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"Allen, Susan J"
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An introduction to the Crusades
\"An Introduction to the Crusades is the perfect guide to a very complex historical period. It begins with a brief overview of the Crusades before immersing the reader in the logistics of crusading and the day-to-day life of a crusader, explaining arms and armour, strategy and tactics, and siege warfare. Topics explored in depth include women on crusade, pilgrimage, the Mongols, crusade charters, and the use of crusader rhetoric throughout history. The pinnacle of the book is an exploration of the Crusades in modern memory. Readers can look in on the negotiations for Jerusalem between Saladin and Richard I through a case study of Crusader primary sources. Questions for reflection, a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography, and a \"Who's Who\" of the crusading world round out this indispensable companion.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
ADCK4 mutations promote steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome through CoQ10 biosynthesis disruption
Identification of single-gene causes of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) has furthered the understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. Here, using a combination of homozygosity mapping and whole human exome resequencing, we identified mutations in the aarF domain containing kinase 4 (ADCK4) gene in 15 individuals with SRNS from 8 unrelated families. ADCK4 was highly similar to ADCK3, which has been shown to participate in coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) biosynthesis. Mutations in ADCK4 resulted in reduced CoQ10 levels and reduced mitochondrial respiratory enzyme activity in cells isolated from individuals with SRNS and transformed lymphoblasts. Knockdown of adck4 in zebrafish and Drosophila recapitulated nephrotic syndrome-associated phenotypes. Furthermore, ADCK4 was expressed in glomerular podocytes and partially localized to podocyte mitochondria and foot processes in rat kidneys and cultured human podocytes. In human podocytes, ADCK4 interacted with members of the CoQ10 biosynthesis pathway, including COQ6, which has been linked with SRNS and COQ7. Knockdown of ADCK4 in podocytes resulted in decreased migration, which was reversed by CoQ10 addition. Interestingly, a patient with SRNS with a homozygous ADCK4 frameshift mutation had partial remission following CoQ10 treatment. These data indicate that individuals with SRNS with mutations in ADCK4 or other genes that participate in CoQ10 biosynthesis may be treatable with CoQ10.
Journal Article
FAN1 mutations cause karyomegalic interstitial nephritis, linking chronic kidney failure to defective DNA damage repair
Friedhelm Hildebrandt, Agata Smogorzewska and colleagues show that mutations in the DNA repair gene
FAN1
cause karyomegalic interstitial nephritis. These findings implicate deficient DNA damage response signaling in the pathophysiology of renal fibrosis.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a major health burden
1
. Its central feature of renal fibrosis is not well understood. By exome sequencing, we identified mutations in
FAN1
as a cause of karyomegalic interstitial nephritis (KIN), a disorder that serves as a model for renal fibrosis. Renal histology in KIN is indistinguishable from that of nephronophthisis, except for the presence of karyomegaly
2
. The FAN1 protein has nuclease activity and acts in DNA interstrand cross-link (ICL) repair within the Fanconi anemia DNA damage response (DDR) pathway
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
. We show that cells from individuals with
FAN1
mutations have sensitivity to the ICL-inducing agent mitomycin C but do not exhibit chromosome breakage or cell cycle arrest after diepoxybutane treatment, unlike cells from individuals with Fanconi anemia. We complemented ICL sensitivity with wild-type
FAN1
but not with cDNA having mutations found in individuals with KIN. Depletion of
fan1
in zebrafish caused increased DDR, apoptosis and kidney cysts. Our findings implicate susceptibility to environmental genotoxins and inadequate DNA repair as novel mechanisms contributing to renal fibrosis and CKD.
Journal Article
Glutamate neurotransmission from leptin receptor cells is required for typical puberty and reproductive function in female mice
The hypothalamic ventral premammillary nucleus (PMv) is a glutamatergic nucleus essential for the metabolic control of reproduction. However, conditional deletion of leptin receptor long form (LepRb) in vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2) expressing neurons results in virtually no reproductive deficits. In this study, we determined the role of glutamatergic neurotransmission from leptin responsive PMv neurons on puberty and fertility. We first assessed if stimulation of PMv neurons induces luteinizing hormone (LH) release in fed adult females. We used the stimulatory form of designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) in Lepr Cre (LepRb-Cre) mice. We collected blood sequentially before and for 1 hr after intravenous clozapine- N -oxide injection. LH level increased in animals correctly targeted to the PMv, and LH level was correlated to the number of Fos immunoreactive neurons in the PMv. Next, females with deletion of Slc17a6 (Vglut2) in LepRb neurons ( Lepr ΔVGlut2 ) showed delayed age of puberty, disrupted estrous cycles, increased gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) concentration in the axon terminals, and disrupted LH secretion, suggesting impaired GnRH release. To assess if glutamate is required for PMv actions in pubertal development, we generated a Cre-induced reexpression of endogenous LepRb ( Lepr loxTB ) with concomitant deletion of Slc17a6 (Vglut2 flox ) mice. Rescue of Lepr and deletion of Slc17a6 in the PMv was obtained by stereotaxic injection of an adeno-associated virus vector expressing Cre recombinase. Control Lepr loxTB mice with PMv LepRb rescue showed vaginal opening, follicle maturation, and became pregnant, while Lepr loxTB ;Vglut2 flox mice showed no pubertal development. Our results indicate that glutamatergic neurotransmission from leptin sensitive neurons regulates the reproductive axis, and that leptin action on pubertal development via PMv neurons requires Vglut2.
Journal Article
The centrosomal protein nephrocystin-6 is mutated in Joubert syndrome and activates transcription factor ATF4
The molecular basis of nephronophthisis
1
, the most frequent genetic cause of renal failure in children and young adults, and its association with retinal degeneration and cerebellar vermis aplasia in Joubert syndrome
2
are poorly understood. Using positional cloning, we here identify mutations in the gene
CEP290
as causing nephronophthisis. It encodes a protein with several domains also present in CENPF, a protein involved in chromosome segregation. CEP290 (also known as NPHP6) interacts with and modulates the activity of ATF4, a transcription factor implicated in cAMP-dependent renal cyst formation. NPHP6 is found at centrosomes and in the nucleus of renal epithelial cells in a cell cycle–dependent manner and in connecting cilia of photoreceptors. Abrogation of its function in zebrafish recapitulates the renal, retinal and cerebellar phenotypes of Joubert syndrome. Our findings help establish the link between centrosome function, tissue architecture and transcriptional control in the pathogenesis of cystic kidney disease, retinal degeneration, and central nervous system development.
Journal Article
Whole-exome resequencing distinguishes cystic kidney diseases from phenocopies in renal ciliopathies
Rare single-gene disorders cause chronic disease. However, half of the 6000 recessive single gene causes of disease are still unknown. Because recessive disease genes can illuminate, at least in part, disease pathomechanism, their identification offers direct opportunities for improved clinical management and potentially treatment. Rare diseases comprise the majority of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children but are notoriously difficult to diagnose. Whole-exome resequencing facilitates identification of recessive disease genes. However, its utility is impeded by the large number of genetic variants detected. We here overcome this limitation by combining homozygosity mapping with whole-exome resequencing in 10 sib pairs with a nephronophthisis-related ciliopathy, which represents the most frequent genetic cause of CKD in the first three decades of life. In 7 of 10 sibships with a histologic or ultrasonographic diagnosis of nephronophthisis-related ciliopathy, we detect the causative gene. In six sibships, we identify mutations of known nephronophthisis-related ciliopathy genes, while in two additional sibships we found mutations in the known CKD-causing genes SLC4A1 and AGXT as phenocopies of nephronophthisis-related ciliopathy. Thus, whole-exome resequencing establishes an efficient, noninvasive approach towards early detection and causation-based diagnosis of rare kidney diseases. This approach can be extended to other rare recessive disorders, thereby providing accurate diagnosis and facilitating the study of disease mechanisms.
Journal Article
A Systematic Approach to Mapping Recessive Disease Genes in Individuals from Outbred Populations
The identification of recessive disease-causing genes by homozygosity mapping is often restricted by lack of suitable consanguineous families. To overcome these limitations, we apply homozygosity mapping to single affected individuals from outbred populations. In 72 individuals of 54 kindred ascertained worldwide with known homozygous mutations in 13 different recessive disease genes, we performed total genome homozygosity mapping using 250,000 SNP arrays. Likelihood ratio Z-scores (ZLR) were plotted across the genome to detect ZLR peaks that reflect segments of homozygosity by descent, which may harbor the mutated gene. In 93% of cases, the causative gene was positioned within a consistent ZLR peak of homozygosity. The number of peaks reflected the degree of inbreeding. We demonstrate that disease-causing homozygous mutations can be detected in single cases from outbred populations within a single ZLR peak of homozygosity as short as 2 Mb, containing an average of only 16 candidate genes. As many specialty clinics have access to cohorts of individuals from outbred populations, and as our approach will result in smaller genetic candidate regions, the new strategy of homozygosity mapping in single outbred individuals will strongly accelerate the discovery of novel recessive disease genes.
Journal Article
Dissociated Pmch and Cre Expression in Lactating Pmch-Cre BAC Transgenic Mice
The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) system plays a role in many physiological processes including reproduction and lactation. However, research regarding the function of MCH on different aspects of the reproductive function lags, due in part to a lack of validated genetic models with which to interrogate the system. This is particularly true in the case of female reproduction, as the anatomy and function of the MCH system is not well-characterized in the female mouse. We set out to determine whether the commercially available
-Cre transgenic mouse line is a viable model to study the role of MCH neurons in distinct female reproductive states. We found that
is transiently expressed in several nuclei of the rostral forebrain at the end of lactation. This includes the medial subdivision of the medial preoptic nucleus, the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, the ventral subdivision of the lateral septum, the anterodorsal preoptic nucleus and the anterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus. The
expression in these sites, however, does not reliably induce Cre expression in the
-Cre (BAC) transgenic mouse, making this line an inadequate model with which to study the role of MCH in behavioral and/or neuroendocrine adaptations of lactation. We also contribute to the general knowledge of the anatomy of the murine MCH system by showing that lactation-induced
expression in the rostral forebrain is mostly observed in GABAergic (VGAT) neurons, in contrast to the typical MCH neurons of the tuberal and posterior hypothalamus which are glutamatergic (VGLUT2).
Journal Article
Identification of 99 novel mutations in a worldwide cohort of 1,056 patients with a nephronophthisis-related ciliopathy
Nephronophthisis-related ciliopathies (NPHP-RC) are autosomal-recessive cystic kidney diseases. More than 13 genes are implicated in its pathogenesis to date, accounting for only 40 % of all cases. High-throughput mutation screenings of large patient cohorts represent a powerful tool for diagnostics and identification of novel
NPHP
genes. We here performed a new high-throughput mutation analysis method to study 13 established
NPHP
genes (
NPHP1
–
NPHP13
) in a worldwide cohort of 1,056 patients diagnosed with NPHP-RC. We first applied multiplexed PCR-based amplification using Fluidigm Access-Array™ technology followed by barcoding and next-generation resequencing on an Illumina platform. As a result, we established the molecular diagnosis in 127/1,056 independent individuals (12.0 %) and identified a single heterozygous truncating mutation in an additional 31 individuals (2.9 %). Altogether, we detected 159 different mutations in 11 out of 13 different
NPHP
genes, 99 of which were novel. Phenotypically most remarkable were two patients with truncating mutations in
INVS/NPHP2
who did not present as infants and did not exhibit extrarenal manifestations. In addition, we present the first case of Caroli disease due to mutations in
WDR19/NPHP13
and the second case ever with a recessive mutation in
GLIS2/NPHP7
. This study represents the most comprehensive mutation analysis in NPHP-RC patients, identifying the largest number of novel mutations in a single study worldwide.
Journal Article