Biology subjects

Leslie, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Leslie, E..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Two non-coding variants associated with isolated orofacial cleft promote binding of transcriptional repressors FOXE1 or ETS2 and reduce expression of IRF6

Oral facial cleft (OFC) is a multifactorial disorder that can present as a cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) or a cleft palate only. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) of isolated OFC have identified common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the 1q32/IRF6 locus and many other loci where, like IRF6, the presumed OFC-relevant gene is expressed in embryonic oral epithelium. To identify the functional subset of SNPs at eight such loci we conducted a massively parallel reporter assay in a cell line derived from fetal oral epithelium, revealing SNPs with allele-specific effects on enhancer activity. We filtered these against chromatin-mark evidence of enhancers in relevant cell types or tissues, and then tested a subset in traditional reporter assays, yielding six candidates for functional SNPs in five loci (1q32/IRF6, 3q28/TP63, 6p24.3/TFAP2A, 20q12/MAFB, and 9q22.33/FOXE1). We further tested two SNPs near IRF6 and one near FOXE1 by engineering the genome of induced pluripotent stem cells, differentiating the cells into embryonic oral epithelium, and measuring expression of IRF6 or FOXE1 and binding of transcription factors; the results strongly supported their candidacy. Conditional analyses of a meta-analysis of GWAS suggest that the two functional SNPs near IRF6 account for the majority of risk for CL/P associated with variation at this locus. This study connects genetic variation associated with orofacial cleft to mechanisms of pathogenesis.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

A real-time, transient kinetic study of Drosophila melanogaster Dicer-2 elucidates mechanism of termini-dependent cleavage of dsRNA.

Drosophila melanogaster Dicer-2 (dmDcr-2) differentially processes dsRNA with blunt or 2 nucleotide 3-overhanging termini. We investigated the transient kinetic mechanism of these reactions using a rapid reaction stopped-flow technique and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. We found that ATP binding to dmDcr-2s helicase domain impacts the kinetics of dsRNA binding and dissociation in a termini-dependent manner, emphasizing the termini-dependent discrimination of dsRNA on a biologically-relevant time-scale. ATP-hydrolysis mediates local unwinding of dsRNA, and directional translocation on unwound single-stranded RNA, which is concurrent with a slow rewinding prior to dsRNA cleavage. Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy reveals a nucleotide-dependent change in conformational dynamics of the helicase and Platform*PAZ domains in the nanosecond timescale that is correlated with termini-dependent dsRNA cleavage. Our study delineates kinetic events and transient intermediates for a Dicer-catalyzed reaction, thus establishing a framework for understanding other Dicers and how accessory factors modulate the reaction.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

Coding de novo mutations identified by WGS reveal novel orofacial cleft genes

While de novo mutations (DNMs) are known to increase risk of congenital defects, DNMs have not been fully explored regarding orofacial clefts (OFCs), one of the most common human birth defects. Therefore, whole-genome sequencing of 756 case-parent trios of European, Colombian, and Taiwanese ancestry was performed to determine the contributions of coding DNMs to OFC risk. Overall, we identified a significant excess of loss-of-function DNMs in genes highly expressed in craniofacial tissues, as well as genes associated with known autosomal dominant OFC syndromes. This analysis also revealed roles for zinc-finger homeobox domain and SOX2-interacting genes in OFC etiology.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

Analysis of zebrafish periderm enhancers facilitates identification of a regulatory variant near human KRT8/18

Genome wide association studies for non-syndromic orofacial cleft (OFC) have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at loci where the presumed risk-relevant gene is expressed in oral periderm. The functional subsets of such SNPs are difficult to predict because the sequence underpinnings of periderm enhancers are unknown. We applied ATAC-seq to models of human palate periderm, including zebrafish periderm, mouse embryonic palate epithelia, and a human oral epithelium cell line, and to complementary mesenchymal cell types. We identified sets of enhancers specific to the epithelial cells and trained gapped-kmer support-vector-machine classifiers on these sets. We used the classifiers to predict the effect of 14 OFC-associated SNPs at 12q13 near KRT18. All the classifiers picked the same SNP as having the strongest effect, but the significance was highest with the classifier trained on zebrafish periderm. Reporter and deletion analyses support this SNP as lying within a periderm enhancer regulating KRT18/KRT8 expression.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2018

A novel method for systematic genetic analysis and visualization of phenotypic heterogeneity applied to orofacial clefts

Phenotypic heterogeneity is a hallmark of complex traits, and genetic studies may focus on the trait as a whole or on individual subgroups. For example, in orofacial clefting (OFC), three subtypes - cleft lip (CL), cleft lip and palate (CLP), and cleft palate (CP) have been studied separately and in combination. It is more challenging, however, to dissect the genetic architecture and describe how a given locus may be contributing to distinct subtypes of a trait. We developed a framework for quantifying and interpreting evidence of subtype-specific or shared genetic effects in complex traits. We applied this technique to create a \"cleft map\" of the association of 30 genetic loci with three OFC subtypes. In addition to new associations, we found loci with subtype-specific effects (e.g., GRHL3 (CP), WNT5A (CLP)), as well as loci associated with two or all three subtypes. We cross-referenced these results with mouse craniofacial gene expression datasets, which identified promising candidate genes. However, we found no strong correlation between OFC subtypes and expression patterns. In aggregate, the cleft map revealed neither subtype-specific nor shared genetic effects operate in isolation in OFC architecture. Our approach can be easily applied to any complex trait with distinct phenotypic subgroups.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Genome Wide Interaction Studies Identify Sex-Specific Risk Alleles for Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is the most common craniofacial birth defect in humans and is notable for its apparent sexual dimorphism where approximately twice as many males are affected as females. The sources of this disparity are largely unknown, but interactions between genetic and sex effects are likely contributors. We examined gene-by-sex (G x S) interactions in a worldwide sample of 2,142 NSCL/P cases and 1,700 controls recruited from 13 countries. First, we performed genome-wide joint tests of the genetic (G) and G x S effects genome-wide using logistic regression assuming an additive genetic model and adjusting for 18 principal components of ancestry. We further interrogated loci with suggestive results from the joint test (p < 1.00 x 10-5) by examining the G x S effects from the same model. Out of the 133 loci with suggestive results (p < 1.00 x 10-5) for the joint test, we observed one genome-wide significant G x S effect in the 10q21 locus (rs72804706; p = 6.69 x 10-9; OR = 2.62 [1.89, 3.62]) and 16 suggestive G x S effects. At the intergenic 10q21 locus, the risk of NSCL/P is estimated to increase with additional copies of the minor allele for females, but the opposite effect for males. Our observation that the impact of genetic variants on NSCL/P risk differs for males and females may further our understanding of the genetic architecture of NSCL/P and the sex differences underlying clefts and other birth defects.

genetics↗