Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
Centro de Estudos do Genoma Humano e Celulas-Tronco, Departamento de Genetica e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociencias, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Nat Commun. 2023 May 24;14(1):2868. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38526-1.
Gene-environment interactions are believed to play a role in multifactorial phenotypes, although poorly described mechanistically. Cleft lip/palate (CLP), the most common craniofacial malformation, has been associated with both genetic and environmental factors, with little gene-environment interaction experimentally demonstrated. Here, we study CLP families harbouring CDH1/E-Cadherin variants with incomplete penetrance and we explore the association of pro-inflammatory conditions to CLP. By studying neural crest (NC) from mouse, Xenopus and humans, we show that CLP can be explained by a 2-hit model, where NC migration is impaired by a combination of genetic (CDH1 loss-of-function) and environmental (pro-inflammatory activation) factors, leading to CLP. Finally, using in vivo targeted methylation assays, we demonstrate that CDH1 hypermethylation is the major target of the pro-inflammatory response, and a direct regulator of E-cadherin levels and NC migration. These results unveil a gene-environment interaction during craniofacial development and provide a 2-hit mechanism to explain cleft lip/palate aetiology.
基因-环境相互作用被认为在多因素表型中起作用,尽管其机制描述得很差。唇裂/腭裂(CLP)是最常见的颅面畸形,与遗传和环境因素都有关,尽管有少量基因-环境相互作用的实验证据。在这里,我们研究了携带不完全外显率的 CDH1/E-钙黏蛋白变异的 CLP 家族,并探讨了促炎条件与 CLP 的关联。通过研究来自小鼠、非洲爪蟾和人类的神经嵴(NC),我们表明 CLP 可以通过双打击模型来解释,其中 NC 迁移受到遗传(CDH1 功能丧失)和环境(促炎激活)因素的组合的损害,导致 CLP。最后,使用体内靶向甲基化测定,我们证明 CDH1 高甲基化是促炎反应的主要靶点,也是 E-钙黏蛋白水平和 NC 迁移的直接调节剂。这些结果揭示了颅面发育过程中的基因-环境相互作用,并提供了一种双打击机制来解释唇裂/腭裂的发病机制。
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