Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.

The Fragile X-related disorders (FXDs) are members of the Repeat Expansion Diseases, a group of human genetic conditions resulting from expansion of a specific tandem repeat. The FXDs result from expansion of a CGG/CCG repeat tract in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene. While expansion in a FXD mouse...

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Main Authors: Rachel Adihe Lokanga, Alireza Ghodsi Senejani, Joann Balazs Sweasy, Karen Usdin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-04-01
Series:PLoS Genetics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005181
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author Rachel Adihe Lokanga
Alireza Ghodsi Senejani
Joann Balazs Sweasy
Karen Usdin
author_facet Rachel Adihe Lokanga
Alireza Ghodsi Senejani
Joann Balazs Sweasy
Karen Usdin
author_sort Rachel Adihe Lokanga
collection DOAJ
description The Fragile X-related disorders (FXDs) are members of the Repeat Expansion Diseases, a group of human genetic conditions resulting from expansion of a specific tandem repeat. The FXDs result from expansion of a CGG/CCG repeat tract in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene. While expansion in a FXD mouse model is known to require some mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, our previous work and work in mouse models of another Repeat Expansion Disease show that early events in the base excision repair (BER) pathway play a role in the expansion process. One model for repeat expansion proposes that a non-canonical MMR process makes use of the nicks generated early in BER to load the MMR machinery that then generates expansions. However, we show here that heterozygosity for a Y265C mutation in Polβ, a key polymerase in the BER pathway, is enough to significantly reduce both the number of expansions seen in paternal gametes and the extent of somatic expansion in some tissues of the FXD mouse. These data suggest that events in the BER pathway downstream of the generation of nicks are also important for repeat expansion. Somewhat surprisingly, while the number of expansions is smaller, the average size of the residual expansions is larger than that seen in WT animals. This may have interesting implications for the mechanism by which BER generates expansions.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
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publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-65eb90b2d91f4cf59ff11e6e1dfc243a2025-08-20T03:46:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042015-04-01114e100518110.1371/journal.pgen.1005181Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.Rachel Adihe LokangaAlireza Ghodsi SenejaniJoann Balazs SweasyKaren UsdinThe Fragile X-related disorders (FXDs) are members of the Repeat Expansion Diseases, a group of human genetic conditions resulting from expansion of a specific tandem repeat. The FXDs result from expansion of a CGG/CCG repeat tract in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene. While expansion in a FXD mouse model is known to require some mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, our previous work and work in mouse models of another Repeat Expansion Disease show that early events in the base excision repair (BER) pathway play a role in the expansion process. One model for repeat expansion proposes that a non-canonical MMR process makes use of the nicks generated early in BER to load the MMR machinery that then generates expansions. However, we show here that heterozygosity for a Y265C mutation in Polβ, a key polymerase in the BER pathway, is enough to significantly reduce both the number of expansions seen in paternal gametes and the extent of somatic expansion in some tissues of the FXD mouse. These data suggest that events in the BER pathway downstream of the generation of nicks are also important for repeat expansion. Somewhat surprisingly, while the number of expansions is smaller, the average size of the residual expansions is larger than that seen in WT animals. This may have interesting implications for the mechanism by which BER generates expansions.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005181
spellingShingle Rachel Adihe Lokanga
Alireza Ghodsi Senejani
Joann Balazs Sweasy
Karen Usdin
Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.
PLoS Genetics
title Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.
title_full Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.
title_fullStr Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.
title_full_unstemmed Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.
title_short Heterozygosity for a hypomorphic Polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the Fragile X-related disorders.
title_sort heterozygosity for a hypomorphic polβ mutation reduces the expansion frequency in a mouse model of the fragile x related disorders
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005181
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