Citation

Mirabello L, Macari ER, Jessop L, Ellis SR, Myers T, Giri N, Taylor AM, McGrath KE, Humphries JM, Ballew BJ, Yeager M, Boland JF, He J, Hicks BD, Burdett L, Alter BP, Zon L, Savage SA. 2014. Whole-exome sequencing and functional studies identify RPS29 as a novel gene mutated in multicase Diamond-Blackfan anemia families. Blood. 124(1):24-32. Pubmed: 24829207 DOI:10.1182/blood-2013-11-540278

Abstract

Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a cancer-prone inherited bone marrow failure syndrome. Approximately half of DBA patients have a germ-line mutation in a ribosomal protein gene. We used whole-exome sequencing to identify disease-causing genes in 2 large DBA families. After filtering, 1 nonsynonymous mutation (p.I31F) in the ribosomal protein S29 (RPS29[AUQ1]) gene was present in all 5 DBA-affected individuals and the obligate carrier, and absent from the unaffected noncarrier parent in 1 DBA family. A second DBA family was found to have a different nonsynonymous mutation (p.I50T) in RPS29. Both mutations are amino acid substitutions in exon 2 predicted to be deleterious and resulted in haploinsufficiency of RPS29 expression compared with wild-type RPS29 expression from an unaffected control. The DBA proband with the p.I31F RPS29 mutation had a pre-ribosomal RNA (rRNA) processing defect compared with the healthy control. We demonstrated that both RPS29 mutations failed to rescue the defective erythropoiesis in the rps29(-/-) mutant zebra fish DBA model. RPS29 is a component of the small 40S ribosomal subunit and essential for rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis. We uncovered a novel DBA causative gene, RPS29, and showed that germ-line mutations in RPS29 can cause a defective erythropoiesis phenotype using a zebra fish model.

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Photo of Len Zon

The Zon laboratory aims to dissect how assaults to the hematopoietic system cause severe diseases such as leukemias, lymphomas, and anemias. They investigate hematopoietic development and disease using chemical screens, genetic screens, and analysis of novel transgenic lines in zebrafish.

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