Journal article

The Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of C21orf80, a potential new protein O-fucosyltransferase, is required for normal development

  • Menzel, Olivier Division of Medical Genetics, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland
  • Vellai, Tibor Zoology, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Takacs-Vellai, Krisztina Zoology, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Reymond, Alexandre Division of Medical Genetics, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland
  • Müller, Fritz Zoology, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Antonarakis, Stylianos E. Division of Medical Genetics, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland
  • Guipponi, Michel Division of Medical Genetics, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland
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    28.05.2004
Published in:
  • Genomics. - 2004, vol. 84, no. 2, p. 320-330
English Down syndrome (DS), as a phenotypic result of trisomy 21, is the most frequent aneuploidy at birth and the most common known genetic cause of mental retardation. DS is also characterized by other phenotypes affecting many organs, including brain, muscle, heart, limbs, gastrointestinal tract, skeleton, and blood. Any of the human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) genes may contribute to some of the DS phenotypes. To determine which of the Hsa21 genes are involved in DS, the effects of disrupting and overexpressing individual human gene orthologs in model organisms, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, can be analyzed. Here, we isolated and characterized C21orf80 (human chromosome 21 open reading frame 80), a potential novel protein O-fucosyltransferase gene that encodes three alternatively spliced transcripts. Transient expression of tagged C21orf80 proteins suggests a primary intracellular localization in the Golgi apparatus. To gain insight into the biological role of C21orf80 and its potential role in DS, we isolated its C. elegans ortholog, pad-2, and performed RNA interference (RNAi) and overexpression experiments. pad-2(RNAi) embryos showed failure to undergo normal morphogenesis. Transgenic worms with elevated dosage of pad-2 displayed severe body malformations and abnormal neuronal development. These results show that pad-2 is required for normal development and suggest potential roles for C21orf80 in the pathogenesis of DS.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Biologie
Language
  • English
Classification
Biological sciences
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/299804
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