Vogel, H., Bernstein, J. A., Fisher, P., Ashley, E., Sampson, J., Wheeler, M., Undiagnosed Dis Network 2019; 34 (6): 1058–62
  • Nusinersen Efficacy in Adults with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Day, J., Wolford, C., MacPherson, C., Martens, W., McDermott, M., Darras, B., De Vivo, D., Cunningham, Z., Finkel, R., Zeineh, M., Sampson, J., Hagerman, K., Duong, T. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2019
  • Treatment Algorithm for Infants Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Through Newborn Screening Glascock, J., Sampson, J., Haidet-Phillips, A., Connolly, A., Darras, B., Day, J., Finkel, R., Howell, R., Klinger, K., Kuntz, N., Prior, T., Shieh, P., Crawford, T., Kerr, D., Jarecki, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2019
  • Developing a genomics rotation: Practical training around variant interpretation for genetic counseling students JOURNAL OF GENETIC COUNSELING Grove, M. E., White, S., Fisk, D. G., Rego, S., Dagan-Rosenfeld, O., Kohler, J. N., Reuter, C. M., Bonner, D., Wheeler, M. T., Bernstein, J. A., Ormond, K. E., Hanson-Kahn, A. K., Undiagnosed Dis Network 2019; 28 (2): 466–76

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jgc4.1094

    View details for Web of Science ID 000463993600030

  • A toolkit for genetics providers in follow-up of patients with non-diagnostic exome sequencing JOURNAL OF GENETIC COUNSELING Zastrow, D. B., Kohler, J. N., Bonner, D., Reuter, C. M., Fernandez, L., Grove, M. E., Fisk, D. G., Yang, Y., Eng, C. M., Ward, P. A., Bick, D., Worthey, E. A., Fisher, P. G., Ashley, E. A., Bernstein, J. A., Wheeler, M. T., Adams, D. R., Aday, A., Alejandro, M. E., Allard, P., Ashley, E. A., Azamian, M. S., Bacino, C. A., Baker, E., Balasubramanyam, A., Barseghyan, H., Batzli, G. F., Beggs, A. H., Behnam, B., Bellen, H. J., Bernstein, J. A., Bican, A., Bick, D. P., Birch, C. L., Boone, B. E., Bostwick, B. L., Briere, L. C., Brokamp, E., Brown, D. M., Brush, M., Burke, E. A., Burrage, L. C., Butte, M. J., Chen, S., Clark, G. D., Coakley, T. R., Cogan, J. D., Colley, H. A., Cooper, C. M., Cope, H., Craigen, W. J., D'Souza, P., Davids, M., Dayal, J. G., Dell'Angelica, E. C., Dhar, S. U., Dipple, K. M., Donnell-Fink, L. A., Dorrani, N., Dorset, D. C., Douine, E. D., Draper, D. D., Dries, A. M., Eckstein, D. J., Emrick, L. T., Eng, C. M., Enns, G. M., Eskin, A., Esteves, C., Estwick, T., Fairbrother, L., Ferreira, C., Fieg, E. L., Fisher, P. G., Fogel, B. L., Gahl, W. A., Glanton, E., Godfrey, R. A., Goldman, A. M., Goldstein, D. B., Gould, S. E., Gourdine, J. F., Groden, C. A., Gropman, A. L., Haendel, M., Hamid, R., Hanchard, N. A., High, F., Holm, I. A., Hom, J., Howerton, E. M., Huang, Y., Jamal, F., Jiang, Y., Johnston, J. M., Jones, A. L., Karaviti, L., Koeller, D. M., Kohane, I. S., Krasnewich, D. M., Korrick, S., Koziura, M., Krier, J. B., Kyle, J. E., Lalani, S. R., Lau, C., Lazar, J., LeBlanc, K., Lee, B. H., Lee, H., Levy, S. E., Lewis, R. A., Lincoln, S. A., Loo, S. K., Loscalzo, J., Maas, R. L., Macnamara, E. F., MacRae, C. A., Maduro, V. V., Majcherska, M. M., Malicdan, M. V., Mamounas, L. A., Manolio, T. A., Markello, T. C., Marom, R., Martin, G., Martinez-Agosto, J. A., Marwaha, S., May, T., McConkie-Rosell, A., McCormack, C. E., McCray, A. T., Merker, J. D., Metz, T. O., Might, M., Moretti, P. M., Morimoto, M., Nehrebecky, M. E., Nelson, S. F., Newberry, J., Newman, J. H., Nicholas, S. K., Novacic, D., Orange, J. S., Orengo, J. P., Pallais, J., Palmer, C. S., Papp, J. C., Postlethwait, J. H., Potocki, L., Pusey, B. N., Rives, L., Robertson, A. K., Rodan, L. H., Rosenfeld, J. A., Sampson, J. B., Samson, S. L., Schoch, K., Scott, D. A., Shakachite, L., Sharma, P., Shashi, V., Signer, R., Silverman, E. K., Sinsheimer, J. S., Smith, K. S., Spillmann, R. C., Stoler, J. M., Stong, N., Sullivan, J. A., Sweetser, D. A., Tan, Q., Tifft, C. J., Toro, C., Tran, A. A., Urv, T. K., Vilain, E., Vogel, T. P., Waggott, D. M., Wahl, C. E., Walley, N. M., Walsh, C. A., Walker, M., Wan, J., Wangler, M. F., Ward, P. A., Waters, K. M., Webb-Robertson, B. M., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Wise, A. L., Wolfe, L. A., Worthey, E. A., Yamamoto, S., Yang, J., Yang, Y., Yoon, A. J., Yu, G., Zhao, C., Zheng, A., Undiagnosed Dis Network 2019; 28 (2): 213–28

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jgc4.1119

    View details for Web of Science ID 000463993600005

  • Extracutaneous manifestations in phacomatosis cesioflammea and cesiomarmorata: Case series and literature review. American journal of medical genetics. Part A Kumar, A., Zastrow, D. B., Kravets, E. J., Beleford, D., Ruzhnikov, M. R., Grove, M. E., Dries, A. M., Kohler, J. N., Waggott, D. M., Yang, Y., Huang, Y., Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Mackenzie, K. M., Eng, C. M., Fisher, P. G., Ashley, E. A., Teng, J. M., Stevenson, D. A., Shieh, J. T., Wheeler, M. T., Bernstein, J. A. 2019

    Abstract

    Phacomatosis pigmentovascularis (PPV) comprises a family of rare conditions that feature vascular abnormalities and melanocytic lesions that can be solely cutaneous or multisystem in nature. Recently published work has demonstrated that both vascular and melanocytic abnormalities in PPV of the cesioflammea and cesiomarmorata subtypes can result from identical somatic mosaic activating mutations in the genes GNAQ and GNA11. Here, we present three new cases of PPV with features of the cesioflammea and/or cesiomarmorata subtypes and mosaic mutations in GNAQ or GNA11. To better understand the risk of potentially occult complications faced by such patients we additionally reviewed 176 cases published in the literature. We report the frequency of clinical findings, their patterns of co-occurrence as well as published recommendations for surveillance after diagnosis. Features assessed include: capillary malformation; dermal and ocular melanocytosis; glaucoma; limb asymmetry; venous malformations; and central nervous system (CNS) anomalies, such as ventriculomegaly and calcifications. We found that ocular findings are common in patients with phacomatosis cesioflammea and cesiomarmorata. Facial vascular involvement correlates with a higher risk of seizures (p=.0066). Our genetic results confirm the role of mosaic somatic mutations in GNAQ and GNA11 in phacomatosis cesioflammea and cesiomarmorata. Their clinical and molecular findings place these conditions on a clinical spectrum encompassing other GNAQ and GNA11 related disorders and inform recommendations for their management.

    View details for PubMedID 30920161

  • Developing a genomics rotation: Practical training around variant interpretation for genetic counseling students. Journal of genetic counseling Grove, M. E., White, S. n., Fisk, D. G., Rego, S. n., Dagan-Rosenfeld, O. n., Kohler, J. N., Reuter, C. M., Bonner, D. n., Wheeler, M. T., Bernstein, J. A., Ormond, K. E., Hanson-Kahn, A. K. 2019

    Abstract

    With the wide adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based genetic tests, genetic counselors require increased familiarity with NGS technology, variant interpretation concepts, and variant assessment tools. The use of exome and genome sequencing in clinical care has expanded the reach and diversity of genetic testing. Regardless of the setting where genetic counselors are performing variant interpretation or reporting, most of them have learned these skills from colleagues, while on the job. Though traditional, lecture-based learning around these topics is important, there has been growing need for the inclusion of case-based, experiential training of genomics and variant interpretation for genetic counseling students, with the goal of creating a strong foundation in variant interpretation for new genetic counselors, regardless of what area of practice they enter. To address this need, we established a genomics and variant interpretation rotation for Stanford's genetic counseling training program. In response to changes in the genomics landscape, this has now evolved into three unique rotation experiences, each focused on variant interpretation in the context of various genomic settings, including clinical laboratory, research laboratory, and healthy genomic analysis studies. Here, we describe the goals and learning objectives that we have developed for these variant interpretation rotations, and illustrate how these concepts are applied in practice.

    View details for PubMedID 30706981

  • Dynamic regulation of connexins in stem cell pluripotency. Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio) Esseltine, J. L., Brooks, C. R., Edwards, N. A., Subasri, M. n., Sampson, J. n., Séguin, C. n., Betts, D. H., Laird, D. W. 2019

    Abstract

    Characterization of the pluripotent "ground state" has led to a greater understanding of species-specific stem cell differences and has imparted an appreciation of the pluripotency continuum that exists in stem cells in vitro. Pluripotent stem cells are functionally coupled via connexins that serve in gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) and here we report that the level of connexin expression in pluripotent stem cells depends upon the state in which stem cells exist in vitro. Human and mouse pluripotent stem cells stabilized in a developmentally primitive or "naïve" state exhibit significantly less connexin expression compared with stem cells which are "primed" for differentiation. This dynamic connexin expression pattern may be governed, in part, by differential regulation by pluripotency transcription factors expressed in each cell state. Species-specific differences do exist however, with mouse stem cells expressing several additional connexin transcripts not found in human pluripotent stem cells. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of GJIC shows limited impact on naïve human stem cell survival, self-renewal, and pluripotency but plays a more significant role in primed human pluripotent stem cells. However, CRISPR-Cas9 gene ablation of Cx43 in human and mouse primed and naïve pluripotent stem cells reveals that Cx43 is dispensable in each of these four pluripotent stem cell types. Stem Cells 2019.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/stem.3092

    View details for PubMedID 31646713

  • Genomics in medicine: a novel elective rotation for internal medicine residents. Postgraduate medical journal Geng, L. N., Kohler, J. N., Levonian, P. n., Bernstein, J. A., Ford, J. M., Ahuja, N. n., Witteles, R. n., Hom, J. n., Wheeler, M. n. 2019

    Abstract

    It is well recognised that medical training globally and at all levels lacks sufficient incorporation of genetics and genomics education to keep up with the rapid advances and growing application of genomics to clinical care. However, the best strategy to implement these desired changes into postgraduate medical training and engage learners is still unclear. We developed a novel elective rotation in 'Genomic Medicine and Undiagnosed Diseases' for categorical Internal Medicine Residents to address this educational gap and serve as an adaptable model for training that can be applied broadly across different specialties and at other institutions. Key curriculum goals achieved include increased understanding about genetic testing modalities and tools available for diagnosis and risk analysis, the role of genetics-trained allied health professionals, and indications and limitations of genetic and genomic testing in both rare and common conditions.

    View details for DOI 10.1136/postgradmedj-2018-136355

    View details for PubMedID 31439813

  • A toolkit for genetics providers in follow-up of patients with non-diagnostic exome sequencing. Journal of genetic counseling Zastrow, D. B., Kohler, J. N., Bonner, D. n., Reuter, C. M., Fernandez, L. n., Grove, M. E., Fisk, D. G., Yang, Y. n., Eng, C. M., Ward, P. A., Bick, D. n., Worthey, E. A., Fisher, P. G., Ashley, E. A., Bernstein, J. A., Wheeler, M. T. 2019; 28 (2): 213–28

    Abstract

    There are approximately 7,000 rare diseases affecting 25-30 million Americans, with 80% estimated to have a genetic basis. This presents a challenge for genetics practitioners to determine appropriate testing, make accurate diagnoses, and conduct up-to-date patient management. Exome sequencing (ES) is a comprehensive diagnostic approach, but only 25%-41% of the patients receive a molecular diagnosis. The remaining three-fifths to three-quarters of patients undergoing ES remain undiagnosed. The Stanford Center for Undiagnosed Diseases (CUD), a clinical site of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, evaluates patients with undiagnosed and rare diseases using a combination of methods including ES. Frequently these patients have non-diagnostic ES results, but strategic follow-up techniques identify diagnoses in a subset. We present techniques used at the CUD that can be adopted by genetics providers in clinical follow-up of cases where ES is non-diagnostic. Solved case examples illustrate different types of non-diagnostic results and the additional techniques that led to a diagnosis. Frequent approaches include segregation analysis, data reanalysis, genome sequencing, additional variant identification, careful phenotype-disease correlation, confirmatory testing, and case matching. We also discuss prioritization of cases for additional analyses.

    View details for PubMedID 30964584

  • A Patient with Sjogren's Syndrome and Subsequent Diagnosis of Inclusion Body Myositis and Light-Chain Amyloidosis. Journal of general internal medicine Hom, J. n., Marwaha, S. n., Postolova, A. n., Kittle, J. n., Vasquez, R. n., Davidson, J. n., Kohler, J. n., Dries, A. n., Fernandez-Betancourt, L. n., Majcherska, M. n., Dearlove, J. n., Raghavan, S. n., Vogel, H. n., Bernstein, J. A., Fisher, P. n., Ashley, E. n., Sampson, J. n., Wheeler, M. n. 2019

    Abstract

    We discuss a challenging case of a 58-year-old Vietnamese-American woman who presented to her new primary care provider with an 8-year history of slowly progressive dysphagia, hoarseness, muscle weakness with associated frequent falls, and weight loss. She eventually reported dry eyes and dry mouth, and she was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome. Subsequently, she was additionally diagnosed with inclusion body myositis and gastric light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. Although inclusion body myositis has been previously associated with Sjogren's syndrome, inclusion body myositis is rare in non-Caucasians, and the trio of Sjogren's syndrome, inclusion body myositis, and AL amyloidosis has not been previously reported. Sjogren's syndrome is a systemic autoimmune condition characterized by ocular and oral dryness. It is one of the most common rheumatologic disorders in the USA and worldwide. Early diagnosis of Sjogren's is particularly important given the frequency and variety of associated autoimmune diseases and extraglandular manifestations. Furthermore, although inclusion body myositis has a low prevalence, it is the most common inflammatory myopathy in older adults and is unfortunately associated with long delays in diagnosis, so knowledge of this disorder is also crucial for practicing internists.

    View details for PubMedID 30887439

  • Identification of rare-disease genes using blood transcriptome sequencing and large control cohorts. Nature medicine Frésard, L. n., Smail, C. n., Ferraro, N. M., Teran, N. A., Li, X. n., Smith, K. S., Bonner, D. n., Kernohan, K. D., Marwaha, S. n., Zappala, Z. n., Balliu, B. n., Davis, J. R., Liu, B. n., Prybol, C. J., Kohler, J. N., Zastrow, D. B., Reuter, C. M., Fisk, D. G., Grove, M. E., Davidson, J. M., Hartley, T. n., Joshi, R. n., Strober, B. J., Utiramerur, S. n., Lind, L. n., Ingelsson, E. n., Battle, A. n., Bejerano, G. n., Bernstein, J. A., Ashley, E. A., Boycott, K. M., Merker, J. D., Wheeler, M. T., Montgomery, S. B. 2019

    Abstract

    It is estimated that 350 million individuals worldwide suffer from rare diseases, which are predominantly caused by mutation in a single gene1. The current molecular diagnostic rate is estimated at 50%, with whole-exome sequencing (WES) among the most successful approaches2-5. For patients in whom WES is uninformative, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has shown diagnostic utility in specific tissues and diseases6-8. This includes muscle biopsies from patients with undiagnosed rare muscle disorders6,9, and cultured fibroblasts from patients with mitochondrial disorders7. However, for many individuals, biopsies are not performed for clinical care, and tissues are difficult to access. We sought to assess the utility of RNA-seq from blood as a diagnostic tool for rare diseases of different pathophysiologies. We generated whole-blood RNA-seq from 94 individuals with undiagnosed rare diseases spanning 16 diverse disease categories. We developed a robust approach to compare data from these individuals with large sets of RNA-seq data for controls (n = 1,594 unrelated controls and n = 49 family members) and demonstrated the impacts of expression, splicing, gene and variant filtering strategies on disease gene identification. Across our cohort, we observed that RNA-seq yields a 7.5% diagnostic rate, and an additional 16.7% with improved candidate gene resolution.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41591-019-0457-8

    View details for PubMedID 31160820

  • Consensus-based care recommendations for adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1 NEUROLOGY-CLINICAL PRACTICE Ashizawa, T., Gagnon, C., Groh, W. J., Gutmann, L., Johnson, N. E., Meola, G., Moxley, R., Pandya, S., Rogers, M. T., Simpson, E., Angeard, N., Bassez, G., Berggren, K. N., Bhakta, D., Bozzali, M., Broderick, A., Byrne, J. B., Campbell, C., Cup, E., Day, J. W., De Mattia, E., Duboc, D., Duong, T., Eichinger, K., Ekstrom, A., van Engelen, B., Esparis, B., Eymard, B., Ferschl, M., Gadalla, S. M., Gallais, B., Goodglick, T., Heatwole, C., Hilbert, J., Holland, V., Kierkegaard, M., Koopman, W. J., Lane, K., Maas, D., Mankodi, A., Mathews, K. D., Monckton, D. G., Moser, D., Nazarian, S., Nguyen, L., Nopoulos, P., Petty, R., Phetteplace, J., Puymirat, J., Raman, S., Richer, L., Roma, E., Sampson, J., Sansone, V., Schoser, B., Sterling, L., Statland, J., Subramony, S. H., Tian, C., Trujillo, C., Tomaselli, G., Turner, C., Venance, S., Verma, A., White, M., Winblad, S., Myotonic Dystrophy Fdn 2018; 8 (6): 507–20

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a severe, progressive genetic disease that affects between 1 in 3,000 and 8,000 individuals globally. No evidence-based guideline exists to inform the care of these patients, and most do not have access to multidisciplinary care centers staffed by experienced professionals, creating a clinical care deficit.The Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF) recruited 66 international clinicians experienced in DM1 patient care to develop consensus-based care recommendations. MDF created a 2-step methodology for the project using elements of the Single Text Procedure and the Nominal Group Technique. The process generated a 4-page Quick Reference Guide and a comprehensive, 55-page document that provides clinical care recommendations for 19 discrete body systems and/or care considerations.The resulting recommendations are intended to help standardize and elevate care for this patient population and reduce variability in clinical trial and study environments.

    View details for DOI 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000531

    View details for Web of Science ID 000456290100016

    View details for PubMedID 30588381

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6294540

  • Minimally Invasive Thymectomy and Lung Volume Reduction in a Patient With Myasthenia Gravis ANNALS OF THORACIC SURGERY Salna, M., Kidambi, S., Sampson, J., Shrager, J. B. 2018; 106 (6): E313–E315
  • Effect of Genetic Diagnosis on Patients with Previously Undiagnosed Disease NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE Splinter, K., Adams, D. R., Bacino, C. A., Bellen, H. J., Bernstein, J. A., Cheatle-Jarvela, A. M., Eng, C. M., Esteves, C., Gahl, W. A., Hamid, R., Jacob, H. J., Kikani, B., Koeller, D. M., Kohane, I. S., Lee, B. H., Loscalzo, J., Luo, X., McCray, A. T., Metz, T. O., Mulvihill, J. J., Nelson, S. F., Palmer, C. S., Phillips, J. A., Pick, L., Postlethwait, J. H., Reuter, C., Shashi, V., Sweetser, D. A., Tifft, C. J., Walley, N. M., Wangler, M. F., Westerfield, M., Wheeler, M. T., Wise, A. L., Worthey, E. A., Yamamoto, S., Ashley, E. A., Undiagnosed Dis Network 2018; 379 (22): 2131–39
  • Experience using Spinraza to treat adults with spinal muscular atrophy Day, J., Wolford, C., Macpherson, C., Hagerman, K., Paulose, S., Zeineh, M., Martens, W., McDermott, M., Darras, B., De Vivo, D., Cunningham, Z., Finkel, R., Sampson, J., Duong, T. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. 2018: S81
  • C-terminal proline deletions in KCNC3 cause delayed channel inactivation and an adult-onset progressive SCA13 with spasticity CEREBELLUM Khare, S., Galeano, K., Zhang, Y., Nick, J. A., Nick, H. S., Subramony, S. H., Sampson, J., Kaczmarek, L. K., Waters, M. F. 2018; 17 (5): 692–97

    Abstract

    Mutations in the potassium channel gene KCNC3 (Kv3.3) cause the autosomal dominant neurological disease, spinocerebellar ataxia 13 (SCA13). In this study, we expand the genotype-phenotype repertoire of SCA13 by describing the novel KCNC3 deletion p.Pro583_Pro585del highlighting the allelic heterogeneity observed in SCA13 patients. We characterize adult-onset, progressive clinical symptoms of two afflicted kindred and introduce the symptom of profound spasticity not previously associated with the SCA13 phenotype. We also present molecular and electrophysiological characterizations of the mutant protein in mammalian cell culture. Mechanistically, the p.Pro583_Pro585del protein showed normal membrane trafficking with an altered electrophysiological profile, including slower inactivation and decreased sensitivity to the inactivation-accelerating effects of the actin depolymerizer latrunculin B. Taken together, our results highlight the clinical importance of the intracellular C-terminal portion of Kv3.3 and its association with ion channel function.

    View details for PubMedID 29949095

  • FGFR3 Antibodies in Neuropathy: What to Do With Them? Journal of clinical neuromuscular disease Samara, V., Sampson, J., Muppidi, S. 2018; 20 (1): 35–40

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVES: To describe the variability of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) antibody titers in a small series of patients.METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of patients with neuropathy and positive FGFR3 antibodies.RESULTS: We report 7 patients (3 women) with an age range 44-81 years. Symptoms were acute onset in 3 and subacute onset in 4 patients. Five had neuropathic pain. Examination revealed normal large fiber function to mild/moderate predominantly sensory neuropathy and ataxia in one patient. Electrodiagnostic studies revealed normal large fiber function (3), demyelinating neuropathy (1), and mild/moderate axonal neuropathy (3). Four patients had high and 3 patients had low FGFR3 titers. Repeat testing revealed absence of antibodies in 2 patients and a significant reduction in one patient without any intervening immunotherapy.CONCLUSIONS: Our case series highlights the variability and inconsistency in FGFR3 antibody titers through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay testing. These antibody titers should always be interpreted with caution in clinical context.

    View details for DOI 10.1097/CND.0000000000000221

    View details for PubMedID 30124558

  • Minimally Invasive Thymectomy and Lung Volume Reduction in a Patient with Myasthenia Gravis. The Annals of thoracic surgery Salna, M., Kidambi, S., Sampson, J., Shrager, J. B. 2018

    Abstract

    We describe the case of a patient with myasthenia gravis and severe pulmonary emphysema who underwent concomitant bilateral video/robotic-assisted thymectomy with unilateral lung volume reduction surgery. We review the important pathophysiological considerations that must be appreciated to ensure safe surgery in this unusual situation with two diseases that independently affect the respiratory system - each of which requires preoperative optimization.

    View details for PubMedID 29807007

  • FGFR3 Antibodies in Neuropathy. What to do with them? Samara, V., Sampson, J., Muppidi, S. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2018
  • Nusinersen Efficacy in Adults with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Day, J., Wolford, C., MacPherson, C., Martens, W., McDermott, M., Darras, B., De Vivo, D., Cunningham, Z., Finkel, R., Sampson, J., Duong, T. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2018
  • Nusinersen versus Sham Control in Later-Onset Spinal Muscular Atrophy NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE Mercuri, E., Darras, B. T., Chiriboga, C. A., Day, J. W., Campbell, C., Connolly, A. M., Iannaccone, S. T., Kirschner, J., Kuntz, N. L., Saito, K., Shieh, P. B., Tulinius, M., Mazzone, E. S., Montes, J., Bishop, K. M., Yang, Q., Foster, R., Gheuens, S., Bennett, C. F., Farwell, W., Schneider, E., De Vivo, D. C., Finkel, R. S., CHERISH Study Grp 2018; 378 (7): 625–35

    Abstract

    Nusinersen is an antisense oligonucleotide drug that modulates pre-messenger RNA splicing of the survival motor neuron 2 ( SMN2) gene. It has been developed for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, sham-controlled, phase 3 trial of nusinersen in 126 children with SMA who had symptom onset after 6 months of age. The children were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to undergo intrathecal administration of nusinersen at a dose of 12 mg (nusinersen group) or a sham procedure (control group) on days 1, 29, 85, and 274. The primary end point was the least-squares mean change from baseline in the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale-Expanded (HFMSE) score at 15 months of treatment; HFMSE scores range from 0 to 66, with higher scores indicating better motor function. Secondary end points included the percentage of children with a clinically meaningful increase from baseline in the HFMSE score (≥3 points), an outcome that indicates improvement in at least two motor skills.In the prespecified interim analysis, there was a least-squares mean increase from baseline to month 15 in the HFMSE score in the nusinersen group (by 4.0 points) and a least-squares mean decrease in the control group (by -1.9 points), with a significant between-group difference favoring nusinersen (least-squares mean difference in change, 5.9 points; 95% confidence interval, 3.7 to 8.1; P<0.001). This result prompted early termination of the trial. Results of the final analysis were consistent with results of the interim analysis. In the final analysis, 57% of the children in the nusinersen group as compared with 26% in the control group had an increase from baseline to month 15 in the HFMSE score of at least 3 points (P<0.001), and the overall incidence of adverse events was similar in the nusinersen group and the control group (93% and 100%, respectively).Among children with later-onset SMA, those who received nusinersen had significant and clinically meaningful improvement in motor function as compared with those in the control group. (Funded by Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals; CHERISH ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02292537 .).

    View details for PubMedID 29443664

  • Increased EEG Theta Spectral Power in Sleep in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Cheung, J. n., Ruoff, C. n., Moore, H. n., Hagerman, K. A., Perez, J. n., Sakamuri, S. n., Warby, S. C., Mignot, E. n., Day, J. n., Sampson, J. n. 2018; 14 (2): 229–35

    Abstract

    Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystemic disorder that involves the central nervous system (CNS). Individuals with DM1 commonly present with sleep dysregulation, including excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep-disordered breathing. We aim to characterize electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectra from nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) in patients with DM1 compared to matched controls to better understand the potential CNS sleep dysfunction in DM1.A retrospective, case-control (1:2) chart review of patients with DM1 (n = 18) and matched controls (n = 36) referred for clinical PSG at the Stanford Sleep Center was performed. Controls were matched based on age, sex, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), body mass index (BMI), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Sleep stage and respiratory metrics for the two groups were compared. Power spectral analysis of the EEG C3-M2 signal was performed using the fast Fourier transformation.Patients with DM1 had significantly increased theta percent power in stage N2 sleep compared to matched controls. Theta/beta and theta/alpha percent power spectral ratios were found to be significantly increased in stage N2, N3, all sleep stages combined, and all wake periods combined in patients with DM1 compared to controls. A significantly lower nadir O2saturation was also found in patients with DM1 versus controls.Compared to matched controls, patients with DM1 had increased EEG theta spectral power. Increased theta/beta and theta/alpha power spectral ratios in nocturnal PSG may reflect DM1 pathology in the CNS.

    View details for PubMedID 29394960

  • Treatment Algorithm for Infants Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy through Newborn Screening. Journal of neuromuscular diseases Glascock, J., Sampson, J., Haidet-Phillips, A., Connolly, A., Darras, B., Day, J., Finkel, R., Howell, R. R., Klinger, K., Kuntz, N., Prior, T., Shieh, P. B., Crawford, T. O., Kerr, D., Jarecki, J. 2018; 5 (2): 145–58

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by the degeneration of alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord, leading to muscular atrophy. SMA is caused by deletions or mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1). In humans, a nearly identical copy gene, SMN2, is present. Because SMN2 has been shown to decrease disease severity in a dose-dependent manner, SMN2 copy number is predictive of disease severity.OBJECTIVE: To develop a treatment algorithm for SMA-positive infants identified through newborn screening based upon SMN2 copy number.METHODS: A working group comprised of 15 SMA experts participated in a modified Delphi process, moderated by a neutral third-party expert, to develop treatment guidelines.RESULTS: The overarching recommendation is that all infants with two or three copies of SMN2 should receive immediate treatment (n = 13). For those infants in which immediate treatment is not recommended, guidelines were developed that outline the timing and appropriate screens and tests to be used to determine the timing of treatment initiation.CONCLUSIONS: The identification SMA affected infants via newborn screening presents an unprecedented opportunity for achievement of maximal therapeutic benefit through the administration of treatment pre-symptomatically. The recommendations provided here are intended to help formulate treatment guidelines for infants who test positive during the newborn screening process.

    View details for PubMedID 29614695

  • Effect of Genetic Diagnosis on Patients with Previously Undiagnosed Disease. The New England journal of medicine Splinter, K. n., Adams, D. R., Bacino, C. A., Bellen, H. J., Bernstein, J. A., Cheatle-Jarvela, A. M., Eng, C. M., Esteves, C. n., Gahl, W. A., Hamid, R. n., Jacob, H. J., Kikani, B. n., Koeller, D. M., Kohane, I. S., Lee, B. H., Loscalzo, J. n., Luo, X. n., McCray, A. T., Metz, T. O., Mulvihill, J. J., Nelson, S. F., Palmer, C. G., Phillips, J. A., Pick, L. n., Postlethwait, J. H., Reuter, C. n., Shashi, V. n., Sweetser, D. A., Tifft, C. J., Walley, N. M., Wangler, M. F., Westerfield, M. n., Wheeler, M. T., Wise, A. L., Worthey, E. A., Yamamoto, S. n., Ashley, E. A. 2018

    Abstract

    Many patients remain without a diagnosis despite extensive medical evaluation. The Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) was established to apply a multidisciplinary model in the evaluation of the most challenging cases and to identify the biologic characteristics of newly discovered diseases. The UDN, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, was formed in 2014 as a network of seven clinical sites, two sequencing cores, and a coordinating center. Later, a central biorepository, a metabolomics core, and a model organisms screening center were added.We evaluated patients who were referred to the UDN over a period of 20 months. The patients were required to have an undiagnosed condition despite thorough evaluation by a health care provider. We determined the rate of diagnosis among patients who subsequently had a complete evaluation, and we observed the effect of diagnosis on medical care.A total of 1519 patients (53% female) were referred to the UDN, of whom 601 (40%) were accepted for evaluation. Of the accepted patients, 192 (32%) had previously undergone exome sequencing. Symptoms were neurologic in 40% of the applicants, musculoskeletal in 10%, immunologic in 7%, gastrointestinal in 7%, and rheumatologic in 6%. Of the 382 patients who had a complete evaluation, 132 received a diagnosis, yielding a rate of diagnosis of 35%. A total of 15 diagnoses (11%) were made by clinical review alone, and 98 (74%) were made by exome or genome sequencing. Of the diagnoses, 21% led to recommendations regarding changes in therapy, 37% led to changes in diagnostic testing, and 36% led to variant-specific genetic counseling. We defined 31 new syndromes.The UDN established a diagnosis in 132 of the 382 patients who had a complete evaluation, yielding a rate of diagnosis of 35%. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health Common Fund.).

    View details for PubMedID 30304647

  • Increased EEG theta spectral power in polysomnography of myotonic dystrophy type 1 compared to matched controls. Ruoff, C., Cheung, J., Perez, J., Sakamuri, S., Mignot, E., Day, J., Sampson, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2017
  • Loss-of-Function Mutations in LGI4, a Secreted Ligand Involved in Schwann Cell Myelination, Are Responsible for Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS Xue, S., Maluenda, J., Marguet, F., Shboul, M., Quevarec, L., Bonnard, C., Ng, A. Y., Tohari, S., Thong Teck Tan, T. T., Kong, M. K., Monaghan, K. G., Cho, M. T., Siskind, C. E., Sampson, J. B., Rocha, C. T., Alkazaleh, F., Gonzales, M., Rigonnot, L., Whalen, S., Gut, M., Gut, I., Bucourt, M., Venkatesh, B., Laquerriere, A., Reversade, B., Melki, J. 2017; 100 (4): 659-665

    Abstract

    Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) is a developmental condition characterized by multiple joint contractures resulting from reduced or absent fetal movements. Through genetic mapping of disease loci and whole-exome sequencing in four unrelated multiplex families presenting with severe AMC, we identified biallelic loss-of-function mutations in LGI4 (leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 4). LGI4 is a ligand secreted by Schwann cells that regulates peripheral nerve myelination via its cognate receptor ADAM22 expressed by neurons. Immunolabeling experiments and transmission electron microscopy of the sciatic nerve from one of the affected individuals revealed a lack of myelin. Functional tests using affected individual-derived iPSCs showed that these germline mutations caused aberrant splicing of the endogenous LGI4 transcript and in a cell-based assay impaired the secretion of truncated LGI4 protein. This is consistent with previous studies reporting arthrogryposis in Lgi4-deficient mice due to peripheral hypomyelination. This study adds to the recent reports implicating defective axoglial function as a key cause of AMC.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.02.006

    View details for PubMedID 28318499

  • A 31-Year-Old Man With a Ring-Enhancing Brain Lesion. Journal of neuro-ophthalmology Riley, C. S., Roth, L. A., Sampson, J. B., Radhakrishnan, J., Herlitz, L. C., Blitz, A. M., Moazami, G. 2017

    View details for DOI 10.1097/WNO.0000000000000469

    View details for PubMedID 28079760

  • Basal Ganglia Gliosis in a Case of Rapid-Onset Dystonia-Parkinsonism (DYT12) with a Novel Mutation in ATPase 1A3 (ATP1A3) MOVEMENT DISORDERS CLINICAL PRACTICE Sampson, J. B., Michaeli, T. H., Wright, B. A., Goldman, J. E., Vonsattel, J., Fahn, S. 2016; 3 (6): 618–20

    View details for DOI 10.1002/mdc3.12354

    View details for Web of Science ID 000389247400015

  • Specific functional pathologies of Cx43 mutations associated with oculodentodigital dysplasia. Molecular biology of the cell Kelly, J. J., Esseltine, J. L., Shao, Q., Jabs, E. W., Sampson, J., Auranen, M., Bai, D., Laird, D. W. 2016; 27 (14): 2172-2185

    Abstract

    Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) is a rare genetic disease that affects the development of multiple organs in the human body. More than 70 mutations in the gap junction connexin43 (Cx43) gene, GJA1, are associated with ODDD, most of which are inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Many patients exhibit similar clinical presentations. However, there is high intrafamilial and interfamilial phenotypic variability. To better understand this variability, we established primary human dermal fibroblast cultures from several ODDD patients and unaffected controls. In the present study, we characterized three fibroblast lines expressing heterozygous p.L7V, p.G138R, and p.G143S Cx43 variants. All ODDD fibroblasts exhibited slower growth, reduced migration, and defective cell polarization, traits common to all ODDD fibroblasts studied so far. However, we found striking differences in overall expression levels, with p.L7V down-regulated at the mRNA and protein level. Although all of the Cx43 variants could traffic to the cell surface, there were stark differences in gap junction plaque formation, gap junctional intercellular communication, Cx43 phosphorylation, and hemichannel activity among Cx43 variants, as well as subtle differences in myofibroblast differentiation. Together these findings enabled us to discover mutation-specific pathologies that may help to predict future clinical outcomes.

    View details for DOI 10.1091/mbc.E16-01-0062

    View details for PubMedID 27226478

  • Basal Ganglia Gliosis in a Case of Rapid-Onset Dystonia-Parkinsonism (DYT12) with a Novel Mutation in ATPase 1A3 (ATP1A3). Movement disorders clinical practice Sampson, J. B., Michaeli, T. H., Wright, B. A., Goldman, J. E., Vonsattel, J. P., Fahn, S. 2016; 3 (6): 618-620

    View details for DOI 10.1002/mdc3.12354

    View details for PubMedID 30838256

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6353479

  • Manipulating Cx43 expression triggers gene reprogramming events in dermal fibroblasts from oculodentodigital dysplasia patients. Biochemical journal Esseltine, J. L., Shao, Q., Huang, T., Kelly, J. J., Sampson, J., Laird, D. W. 2015; 472 (1): 55-69

    Abstract

    Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) is primarily an autosomal dominant disorder linked to over 70 GJA1 gene [connexin43 (Cx43)] mutations. For nearly a decade, our laboratory has been investigating the relationship between Cx43 and ODDD by expressing disease-linked mutants in reference cells, tissue-relevant cell lines, 3D organ cultures and by using genetically modified mouse models of human disease. Although salient features of Cx43 mutants have been revealed, these models do not necessarily reflect the complexity of the human context. To further overcome these limitations, we have acquired dermal fibroblasts from two ODDD-affected individuals harbouring D3N and V216L mutations in Cx43, along with familial controls. Using these ODDD patient dermal fibroblasts, which naturally produce less GJA1 gene product, along with RNAi and RNA activation (RNAa) approaches, we show that manipulating Cx43 expression triggers cellular gene reprogramming. Quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescent analysis of ODDD patient fibroblasts show unusually high levels of extracellular matrix (ECM)-interacting proteins, including integrin α5β1, matrix metalloproteinases as well as secreted ECM proteins collagen-I and laminin. Cx43 knockdown in familial control cells produces similar effects on ECM expression, whereas Cx43 transcriptional up-regulation using RNAa decreases production of collagen-I. Interestingly, the enhanced levels of ECM-associated proteins in ODDD V216L fibroblasts is not only a consequence of increased ECM gene expression, but also due to an apparent deficit in collagen-I secretion which may further contribute to impaired collagen gel contraction in ODDD fibroblasts. These findings further illuminate the altered function of Cx43 in ODDD-affected individuals and highlight the impact of manipulating Cx43 expression in human cells.

    View details for DOI 10.1042/BJ20150652

    View details for PubMedID 26349540

  • Modeling Cx43-linked pathologies in the human context Esseltine, J. L., Shao, Q., Brooks, C., Sampson, J., Betts, D. H., Seguin, C. AMER SOC CELL BIOLOGY. 2015
  • Nuclear localization of SMN and FUS is not altered in fibroblasts from patients with sporadic ALS AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS AND FRONTOTEMPORAL DEGENERATION Kariya, S., Sampson, J. B., Northrop, L. E., Lucarelli, C. M., Naini, A. B., Re, D. B., Hirano, M., Mitsumoto, H. 2014; 15 (7-8): 581-587

    Abstract

    Abstract Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with no established biological marker. Recent observation of a reduced number of gems (survival motor neuron protein (SMN)-positive nuclear bodies) in cells from patients with familial ALS and the mouse models suggests an involvement of SMN in ALS pathology. At a molecular level, fused in sarcoma (FUS), one of the familial ALS-linked proteins, has been demonstrated to directly interact with SMN, while impaired nuclear localization of mutated FUS causes defective gem formation. Our objective was to determine whether gems and/or nuclear FUS levels in skin derived fibroblasts from sporadic ALS patients are consistently reduced and thus could constitute a novel and readily available biomarker of the disease. Fibroblasts from 20 patients and 17 age-matched healthy controls were cultured and co-immunostained for SMN and FUS. Results showed that no difference was detected between the two groups in the number of gems and in expression pattern of FUS. The number of gems negatively correlated with the age at biopsy in both ALS and control subjects. In conclusion, the expression pattern of SMN and FUS in fibroblasts cannot serve as a biomarker for sporadic ALS. Donor age-dependent gem reduction is a novel observation that links SMN with cellular senescence.

    View details for DOI 10.3109/21678421.2014.907319

    View details for Web of Science ID 000346926100017

    View details for PubMedID 24809826

  • ATALUREN TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH NONSENSE MUTATION DYSTROPHINOPATHY MUSCLE & NERVE Bushby, K., Finkel, R., Wong, B., Barohn, R., Campbell, C., Comi, G. P., Connolly, A. M., Day, J. W., Flanigan, K. M., Goemans, N., Jones, K. J., Mercuri, E., Quinlivan, R., Renfroe, J. B., Russman, B., Ryan, M. M., Tulinius, M., Voit, T., Moore, S. A., Sweeney, H. L., Abresch, R. T., Coleman, K. L., Eagle, M., Florence, J., Gappmaier, E., Glanzman, A. M., Henricson, E., Barth, J., Elfring, G. L., Reha, A., Spiegel, R. J., O'Donnell, M. W., Peltz, S. W., McDonald, C. M. 2014; 50 (4): 477-487

    Abstract

    Dystrophinopathy is a rare, severe muscle disorder, and nonsense mutations are found in 13% of cases. Ataluren was developed to enable ribosomal readthrough of premature stop codons in nonsense mutation (nm) genetic disorders.Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study; males ≥5 years with nm-dystrophinopathy received study drug orally 3 times daily, ataluren 10, 10, 20 mg/kg (N = 57); ataluren 20, 20, 40 mg/kg (N = 60); or placebo (N = 57) for 48 weeks. The primary endpoint was change in 6-Minute Walk Distance (6MWD) at Week 48.Ataluren was generally well tolerated. The primary endpoint favored ataluren 10, 10, 20 mg/kg versus placebo; the week 48 6MWD Δ = 31.3 meters, post hoc P = 0.056. Secondary endpoints (timed function tests) showed meaningful differences between ataluren 10, 10, 20 mg/kg, and placebo.As the first investigational new drug targeting the underlying cause of nm-dystrophinopathy, ataluren offers promise as a treatment for this orphan genetic disorder with high unmet medical need. Muscle Nerve 50: 477-487, 2014.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/mus.24332

    View details for Web of Science ID 000342634100002

    View details for PubMedID 25042182

  • The G60S Cx43 mutant enhances keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY Churko, J. M., Kelly, J. J., Macdonald, A., Lee, J., Sampson, J., Bai, D., Laird, D. W. 2012; 21 (8): 612-618

    Abstract

    Transient knock-down of the gap junction protein Cx43 by antisense and siRNA, or gap junction block with mimetic peptides, have been shown to enhance epidermal wound healing. However, patients with oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) express mutant Cx43 that leads to a chronic reduction in gap junctional intercellular communication. To determine whether mutant Cx43 in keratinocytes would impact upon the wound healing process, we localized Cx43 in human and mouse skin tissue expressing mutant Cx43 and assessed the ability of primary keratinocytes derived from a mouse model of ODDD to proliferate, migrate and differentiate. In the epidermis from an ODDD patient and in the epidermis of mice expressing the G60S mutant or in keratinocytes obtained from mutant mice, Cx43 was frequently found within intracellular compartments and rarely localized to punctate sites of cell-cell apposition. Primary keratinocytes derived from G60S mutant mice proliferated faster but migrated similarly to keratinocytes derived from wild-type control mice. Keratinocytes derived from mutant mice expressed abundant Cx43 and higher levels of involucrin and loricrin under low calcium conditions. However, after calcium-induced differentiation, similar levels of Cx43, involucrin and loricrin were observed. Thus, we conclude that during wound healing, mutant Cx43 may enhance keratinocyte proliferation and promote early differentiation of keratinocytes.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2012.01532.x

    View details for Web of Science ID 000306222700009

    View details for PubMedID 22775996

  • Human Dermal Fibroblasts Derived from Oculodentodigital Dysplasia Patients Suggest That Patients May Have Wound-Healing Defects HUMAN MUTATION Churko, J. M., Shao, Q., Gong, X., Swoboda, K. J., Bai, D., Sampson, J., Laird, D. W. 2011; 32 (4): 456-466

    Abstract

    Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) is primarily an autosomal dominant human disease caused by any one of over 60 mutations in the GJA1 gene encoding the gap junction protein Cx43. In the present study, wound healing was investigated in a G60S ODDD mutant mouse model and by using dermal fibroblasts isolated from two ODDD patients harboring the p.D3N and p.V216L mutants along with dermal fibroblasts isolated from their respective unaffected relatives. Punch biopsies revealed a delay in wound closure in the G60S mutant mice in comparison to wild-type littermates, and this delay appeared to be due to defects in the dermal fibroblasts. Although both the p.D3N and p.V216L mutants reduced gap junctional intercellular communication in human dermal fibroblasts, immunolocalization studies revealed that Cx43 gap junctions were prevalent at the cell surface of p.D3N expressing fibroblasts but greatly reduced in p.V216L expressing fibroblasts. Mutant expressing fibroblasts were further found to have reduced proliferation and migration capabilities. Finally, in response to TGFβ1, mutant expressing fibroblasts expressed significantly less alpha smooth muscle actin suggesting they were inefficient in their ability to differentiate into myofibroblasts. Collectively, our results suggest that ODDD patients may have subclinical defects in wound healing due to impaired function of dermal fibroblasts.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/humu.21472

    View details for Web of Science ID 000288464100018

    View details for PubMedID 21305658

  • Nonsense Mutation-Associated Becker Muscular Dystrophy: Interplay Between Exon Definition and Splicing Regulatory Elements within the DMD Gene HUMAN MUTATION Flanigan, K. M., Dunn, D. M., von Niederhausern, A., Soltanzadeh, P., Howard, M. T., Sampson, J. B., Swoboda, K. J., Bromberg, M. B., Mendell, J. R., Taylor, L. E., Anderson, C. B., Pestronk, A., Florence, J. M., Connolly, A. M., Mathews, K. D., Wong, B., Finkel, R. S., Bonnemann, C. G., Day, J. W., McDonald, C., Weiss, R. B. 2011; 32 (3): 299-308

    Abstract

    Nonsense mutations are usually predicted to function as null alleles due to premature termination of protein translation. However, nonsense mutations in the DMD gene, encoding the dystrophin protein, have been associated with both the severe Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and milder Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD) phenotypes. In a large survey, we identified 243 unique nonsense mutations in the DMD gene, and for 210 of these we could establish definitive phenotypes. We analyzed the reading frame predicted by exons flanking those in which nonsense mutations were found, and present evidence that nonsense mutations resulting in BMD likely do so by inducing exon skipping, confirming that exonic point mutations affecting exon definition have played a significant role in determining phenotype. We present a new model based on the combination of exon definition and intronic splicing regulatory elements for the selective association of BMD nonsense mutations with a subset of DMD exons prone to mutation-induced exon skipping.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/humu.21426

    View details for Web of Science ID 000288034100007

    View details for PubMedID 21972111

  • Clinical and genetic characterization of manifesting carriers of DMD mutations NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS Soltanzadeh, P., Friez, M. J., Dunn, D., von Niederhausern, A., Gurvich, O. L., Swoboda, K. J., Sampson, J. B., Pestronk, A., Connolly, A. M., Florence, J. M., Finkel, R. S., Boennemann, C. G., Medne, L., Mendell, J. R., Mathews, K. D., Wong, B. L., Sussman, M. D., Zonana, J., Kovak, K., Gospe, S. M., Gappmaier, E., Taylor, L. E., Howard, M. T., Weiss, R. B., Flanigan, K. M. 2010; 20 (8): 499-504

    Abstract

    Manifesting carriers of DMD gene mutations may present diagnostic challenges, particularly in the absence of a family history of dystrophinopathy. We review the clinical and genetic features in 15 manifesting carriers identified among 860 subjects within the United Dystrophinopathy Project, a large clinical dystrophinopathy cohort whose members undergo comprehensive DMD mutation analysis. We defined manifesting carriers as females with significant weakness, excluding those with only myalgias/cramps. DNA extracted from peripheral blood was used to study X-chromosome inactivation patterns. Among these manifesting carriers, age at symptom onset ranged from 2 to 47 years. Seven had no family history and eight had male relatives with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Clinical severity among the manifesting carriers varied from a DMD-like progression to a very mild Becker muscular dystrophy-like phenotype. Eight had exonic deletions or duplications and six had point mutations. One patient had two mutations (an exonic deletion and a splice site mutation), consistent with a heterozygous compound state. The X-chromosome inactivation pattern was skewed toward non-random in four out of seven informative deletions or duplications but was random in all cases with nonsense mutations. We present the results of DMD mutation analysis in this manifesting carrier cohort, including the first example of a presumably compound heterozygous DMD mutation. Our results demonstrate that improved molecular diagnostic methods facilitate the identification of DMD mutations in manifesting carriers, and confirm the heterogeneity of mutational mechanisms as well as the wide spectrum of phenotypes.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.nmd.2010.05.010

    View details for Web of Science ID 000281347900003

    View details for PubMedID 20630757

  • Identification of Uncommon Recurrent Potocki-Lupski Syndrome-Associated Duplications and the Distribution of Rearrangement Types and Mechanisms in PTLS AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS Zhang, F., Potocki, L., Sampson, J. B., Liu, P., Sanchez-Valle, A., Robbins-Furman, P., Delicado Navarro, A., Wheeler, P. G., Spence, J. E., Brasington, C. K., Withers, M. A., Lupski, J. R. 2010; 86 (3): 462-470

    Abstract

    Nonallelic homologous recombination (NAHR) can mediate recurrent rearrangements in the human genome and cause genomic disorders. Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) and Potocki-Lupski syndrome (PTLS) are genomic disorders associated with a 3.7 Mb deletion and its reciprocal duplication in 17p11.2, respectively. In addition to these common recurrent rearrangements, an uncommon recurrent 5 Mb SMS-associated deletion has been identified. However, its reciprocal duplication predicted by the NAHR mechanism had not been identified. Here we report the molecular assays on 74 subjects with PTLS-associated duplications, 35 of whom are newly investigated. By both oligonucleotide-based comparative genomic hybridization and recombination hot spot analyses, we identified two cases of the predicted 5 Mb uncommon recurrent PTLS-associated duplication. Interestingly, the crossovers occur in proximity to a recently delineated allelic homologous recombination (AHR) hot spot-associated sequence motif, further documenting the common hot spot features shared between NAHR and AHR. An additional eight subjects with nonrecurrent PTLS duplications were identified. The smallest region of overlap (SRO) for all of the 74 PTLS duplications examined is narrowed to a 125 kb interval containing only RAI1, a gene recently further implicated in autism. Sequence complexities consistent with DNA replication-based mechanisms were identified in four of eight (50%) newly identified nonrecurrent PTLS duplications. Our findings of the uncommon recurrent PTLS-associated duplication at a relative prevalence reflecting the de novo mutation rate and the distribution of 17p11.2 duplication types in PTLS reveal insights into both the contributions of new mutations and the different underlying mechanisms that generate genomic rearrangements causing genomic disorders.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ajhg.2010.02.001

    View details for Web of Science ID 000275678800018

    View details for PubMedID 20188345

  • Mutational Spectrum of DMD Mutations in Dystrophinopathy Patients: Application of Modern Diagnostic Techniques to a Large Cohort HUMAN MUTATION Flanigan, K. M., Dunn, D. M., von Niederhausern, A., Soltanzadeh, P., Gappmaier, E., Howard, M. T., Sampson, J. B., Mendell, J. R., Wall, C., King, W. M., Pestronk, A., Florence, J. M., Connolly, A. M., Mathews, K. D., Stephan, C. M., Laubenthal, K. S., Wong, B. L., Morehart, P. J., Meyer, A., Finkel, R. S., Bonnemann, C. G., Medne, L., Day, J. W., Dalton, J. C., Margolis, M. K., Hinton, V. J., Weiss, R. B. 2009; 30 (12): 1657-1666

    Abstract

    Mutations in the DMD gene, encoding the dystrophin protein, are responsible for the dystrophinopathies Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD), and X-linked Dilated Cardiomyopathy (XLDC). Mutation analysis has traditionally been challenging, due to the large gene size (79 exons over 2.2 Mb of genomic DNA). We report a very large aggregate data set comprised of DMD mutations detected in samples from patients enrolled in the United Dystrophinopathy Project, a multicenter research consortium, and in referral samples submitted for mutation analysis with a diagnosis of dystrophinopathy. We report 1,111 mutations in the DMD gene, including 891 mutations with associated phenotypes. These results encompass 506 point mutations (including 294 nonsense mutations) and significantly expand the number of mutations associated with the dystrophinopathies, highlighting the utility of modern diagnostic techniques. Our data supports the uniform hypermutability of CGA>TGA mutations, establishes the frequency of polymorphic muscle (Dp427m) protein isoforms and reveals unique genomic haplotypes associated with "private" mutations. We note that 60% of these patients would be predicted to benefit from skipping of a single DMD exon using antisense oligonucleotide therapy, and 62% would be predicted to benefit from an inclusive multiexonskipping approach directed toward exons 45 through 55.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/humu.21114

    View details for Web of Science ID 000272796400007

    View details for PubMedID 19937601

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3404892

  • Paraneoplastic myopathy: response to intravenous immunoglobulin NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS Sampson, J. B., Smith, S. M., Smith, A. G., Singleton, J. R., Chin, S., Pestronk, A., Flanigan, K. M. 2007; 17 (5): 404-408

    Abstract

    Necrotizing myopathy is an unusual and severe form of paraneoplastic myopathy in which inflammation is minimal or absent. We report two cases of necrotizing myopathy which demonstrated significant response to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (one in spite of tumor progression). A third case represents the first association of anti-signal recognition particle (anti-SRP) syndrome with large-cell lung cancer. These cases highlight the role of histopathologic diagnosis in directing the treatment of paraneoplastic myopathy, and the role for IVIG in treatment of the syndrome.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.nmd.2007.01.004

    View details for Web of Science ID 000247041000007

    View details for PubMedID 17336069

  • Inhibition of human surfactant protein a function by oxidation intermediates of nitrite FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE Davis, I. C., Zhu, S., Sampson, J. B., Crow, J. P., Matalon, S. 2002; 33 (12): 1703-1713

    Abstract

    NitraNitration of protein tyrosine residues by peroxynitrite (ONOO - ) has been implicated in a variety of inflammatory diseases such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A) has multiple functions including host defense. We report here that a mixture of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and nitrite (NO 2 - ) induces nitration, oxidation, and chlorination of tyrosine residues in human SP-A and inhibits SP-A's ability to aggregate lipids and bind mannose. Nitration and oxidation of SP-A was not altered by the presence of lipids, suggesting that proteins are preferred targets in lipid-rich mixtures such as pulmonary surfactant. Moreover, both horseradish peroxidase and myeloperoxidase (MPO) can utilize NO 2 - and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as substrates to catalyze tyrosine nitration in SP-A and inhibit its lipid aggregation function. SP-A nitration and oxidation by MPO is markedly enhanced in the presence of physiological concentrations of Cl - and the lipid aggregation function of SP-A is completely abolished. Collectively, our results suggest that MPO released by activated neutrophils during inflammation utilizes physiological or pathological levels of NO 2 - to nitrate proteins, and may provide an additional mechanism in addition to ONOO - formation, for tissue injury in ARDS and other inflammatory diseases associated with upregulated *NO and oxidant production.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000179840700010

    View details for PubMedID 12488138

  • Liposome-delivered superoxide dismutase prevents nitric oxide-dependent motor neuron death induced by trophic factor withdrawal FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE Estevez, A. G., Sampson, J. B., Zhuang, Y. X., Spear, N., Richardson, G. J., Crow, J. P., Tarpey, M. M., Barbeito, L., Beckman, J. S. 2000; 28 (3): 437-446

    Abstract

    Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis prevents rat embryonic motor neurons from undergoing apoptosis when initially cultured without brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Using an improved cell culture medium, we found that the partial withdrawal of trophic support even weeks after motor neurons had differentiated into a mature phenotype still induced apoptosis through a process dependent upon nitric oxide. However, nitric oxide itself was not directly toxic to motor neurons. To investigate whether intracellular superoxide contributed to nitric oxide-dependent apoptosis, we developed a novel method using pH-sensitive liposomes to deliver Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase intracellularly into motor neurons. Intracellular superoxide dismutase prevented motor neuron apoptosis from trophic factor withdrawal, whereas empty liposomes, inactivated superoxide dismutase in liposomes or extracellular superoxide dismutase did not. Neither hydrogen peroxide nor nitrite added separately or in combination affected motor neuron survival. Our results suggest that a partial reduction in trophic support induced motor neuron apoptosis by a process requiring the endogenous production of both nitric oxide and superoxide, irrespective of the extent of motor neuron maturation in culture.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000085619000016

    View details for PubMedID 10699756

  • Myeloperoxidase and horseradish peroxidase catalyze tyrosine nitration in proteins from nitrite and hydrogen peroxide ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS Sampson, J. B., Ye, Y. Z., Rosen, H., Beckman, J. S. 1998; 356 (2): 207-213

    Abstract

    Nitration of tyrosine residues in proteins occurs in a wide range of inflammatory diseases involving neutrophil and macrophage activation. We report that both myeloperoxidase (MPO) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) utilize nitrite (NO2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as substrates to catalyze tyrosine nitration in proteins. MPO was approximately 10 times more effective than HRP as a nitration catalyst of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Nitration of BSA by MPO did not require chloride as a cofactor. Physiologic levels of chloride did not significantly inhibit nitration by MPO. Oxidation of chloride to hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is catalyzed by MPO but not by HRP, yet HRP also catalyzed nitration from hydrogen peroxide plus nitrite. Therefore, HOCl formation was not obligatory for tyrosine nitration. Although HOCl plus nitrite can nitrate the amino acid tyrosine in simple solutions, protein nitration by HOCl plus nitrite was not observed in heart homogenates, probably due to the presence of multiple alternative targets of both HOCl and HOCl plus nitrite. In contrast, MPO catalyzed nitration of many proteins in rat heart homogenates using NO2- plus H2O2, suggesting that peroxidase-catalyzed nitration of tyrosine could occur in the presence of competing substrates in vivo. HOCl could substitute for H2O2 as the oxidizing substrate for nitration of either BSA or tissue homogenates catalyzed by either peroxidase. Activated neutrophils may generate nitrotyrosine by several mechanisms, including peroxynitrite, HOCl plus nitrite, and a chloride-independent mechanism involving MPO, nitrite, and hydrogen peroxide.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000075362000013

    View details for PubMedID 9705211

  • DIFFERENTIAL MODULATION OF ASTROCYTE CYTOKINE GENE-EXPRESSION BY TGF-BETA JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Benveniste, E. N., Kwon, J. B., Chung, W. J., Sampson, J., Pandya, K., Tang, L. P. 1994; 153 (11): 5210-5221

    Abstract

    In this study, we demonstrate that TGF-beta inhibits TNF-alpha expression, and induces/enhances IL-6 expression by primary rat astrocytes. Treatment of astrocytes with TGF-beta alone had no effect on TNF-alpha mRNA or protein expression; however, TGF-beta suppressed induction of TNF-alpha expression by three different stimuli (IFN-gamma/LPS, IFN-gamma/IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha) at both the protein and mRNA level. The extent of TGF-beta-mediated inhibition was greatest when astrocytes were pretreated with TGF-beta for 6 to 24 h, then exposed to the inducing stimuli. Inhibition of TNF-alpha mRNA steady-state levels by TGF-beta was a result of inhibition of TNF-alpha gene transcription, rather than degradation of the TNF-alpha message. In contrast, TGF-beta alone induced expression of IL-6 by astrocytes and synergized with two other cytokines, IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha, for enhanced IL-6 expression. TGF-beta-induced/enhanced IL-6 expression was mediated by transcriptional activation of the IL-6 gene. These results indicate that TGF-beta is an important regulator of cytokine production by astrocytes under inflammatory conditions in the brain.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1994PT30100039

    View details for PubMedID 7963576