Project description:Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder of craniofacial development. It is a congenital malformation of first and second branchial arch which may affect the size and shape of the ears, eyelids, cheek bones, and jaws. The extent of facial deformity varies from one affected individual to another. A case of 20-year-old boy having TCS is briefly described in this article.
Project description:The object of this study was to identify genes transcriptionally upregulated and downregulated in response to Tcof1 haploin-sufficiency during mouse embryogensis Keywords: mouse embryo, littermates, Tcof1, Treacher Collins sydnrome, comparative hybridisation
Project description:Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is an autosomal dominant disorder of craniofacial development with an incidence of 1/50,000 live births. Mutations of the TCOF1 gene have been found to be responsible for most cases of this mandibulofacial disorder. Here we report TCS in an individual who has a heterozygous c.1021_1022delAG deletion in exon 7 of the TCOF1 gene (NG_011341.1). This is the second Turkish patient with a severe TCS phenotype resulting from a de novo c.1021_1022delAG mutation.
Project description:Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a rare congenital disorder of craniofacial development that arises as the result of mutations in the TCOF1 gene, which encodes a nucleolar phosphoprotein known as Treacle. Individuals diagnosed with TCS frequently undergo multiple reconstructive surgeries, which are rarely fully corrective. Identifying potential avenues for rescue and/or repair of TCS depends on a profound appreciation of the etiology and pathogenesis of the syndrome. Recent research using animal models has not only determined the cellular basis of TCS but also, more importantly, unveiled a successful avenue for therapeutic intervention and prevention of the craniofacial anomalies observed in TCS.
Project description:Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is an autosomal dominant disorder of craniofacial development, and mutations in the TCOF1 gene are responsible for over 90% of TCS cases. The knowledge about the molecular mechanisms responsible for this syndrome is relatively scant, probably due to the difficulty of reproducing the pathology in experimental animals. Zebrafish is an emerging model for human disease studies, and we therefore assessed it as a model for studying TCS. We identified in silico the putative zebrafish TCOF1 ortholog and cloned the corresponding cDNA. The derived polypeptide shares the main structural domains found in mammals and amphibians. Tcof1 expression is restricted to the anterior-most regions of zebrafish developing embryos, similar to what happens in mouse embryos. Tcof1 loss-of-function resulted in fish showing phenotypes similar to those observed in TCS patients, and enabled a further characterization of the mechanisms underlying craniofacial malformation. Besides, we initiated the identification of potential molecular targets of treacle in zebrafish. We found that Tcof1 loss-of-function led to a decrease in the expression of cellular proliferation and craniofacial development. Together, results presented here strongly suggest that it is possible to achieve fish with TCS-like phenotype by knocking down the expression of the TCOF1 ortholog in zebrafish. This experimental condition may facilitate the study of the disease etiology during embryonic development.