two-algorithms-for-high-throughput-multi-parametric-quantification

Two Algorithms for High-throughput and Multi-parametric Quantification of <em>Drosophila</em> Neuromuscular Junction Morphology

Synaptic morphology is tightly related to synaptic efficacy, and in many cases morphological synapse defects ultimately lead to synaptic malfunction. The ...

high-throughput-analysis-locomotor-behavior-drosophila-island

High-throughput Analysis of Locomotor Behavior in the <em>Drosophila </em>Island Assay

Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies contribute to the identification of (candidate) disease genes for movement disorders and other ...

Radboud university medical center

Congenital disorders of glycosylation type I (CDG-I) form a growing group of recessive neurometabolic diseases. Identification of disease genes is compromised by the enormous heterogeneity in clinical symptoms and the large number of potential genes involved. Until now, gene identification included the sequential application of biochemical methods in blood samples and fibroblasts. In genetically unsolved cases, homozygosity mapping has been applied in consanguineous families. Altogether, this time-consuming diagnostic strategy led to the identification of defects in 17 different CDG-I genes. Here, we applied whole-exome sequencing (WES) in combination with the knowledge of the protein N-glycosylation pathway for gene identification in our remaining group of six unsolved CDG-I patients from unrelated non-consanguineous families. Exome variants were prioritized based on a list of 76 potential CDG-I candidate genes, leading to the rapid identification of one known and two novel CDG-I gene defects. These included the first X-linked CDG-I due to a de novo mutation in ALG13, and compound heterozygous mutations in DPAGT1, together the first two steps in dolichol-PP-glycan assembly, and mutations in PGM1 in two cases, involved in nucleotide sugar biosynthesis. The pathogenicity of the mutations was confirmed by showing the deficient activity of the corresponding enzymes in patient fibroblasts. Combined with these results, the gene defect has been identified in 98% of our CDG-I patients. Our results implicate the potential of WES to unravel disease genes in the CDG-I in newly diagnosed singleton families.

Gene identification in the congenital disorders of glycosylation type I by whole-exome sequencing.

TRPM7 encodes a Ca2+-permeable nonselective cation channel with kinase activity. TRPM7 has been implicated in control of cell adhesion and migration, but whether TRPM7 activity contributes to cancer progression has not been established. Here we report that high levels of TRPM7 expression independently predict poor outcome in breast cancer patients and that it is functionally required for metastasis formation in a mouse xenograft model of human breast cancer. Mechanistic investigation revealed that TRPM7 regulated myosin II-based cellular tension, thereby modifying focal adhesion number, cell-cell adhesion and polarized cell movement. Our findings therefore suggest that TRPM7 is part of a mechanosensory complex adopted by cancer cells to drive metastasis formation.

Ilse Eidhof

Department of Human Genetics,
Donders Institute for Brain,
Cognition and Behaviour,
Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour

Radboud university medical center

Two Algorithms for High-throughput and Multi-parametric Quantification of Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction Morphology

High-throughput Analysis of Locomotor Behavior in the Drosophila Island Assay

Ilse Eidhof

Department of Human Genetics,Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour

Radboud university medical center

Two Algorithms for High-throughput and Multi-parametric Quantification of Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction Morphology

High-throughput Analysis of Locomotor Behavior in the Drosophila Island Assay

Department of Human Genetics,
Donders Institute for Brain,
Cognition and Behaviour,
Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour