Browsing by Author "Rossi, Cesare"

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    Enhanced MAPK1 Function Causes a Neurodevelopmental Disorder within the RASopathy Clinical Spectrum
    (Elsevier, 2020-09-03) Motta, Marialetizia; Pannone, Luca; Pantaleoni, Francesca; Bocchinfuso, Gianfranco; Radio, Francesca Clementina; Cecchetti, Serena; Ciolfi, Andrea; Di Rocco, Martina; Elting, Mariet W.; Brilstra, Eva H.; Boni, Stefania; Mazzanti, Laura; Tamburrino, Federica; Walsh, Larry; Payne, Katelyn; Fernández-Jaén, Alberto; Ganapathi, Mythily; Chung, Wendy K.; Grange, Dorothy K.; Dave-Wala, Ashita; Reshmi, Shalini C.; Bartholomew, Dennis W.; Mouhlas, Danielle; Carpentieri, Giovanna; Bruselles, Alessandro; Pizzi, Simone; Bellacchio, Emanuele; Piceci-Sparascio, Francesca; Lißewski, Christina; Brinkmann, Julia; Waclaw, Ronald R.; Waisfisz, Quinten; van Gassen, Koen; Wentzensen, Ingrid M.; Morrow, Michelle M.; Álvarez, Sara; Martínez-García, Mónica; De Luca, Alessandro; Memo, Luigi; Zampino, Giuseppe; Rossi, Cesare; Seri, Marco; Gelb, Bruce D.; Zenker, Martin; Dallapiccola, Bruno; Stella, Lorenzo; Prada, Carlos E.; Martinelli, Simone; Flex, Elisabetta; Tartaglia, Marco; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Signal transduction through the RAF-MEK-ERK pathway, the first described mitogen-associated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, mediates multiple cellular processes and participates in early and late developmental programs. Aberrant signaling through this cascade contributes to oncogenesis and underlies the RASopathies, a family of cancer-prone disorders. Here, we report that de novo missense variants in MAPK1, encoding the mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (i.e., extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 2, ERK2), cause a neurodevelopmental disease within the RASopathy phenotypic spectrum, reminiscent of Noonan syndrome in some subjects. Pathogenic variants promote increased phosphorylation of the kinase, which enhances translocation to the nucleus and boosts MAPK signaling in vitro and in vivo. Two variant classes are identified, one of which directly disrupts binding to MKP3, a dual-specificity protein phosphatase negatively regulating ERK function. Importantly, signal dysregulation driven by pathogenic MAPK1 variants is stimulus reliant and retains dependence on MEK activity. Our data support a model in which the identified pathogenic variants operate with counteracting effects on MAPK1 function by differentially impacting the ability of the kinase to interact with regulators and substrates, which likely explains the minor role of these variants as driver events contributing to oncogenesis. After nearly 20 years from the discovery of the first gene implicated in Noonan syndrome, PTPN11, the last tier of the MAPK cascade joins the group of genes mutated in RASopathies.
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    Functional Dysregulation of CDC42 Causes Diverse Developmental Phenotypes
    (Elsevier, 2018-02-01) Martinelli, Simone; Krumbach, Oliver H.F.; Pantaleoni, Francesca; Coppola, Simona; Amin, Ehsan; Pannone, Luca; Nouri, Kazem; Farina, Luciapia; Dvorsky, Radovan; Lepri, Francesca; Bucholzer, Marcel; Konopatzki, Raphael; Walsh, Laurence; Payne, Katelyn; Pierpont, Mary Ella; Vergano, Samantha Schrier; Langley, Katherine G.; Larsen, Douglas; Farwell, Kelly D.; Tang, Sha; Mroske, Cameron; Gallotta, Ivan; Schiavi, Elia Di; della Monica, Matteo; Lugli, Licia; Rossi, Cesare; Seri, Marco; Cocchi, Guido; Henderson, Lindsay; Baskin, Berivan; Alders, Mariëlle; Mendoza-Londono, Roberto; Dupuis, Lucie; Nickerson, Deborah A.; Chong, Jessica X.; Meeks, Naomi; Brown, Kathleen; Causey, Tahnee; Cho, Megan T.; Demuth, Stephanie; Digilio, Maria Cristina; Gelb, Bruce D.; Bamshad, Michael J.; Zenker, Martin; Ahmadian, Mohammad Reza; Hennekam, Raoul C.; Tartaglia, Marco; Mirzaa, Ghayda M.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Exome sequencing has markedly enhanced the discovery of genes implicated in Mendelian disorders, particularly for individuals in whom a known clinical entity could not be assigned. This has led to the recognition that phenotypic heterogeneity resulting from allelic mutations occurs more commonly than previously appreciated. Here, we report that missense variants in CDC42, a gene encoding a small GTPase functioning as an intracellular signaling node, underlie a clinically heterogeneous group of phenotypes characterized by variable growth dysregulation, facial dysmorphism, and neurodevelopmental, immunological, and hematological anomalies, including a phenotype resembling Noonan syndrome, a developmental disorder caused by dysregulated RAS signaling. In silico, in vitro, and in vivo analyses demonstrate that mutations variably perturb CDC42 function by altering the switch between the active and inactive states of the GTPase and/or affecting CDC42 interaction with effectors, and differentially disturb cellular and developmental processes. These findings reveal the remarkably variable impact that dominantly acting CDC42 mutations have on cell function and development, creating challenges in syndrome definition, and exemplify the importance of functional profiling for syndrome recognition and delineation.