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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Chiara Marini Bettolo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) has a unique genetic aetiology resulting in partial chromatin relaxation of the D4Z4 macrosatellite repeat array on 4qter. This D4Z4 chromatin relaxation facilitates inappropriate expression of the transcription factor DUX4 in skeletal muscle. DUX4 is encoded by a retrogene that is embedded within the distal region of the D4Z4 repeat array. In the European population, the D4Z4 repeat array is usually organized in a single array that ranges between 8 and 100 units. D4Z4 chromatin relaxation and DUX4 derepression in FSHD is most often caused by repeat array contraction to 1-10 units (FSHD1) or by a digenic mechanism requiring pathogenic variants in a D4Z4 chromatin repressor like SMCHD1, combined with a repeat array between 8 and 20 units (FSHD2). With a prevalence of 1.5% in the European population, in cis duplications of the D4Z4 repeat array, where two adjacent D4Z4 arrays are interrupted by a spacer sequence, are relatively common but their relationship to FSHD is not well understood. In cis duplication alleles were shown to be pathogenic in FSHD2 patients; however, there is inconsistent evidence for the necessity of an SMCHD1 mutation for disease development. To explore the pathogenic nature of these alleles we compared in cis duplication alleles in FSHD patients with or without pathogenic SMCHD1 variant. For both groups we showed duplication-allele-specific DUX4 expression. We studied these alleles in detail using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis-based Southern blotting and molecular combing, emphasizing the challenges in the characterization of these rearrangements. Nanopore sequencing was instrumental to study the composition and methylation of the duplicated D4Z4 repeat arrays and to identify the breakpoints and the spacer sequence between the arrays. By comparing the composition of the D4Z4 repeat array of in cis duplication alleles in both groups, we found that specific combinations of proximal and distal repeat array sizes determine their pathogenicity. Supported by our algorithm to predict pathogenicity, diagnostic laboratories should now be furnished to accurately interpret these in cis D4Z4 repeat array duplications, alleles that can easily be missed in routine settings.
Author(s): Lemmers RJLF, Butterfield R, Van Der Vliet PJ, De Bleecker JL, Van Der Pol L, Dunn DM, Erasmus CE, D'Hooghe M, Verhoeven K, Balog J, Bigot A, Van Engelen B, Statland J, Bugiardini E, Van Der Stoep N, Evangelista T, Marini-Bettolo C, Van Den Bergh P, Tawil R, Voermans NC, Vissing J, Weiss RB, Van Der Maarel SM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Brain
Year: 2024
Volume: 147
Issue: 2
Pages: 414-426
Print publication date: 01/02/2024
Online publication date: 13/09/2023
Acceptance date: 10/08/2023
Date deposited: 20/02/2024
ISSN (print): 0006-8950
ISSN (electronic): 1460-2156
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad312
DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad312
Data Access Statement: Nanopore sequencing data are available through the EGA.
PubMed id: 37703328
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