Project description:Orofacial clefts of the lip and palate are widely recognized to result from complex gene–environment interactions, but inadequate understanding of environmental risk factors has stymied development of prevention strategies. We interrogated the role of DNA methylation, an environmentally malleable epigenetic mechanism, in orofacial development. Expression of the key DNA methyltransferase enzyme DNMT1 was detected throughout palate morphogenesis in the epithelium and underlying cranial neural crest cell (cNCC) mesenchyme, a highly proliferative multipotent stem cell population that forms orofacial connective tissue. Genetic and pharmacologic manipulations of DNMT activity were then applied to define the tissue- and timing-dependent requirement of DNA methylation in orofacial development. cNCC-specific Dnmt1 inactivation targeting initial palate outgrowth resulted in OFCs, while later targeting during palatal shelf elevation and elongation did not. Conditional Dnmt1 deletion reduced cNCC proliferation and subsequent differentiation trajectory, resulting in attenuated outgrowth of the palatal shelves and altered development of cNCC-derived skeletal elements. Finally, we found that the cellular mechanisms of cleft pathogenesis observed in vivo can be recapitulated by pharmacologically reducing DNA methylation in multipotent cNCCs cultured in vitro. These findings demonstrate that DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic regulator of cNCC biology, define a critical period of development in which its disruption directly causes OFCs, and provide opportunities to identify environmental influences that contribute to OFC risk.
Project description:The noncoding genome contains sequences called enhancers which facilitate expression of target genes through recruitment and binding of transcription factors. Enhancers are typically active in developmental stage-, tissue-, and cell type-specific patterns, whereby they control the spatiotemporal expression patterns of target genes. Sequence variation within enhancers can alter expression of their target genes where the enhancer is active, causing isolated phenotypes ranging from normal morphological differences to malformations. The role of orofacial enhancers in normal morphology and disease of the orofacial region has previously been established in bulk human assays. However, the conservation of these findings and the cell types contributing to these phenotypes are unknown, limiting work in prevention and treatment of malformations. To uncover cell type-specific enhancers whose sequence variants contribute to normal facial morphology and malformations, we performed single cell multiome (snATAC and snRNA-seq) sequencing on 17 human samples spanning 6 unique stages from 4-8 weeks gestation and 14 mouse samples spanning 6 stages from E9.5-15.5. We identified 15 distinct cell types, for which we leveraged the cell type specific chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic profiles and previously published chromatin conformation data to identify cell type specific enhancer-gene predicted interactions, which we call the ‘enhancerprints’. These enhancerprints revealed a cell type-specific enrichment pattern of common single nucleotide variants for biologically relevant phenotypes such as epithelium in orofacial clefting and mesenchyme in facial variation.
Project description:The noncoding genome contains sequences called enhancers which facilitate expression of target genes through recruitment and binding of transcription factors. Enhancers are typically active in developmental stage-, tissue-, and cell type-specific patterns, whereby they control the spatiotemporal expression patterns of target genes. Sequence variation within enhancers can alter expression of their target genes where the enhancer is active, causing isolated phenotypes ranging from normal morphological differences to malformations. The role of orofacial enhancers in normal morphology and disease of the orofacial region has previously been established in bulk human assays. However, the conservation of these findings and the cell types contributing to these phenotypes are unknown, limiting work in prevention and treatment of malformations. To uncover cell type-specific enhancers whose sequence variants contribute to normal facial morphology and malformations, we performed single cell multiome (snATAC and snRNA-seq) sequencing on 17 human samples spanning 6 unique stages from 4-8 weeks gestation and 14 mouse samples spanning 6 stages from E9.5-15.5. We identified 15 distinct cell types, for which we leveraged the cell type specific chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic profiles and previously published chromatin conformation data to identify cell type specific enhancer-gene predicted interactions, which we call the ‘enhancerprints’. These enhancerprints revealed a cell type-specific enrichment pattern of common single nucleotide variants for biologically relevant phenotypes such as epithelium in orofacial clefting and mesenchyme in facial variation.
Project description:Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) are the most common human craniofacial defects. Genetic factors play a critical role in the pathogenesis of NSOFCs. However, known causal genes only explain a minority of the estimated heritability. The findings substantiate the genetic and allelic heterogeneity of NSOFCs and underscore the crucial role of dysregulation of OFC-related signaling pathways in the occurrence of NSOFCs. Besides, the candidate variants discovered provide a fruitful resource for further genetic studies. Particularly, three BOC missense variants (p.R407W, p.G436S and p.D1018N) are identified in three cases with cleft palate. In parallel, a BOC nonsense variant (p.R681X), co-segregating with a GLI2 missense variant (p.A543G), is identified in a multiplex family with microform cleft lip. Functional studies demonstrate while the four BOC variants are hypomorphic alleles, the GLI2 variant is a hypermorphic allele. The counteraction between BOC p.R681X allele and GLI2 p.A543G allele is likely to account for the mild phenotype in the multiplex family. Thus, this study establishes BOC as a novel causal gene and implicates a two-locus model of inheritance via the epistatic antagonism of two SHH pathway variants in NSOFCs.