Deletion of a remote enhancer near ATOH7 disrupts retinal neurogenesis, causing NCRNA disease

Nat Neurosci. 2011 May;14(5):578-86. doi: 10.1038/nn.2798. Epub 2011 Mar 27.

Abstract

Individuals with nonsyndromic congenital retinal nonattachment (NCRNA) are totally blind from birth. The disease afflicts ∼1% of Kurdish people living in a group of neighboring villages in North Khorasan, Iran. We found that NCRNA is caused by a 6,523-bp deletion that spans a remote cis regulatory element 20 kb upstream from ATOH7 (Math5), a bHLH transcription factor gene that is required for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) and optic nerve development. In humans, the absence of RGCs stimulates massive neovascular growth of fetal blood vessels in the vitreous and early retinal detachment. The remote ATOH7 element appears to act as a secondary or 'shadow' transcriptional enhancer. It has minimal sequence similarity to the primary enhancer, which is close to the ATOH7 promoter, but drives transgene expression with an identical spatiotemporal pattern in the mouse retina. The human transgene also functions appropriately in zebrafish, reflecting deep evolutionary conservation. These dual enhancers may reinforce ATOH7 expression during early critical stages of eye development when retinal neurogenesis is initiated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors / genetics*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 10
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Consanguinity
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Embryo, Mammalian
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic / genetics*
  • Family Health
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / genetics
  • Humans
  • Iran / ethnology
  • Luminescent Proteins / genetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Middle Aged
  • Neurogenesis / genetics*
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics
  • Retina / cytology*
  • Retina / embryology
  • Retinal Detachment / congenital
  • Retinal Detachment / genetics*
  • Retinal Detachment / pathology
  • Sequence Deletion / genetics*
  • Superior Colliculi / pathology
  • Zebrafish / growth & development

Substances

  • ATOH7 protein, human
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
  • Luminescent Proteins