Molecules and Cells

De novo variants in the poly(rC)-binding protein gene PCBP1 cause a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Autism-associated NRXN1α deletion rewires the H3K27me3 landscape and epigenetically disrupts human neural induction

Findings indicate that NRXN1α deletion disrupts neural lineage commitment through a multi-layered disruption involving spliceosome dysregulation of chromatin regulatory genes, H3K27me3 redistribution at developmental promoters, and chromatin-level priming into non-neural fates.

Cross-species functional analysis of a de novo DCLK1 variant associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder

The findings implicate DCLK1 in a previously unrecognized progressive neurodevelopmental disorder and demonstrate the power of integrative cross-species functional genomics in resolving ultra-rare disease variants.

The m6A-mediated epi-transcriptomic dysregulation drives synaptic dysfunction in fragile X syndrome.

It is demonstrated that FMRP deficiency drives the aberrant translational upregulation of core m6A writers, a causal relationship definitively validated using CGG-corrected isogenic control lines and suggest a promising avenue for m6A-targeted therapies.

Integrated morphological, multi-omics, and functional profiling reveals microglial plasticity driven by AD risk genes

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Shared Downstream Pathways in Craniofacial Pathology.

Treacher Collins syndrome and Nager syndrome are craniofacial developmental disorders caused by defects in ribosome biogenesis and RNA splicing, respectively, yet they exhibit overlapping abnormalities affecting neural crest cell-derived craniofacial structures. To investigate shared downstream pathogenic mechanisms, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis of zebrafish polr1c and sf3b4 mutant models from our previous studies. Comparative analysis identified 17 shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between polr1c and sf3b4 mutants, with the majority of shared genes dysregulated in the same direction, indicating a coordinated rather than random transcriptional response. Gene ontology analysis identified ATP-dependent protein folding chaperone activity as the only shared molecular function, driven in part by upregulation of hsp90aa1.2, indicating a common proteostasis response. Because chaperone activity is linked to extracellular matrix (ECM) protein processing, we cross-referenced DEGs from both mutants against the curated zebrafish matrisome. Three of the 17 shared DEGs (serpinh1b, il11a, and lepa) were matrisome-associated and upregulated in both mutants. Serpinh1b, a collagen-specific chaperone, was strongly expressed in craniofacial cartilage and mesenchymal populations during pharyngeal arch development and exhibited nearly identical fold changes in both mutants. Il11a is of particular interest because its receptor, IL11RA, is known to be associated with human craniosynostosis, suggesting potential relevance to craniofacial development. Together, it is possible to hypothesize that shared chaperone-associated transcriptional changes, together with altered ECM-related gene expression, may contribute to polr1c- and sf3b4-associated craniofacial disorders, warranting further functional validation.