Loss of extreme long-range enhancers in human neural crest drives a craniofacial disorder
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Hannah K Long Marco Osterwalder Ian C Welsh Karissa Hansen James OJ Davies Yiran E Liu Mervenaz Koska Alexander T Adams Robert Aho Neha Arora Kazuya Ikeda Ruth M Williams Tatjana Sauka-Spengler Matthew H Porteus Tim Mohun Diane E Dickel Tomek Swigut Jim R Hughes Douglas R Higgs Axel Visel Licia Selleri Joanna WysockaAbstract
Non-coding mutations at the far end of a large gene desert surrounding the SOX9 gene result in a human craniofacial disorder called Pierre Robin sequence (PRS). Leveraging a human stem cell differentiation model, we identify two clusters of enhancers within the PRS-associated region that regulate SOX9 expression during a restricted window of facial progenitor development at distances up to 1.45 Mb. Enhancers within the 1.45 Mb cluster exhibit highly synergistic activity that is dependent on the Coordinator motif. Using mouse models, we demonstrate that PRS phenotypic specificity arises from the convergence of two mechanisms: confinement of Sox9 dosage perturbation to developing facial structures through context-specific enhancer activity and heightened sensitivity of the lower jaw to Sox9 expression reduction. Overall, we characterize the longest-range human enhancers involved in congenital malformations, directly demonstrate that PRS is an enhanceropathy, and illustrate how small changes in gene expression can lead to morphological variation.
Journal details
Journal Cell Stem Cell
Volume 27
Issue number 5
Pages 765-783.e14
Available online
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Publisher website (DOI) 10.1016/j.stem.2020.09.001
Figshare View on figshare
Europe PubMed Central 32991838
Pubmed 32991838
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