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Title: Deletions of chromosomal regulatory boundaries are associated with congenital disease

Journal Article · · Genome Biology (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [5];  [7];  [7];  [4];  [2];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11]
  1. Freie Univ., Berlin (Germany). Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science; Max Planck Inst. for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany); Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany). Inst. for Medical and Human Genetics
  2. Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany). Inst. for Medical and Human Genetics
  3. Max Planck Inst. for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany); International Max Planck Research School for Computational Biology and Scientific Computing, Berlin (Germany)
  4. Max Planck Inst. for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany)
  5. Wellcome Trust Sanger Inst., Hinxton (United Kingdom)
  6. Oregon Health and Science Univ., Portland, OR (United States). Dept. of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology
  7. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Genomics Division
  8. The Jackson Lab., Bar Harbor, ME (Untied States); Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom). Dept. of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
  9. Max Planck Inst. for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany); Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany). Inst. for Medical and Human Genetics; Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin (Germany)
  10. Max Planck Inst. for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany); Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany). Inst. for Medical and Human Genetics
  11. Freie Univ., Berlin (Germany). Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science; Max Planck Inst. for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany); Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany). Inst. for Medical and Human Genetics; International Max Planck Research School for Computational Biology and Scientific Computing, Berlin (Germany); Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin (Germany)

Background: Recent data from genome-wide chromosome conformation capture analysis indicate that the human genome is divided into conserved megabase-sized self-interacting regions called topological domains. These topological domains form the regulatory backbone of the genome and are separated by regulatory boundary elements or barriers. Copy-number variations can potentially alter the topological domain architecture by deleting or duplicating the barriers and thereby allowing enhancers from neighboring domains to ectopically activate genes causing misexpression and disease, a mutational mechanism that has recently been termed enhancer adoption. Results: We use the Human Phenotype Ontology database to relate the phenotypes of 922 deletion cases recorded in the DECIPHER database to monogenic diseases associated with genes in or adjacent to the deletions. We identify combinations of tissue-specific enhancers and genes adjacent to the deletion and associated with phenotypes in the corresponding tissue, whereby the phenotype matched that observed in the deletion. We compare this computationally with a gene-dosage pathomechanism that attempts to explain the deletion phenotype based on haploinsufficiency of genes located within the deletions. Up to 11.8% of the deletions could be best explained by enhancer adoption or a combination of enhancer adoption and gene-dosage effects. Conclusions: Our results suggest that enhancer adoption caused by deletions of regulatory boundaries may contribute to a substantial minority of copy-number variation phenotypes and should thus be taken into account in their medical interpretation.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division; European Community's Seventh Framework Program; National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; 602300; 5R24OD011883
OSTI ID:
1626929
Journal Information:
Genome Biology (Online), Vol. 15, Issue 9; ISSN 1474-760X
Publisher:
BioMed CentralCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Transcriptionally active HERV-H retrotransposons demarcate topologically associating domains in human pluripotent stem cells journal August 2019
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