scholarly journals Single-Nucleotide Mutations in FMR1 Reveal Novel Functions and Regulatory Mechanisms of the Fragile X Syndrome Protein FMRP

2015 ◽  
Vol 9s2 ◽  
pp. JEN.S25524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Suhl ◽  
Stephen T. Warren

Fragile X syndrome is a monogenic disorder and a common cause of intellectual disability. Despite nearly 25 years of research on FMR1, the gene underlying the syndrome, very few pathological mutations other than the typical CGG-repeat expansion have been reported. This is in contrast to other X-linked, monogenic, intellectual disability disorders, such as Rett syndrome, where many point mutations have been validated as causative of the disorder. As technology has improved and significantly driven down the cost of sequencing, allowing for whole genes to be sequenced with relative ease, in-depth sequencing studies on FMR1 have recently been performed. These studies have led to the identification of novel variants in FMR1, where some of which have been functionally evaluated and are likely pathogenic. In this review, we discuss recently identified FMR1 variants, the ways these novel variants cause dysfunction, and how they reveal new regulatory mechanisms and functionalities of the gene.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pozo-Palacios ◽  
Arianne Llamos-Paneque ◽  
Christian Rivas ◽  
Emily Onofre ◽  
Andrea López-Cáceres ◽  
...  

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common cause of hereditary intellectual disability and the second most common cause of intellectual disability of genetic etiology. This complex neurodevelopmental disorder is caused by an alteration in the CGG trinucleotide expansion in fragile X mental retardation gene 1 (FMR1) leading to gene silencing and the subsequent loss of its product: fragile X mental retardation protein 1 (FMRP). Molecular diagnosis is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening followed by Southern blotting (SB) or Triplet primer-PCR (TP-PCR) to determine the number of CGG repeats in the FMR1 gene. We performed, for the first time, screening in 247 Ecuadorian male individuals with clinical criteria to discard FXS. Analysis was carried out by the Genetics Service of the Hospital de Especialidades No. 1 de las Fuerzas Armadas (HE-1), Ecuador. The analysis was performed using endpoint PCR for CGG fragment expansion analysis of the FMR1 gene. Twenty-two affected males were identified as potentially carrying the full mutation in FMR1 and thus diagnosed with FXS that is 8.1% of the sample studied. The average age at diagnosis of the positive cases was 13 years of age, with most cases from the geographical area of Pichincha (63.63%). We confirmed the familial nature of the disease in four cases. The range of CGG variation in the population was 12–43 and followed a modal distribution of 27 repeats. Our results were similar to those reported in the literature; however, since it was not possible to differentiate between premutation and mutation cases, we can only establish a molecular screening approach to identify an expanded CGG repeat, which makes it necessary to generate national strategies to optimize molecular tests and establish proper protocols for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients, families, and communities at risk of presenting FXS.


2008 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 427-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan W. Harris ◽  
David Hessl ◽  
Beth Goodlin-Jones ◽  
Jessica Ferranti ◽  
Susan Bacalman ◽  
...  

Abstract Autism, which is common in individuals with fragile X syndrome, is often difficult to diagnose. We compared the diagnostic classifications of two measures for autism diagnosis, the ADOS and the ADI-R, in addition to the DSM-IV-TR in 63 males with this syndrome. Overall, 30% of the subjects met criteria for autistic disorder and 30% met criteria for PDD-NOS. The classifications on the ADOS and DSM-IV-TR were most similar, whereas the ADI-R classified subjects as autistic much more frequently. We further investigated the relationship of both FMRP and FMR1 mRNA to symptoms of autism in this cohort and found no significant relationship between the measures of autism and molecular features, including FMRP, FMR1 mRNA, and CGG repeat number.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-126
Author(s):  
Randi J. Hagerman ◽  
Louise W. Staley ◽  
Rebecca O'Conner ◽  
Kellie Lugenbeel ◽  
David Nelson ◽  
...  

There is a broad spectrum of clinical involvement in both boys and girls affected by fragile X syndrome. Although this disorder is best known as the most common inherited cause of mental retardation, it also can manifest as learning disabilities in individuals with IQs in the broad range of normal. Boys are usually retarded, and girls are usually learning disabled with fragile X syndrome.1 The responsible gene, fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1), was isolated in 1991, and the mutation was found to involve expansion of a trinucleotide (CGG) repeat segment. Individuals with fragile X syndrome have a CGG expansion of more than 200 repeats associated with hypermethylation of both the expansion and an adjacent CpG island (full mutation).2,3


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1780
Author(s):  
Mark Roth ◽  
Lucienne Ronco ◽  
Diego Cadavid ◽  
Blythe Durbin-Johnson ◽  
Randi J. Hagerman ◽  
...  

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. FXS is an X-linked, neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a CGG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the Fragile X Mental Retardation gene, FMR1. Greater than 200 CGG repeats results in epigenetic silencing of the gene leading to the deficiency or absence of Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). The loss of FMRP is considered the root cause of FXS. The relationship between neurological function and FMRP expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) has not been well established. Assays to detect and measure FMR1 and FMRP have been described; however, none are sufficiently sensitive, precise, or quantitative to properly characterize the relationships between cognitive ability and CGG repeat number, FMR1 mRNA expression, or FMRP expression measured in PBMCs. To address these limitations, two novel immunoassays were developed and optimized, an electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay and a multiparameter flow cytometry assay. Both assays were performed on PMBCs isolated from 27 study participants with FMR1 CGG repeats ranging from normal to full mutation. After correcting for methylation, a significant positive correlation between CGG repeat number and FMR1 mRNA expression levels and a significant negative correlation between FMRP levels and CGG repeat expansion was observed. Importantly, a high positive correlation was observed between intellectual quotient (IQ) and FMRP expression measured in PBMCs.


Author(s):  
Agustini Utari ◽  
Joyce Lo ◽  
Tzuhan Tong ◽  
Tri Indah Winarni ◽  
Sultana MH Faradz ◽  
...  

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