Identification of maternal allele sequences of IG-DMR that are essential for neonatal viability.

The expression of imprinted genes in the Dlk1-Dio3 domain is regulated by Dlk1-Meg3 intergenic DMR (IG-DMR), which is methylated in a parental-of-origin-specific manner. An unmethylated 4.1-kb region in the IG-DMR is essential for the maternal allele.

Inflammatory bowel disease in a young female patient with a novel de novo TRAF3 frameshift variant responsive to ustekinumab: a case report.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) is an anti-inflammatory molecule that negatively regulates the non-canonical nuclear factor-κB pathway. Although TRAF3 haploinsufficiency (TRAF3 HI) can influence innate and adaptive immune cells, its effect on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) development remains unclear. Here, we report the first case of severe early-onset IBD with a novel TRAF3 variant leading to HI, successfully treated with ustekinumab.

GATA4 binding to the Sox9 enhancer mXYSRa/Enh13 is critical for testis differentiation in mouse.

In mammals, SOX9/Sox9 expression in embryonic gonads is essential for male gonadal sex determination. Multiple enhancers of Sox9 have been identified, of which the mXYSRa/Enh13 enhancer plays a crucial role in mice. SOX9 and SRY binding sites within the enhancer have been identified as functional.

Loss of function in causes DNA methylation signature similar to that in Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

Purpose: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS), a contiguous gene syndrome caused by heterozygous deletions of the distal short arm of chromosome 4 that includes , reportedly causes specific DNA methylation signatures in peripheral blood cells. However, the genomic loci responsible for these signatures have not been elucidated. The present study aims to define the loci underlying WHS-related DNA methylation signatures and explore the role of in these signatures.

Dysregulation of RAS proteostasis by autosomal-dominant LZTR1 mutation induces Noonan syndrome-like phenotypes in mice.

Leucine-zipper-like posttranslational regulator 1 (LZTR1) is a member of the BTB-Kelch superfamily, which regulates the RAS proteostasis. Autosomal dominant (AD) mutations in LZTR1 have been identified in patients with Noonan syndrome (NS), a congenital anomaly syndrome. However, it remains unclear whether LZTR1 AD mutations regulate the proteostasis of the RAS subfamily molecules or cause NS-like phenotypes in vivo.

Establishment and visual analysis of CBA/J-Pde6b and C3H/HeJ-Pde6b mice.

In CBA/J and C3H/HeJ mice, retinitis pigmentosa is inherited as an autosomal-recessive trait due to a mutation in Pde6b, which encodes cGMP phosphodiesterase subunit b. In these strains, the Y347X mutation in Pde6b leads to the upregulation of cGMP levels, increased Ca influx induces rod death, and the outer segment and rod cells entirely disappeared by 35 days after birth. In the present study, we utilized the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) 9-mediated gene editing to repair the Y347X mutation in CBA/J and C3H/HeJ mice.

LZTR1 deficiency exerts high metastatic potential by enhancing sensitivity to EMT induction and controlling KLHL12-mediated collagen secretion.

Leucine zipper-like transcriptional regulator 1 (LZTR1), a substrate adaptor of Cullin 3 (CUL3)-based E3 ubiquitin ligase, regulates proteostasis of the RAS subfamily. Mutations in LZTR1 have been identified in patients with several types of cancer. However, the role of LZTR1 in tumor metastasis and the target molecules of LZTR1, excluding the RAS subfamily, are not clearly understood.

Chromosomal microdeletion leading to pituitary gigantism through hormone-gene overexpression.

Pituitary gigantism is a rare endocrinopathy characterized by tall stature due to growth hormone (GH) hypersecretion. This condition is generally linked to a genetic predisposition to tumors that produce GH or GH-releasing hormone (GHRH). Here, we report a Japanese woman who exhibited prominent body growth from infancy to reach an adult height of 197.

Turnover of mammal sex chromosomes in the -deficient Amami spiny rat is due to male-specific upregulation of .

Mammalian sex chromosomes are highly conserved, and sex is determined by on the Y chromosome. Two exceptional rodent groups in which some species lack a Y chromosome and offer insights into how novel sex genes can arise and replace , leading to sex chromosome turnover. However, intensive study over three decades has failed to reveal the identity of novel sex genes in either of these lineages.

POU1F1/Pou1f1 c.143-83A > G Variant Disrupts the Branch Site in Pre-mRNA and Leads to Dwarfism.

POU Class 1 Homeobox1 (POU1F1/Pou1f1) is a well-established pituitary-specific transcription factor, and causes, when mutated, combined pituitary hormone deficiency in humans and mice. POU1F1/Pou1f1 has 2 isoforms: the alpha and beta isoforms. Recently, pathogenic variants in the unique coding region of the beta isoform (beta domain) and the intron near the exon-intron boundary for the beta domain were reported, although their functional consequences remain obscure.

SOX9 and SRY binding sites on mouse mXYSRa/Enh13 enhancer redundantly regulate Sox9 expression to varying degrees.

Sox9 plays an essential role in mammalian testis formation. It has been reported that gene expression in the testes is regulated by enhancers. Among them, mXYSRa/Enh13-which is located at far upstream of the transcription start site-plays a critical role, wherein its deletion causes complete male-to-female sex reversal in mice.

Human SRY Expression at the Sex-determining Period is Insufficient to Drive Testis Development in Mice.

The sex-determining region of the Y chromosome, Sry/SRY, is an initiation factor for testis development in both humans and mice. Although the functional compatibility between murine SRY and human SRY was previously examined in transgenic mice, their equivalency remains inconclusive. Because molecular interaction and timeline of mammalian sex determination were mostly described in murine experiments, we generated a mouse model in which Sry was substituted with human SRY to verify the compatibility.

Humanization of a tandem repeat in IG-DMR causes stochastic restoration of paternal imprinting at mouse Dlk1-Dio3 domain.

The Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted domain, regulated by an intergenic differentially methylated region (IG-DMR), is important for mammalian embryonic development. Although previous studies have reported that DNA methylation of a tandem repeated array sequence in paternal IG-DMR (IG-DMR-Rep) plays an essential role in the maintenance of DNA methylation in mice, the function of a tandem repeated array sequence in human IG-DMR (hRep) is unknown. Here, we generated mice with a human tandem repeated sequence, which replaced the mouse IG-DMR-Rep.

Rnd2 differentially regulates oligodendrocyte myelination at different developmental periods.

In the CNS, oligodendrocyte precursor cells differentiate into oligodendrocytes to wrap their plasma membranes around neuronal axons, generating mature neural networks with myelin sheaths according to spatial and temporal patterns. While myelination is known to be one of the most dynamic cell morphological changes, the overall intrinsic and extrinsic molecular cues controlling myelination remain to be fully clarified. Here, we describe the biphasic roles of Rnd2, an atypical branch of the Rho family GTPase, in oligodendrocyte myelination during development and after maturation in mice.

Identification of the first promoter-specific gain-of-function SOX9 missense variant (p.E50K) in a patient with 46,XX ovotesticular disorder of sex development.

SOX9, a transcription factor, is expressed in the undifferentiated XX and XY gonads. SRY induces significant upregulation of SOX9 expression in XY gonads. Loss-of-function SOX9 variants cause testicular dysgenesis in 46,XY patients, while duplication of the total gene or the upstream regulatory region results in testicular development in 46,XX patients.

Efficient production and transmission of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutant alleles at the IG-DMR via generation of mosaic mice using a modified 2CC method.

Generation of mutant imprinting control region (ICR) mice using genome editing is an important approach for elucidating ICR functions. IG-DMR is an ICR in the Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted domain that contains functional regions-in both parental alleles-that are essential for embryonic development. One drawback of this approach is that embryonic lethality can occur from aberrant expression of the imprinted genes if IG-DMR gets mutated in either the paternal or maternal allele.

Renal medullary tonicity regulates RNF183 expression in the collecting ducts via NFAT5.

Nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 (NFAT5) directly binds to the promoter of the RING finger protein 183 (RNF183) gene and induces its transcription under hypertonic conditions in mouse inner-medullary collecting duct (mIMCD-3) cells. However, there is no specific anti-RNF183 antibody for immunostaining; therefore, it is unclear whether NFAT5 regulates RNF183 expression in vivo and where RNF183 is localized in the kidney. This study investigated NFAT5-regulated in vivo RNF183 expression and localization using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated RNF183-green fluorescent protein (RNF183-GFP) knock-in mice.

Germline-Derived Gain-of-Function Variants of Gs-Coding Gene Identified in Nephrogenic Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis.

Background: The stimulatory G-protein -subunit encoded by exons 1-13 (-Gs) mediates signal transduction of multiple G protein-coupled receptors, including arginine vasopressin receptor 2 (AVPR2). Various germline-derived loss-of-function -Gs variants of maternal and paternal origin have been found in pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia and pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism, respectively. Specific somatic gain-of-function -Gs variants have been detected in McCune-Albright syndrome and may result in phosphate wasting.

Mapping of a responsible region for sex reversal upstream of Sox9 by production of mice with serial deletion in a genomic locus.

Sox9 plays critical roles in testis formation. By mapping four familial cases of disorders of sexual development, a 32.5 kb sequence located far upstream of SOX9 was previously identified as being a commonly deleted region and named the XY sex reversal region (XYSR).