We hypothesized that mutations that inactivate phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity and lead to incre... more We hypothesized that mutations that inactivate phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity and lead to increased cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cyclic GMP (cGMP) levels may be associated with prostate cancer (PCa). We sequenced the entire PDE coding sequences in the DNA of 16 biopsy samples from PCa patients. Novel mutations were confirmed in the somatic or germline state by Sanger sequencing. Data were then compared to the 1000 Genome Project. PDE, CREB and pCREB protein expression was also studied in all samples, in both normal and abnormal tissue, by immunofluorescence. We identified 3 previously described PDE sequence variants that were significantly higher in PCa. Four novel sequence variations, one each in the PDE4B, PDE6C, PDE7B and PDE10A genes, respectively, were also found in the PCa samples. Interestingly, PDE10A and PDE4B novel variants that were present in 19% and 6% of the patients, respectively, were found in the tumor tissue only. In patients carrying PDE defects, there was pCREB accumu...
Bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH) in humans and mice has been recently linked to phospho... more Bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH) in humans and mice has been recently linked to phosphodiesterase (PDE) 8B (PDE8B) and 11 (PDE11A) defects. These findings have followed the discovery that defects of primary genes of the cyclic monophosphatase (cAMP) signaling pathway, such as guanine nucleotide binding alpha subunit and PRKAR1A, are involved in the pathogenesis of BAH in humans; complete absence of Prkar1a in the adrenal cortex of mice also led to pathology that mimicked the human disease. Here, we review the most recent findings in human and mouse studies on PDE8B, a cAMP-specific PDE that appears to be highly expressed in the adrenal cortex and whose deficiency may underlie predisposition to BAH and possibly other human diseases.
Carney Triad(CTr) describes the association of paragangliomas(PGL), pulmonary chondromas, and gas... more Carney Triad(CTr) describes the association of paragangliomas(PGL), pulmonary chondromas, and gastrointestinal(GI) stromal tumors(GISTs) with a variety of other lesions including pheochromocytomas and adrenocortical tumors.The gene(s) causing CTr remain(s) unknown. PGL and GISTs may be caused by loss-of-function mutations in succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) (a condition known as Carney-Stratakis syndrome (CSS)). Mitochondrial structure and function are abnormal in tissues carrying SDH defects but they have not been studied in CTr. For this study, we examined mitochondrial structure in human tumors and GI tissue(GIT) of mice with SDH deficiency. Tissues from 16 CTr tumors (n=12), and those with isolated GIST(n=1), with CSS caused by SDHC(n=1), SDHD(n=2) mutations were studied by electron microscopy (EM).GIT from mice with a heterozygous deletion in Sdhb (Sdhb+/-,n=4) were also studied by EM.CTr patients presented with mostly epithelioid GISTs that were characterized by plump cells conta...
X-linked acro-gigantism (X-LAG) is a new syndrome of pituitary gigantism, caused by microduplicat... more X-linked acro-gigantism (X-LAG) is a new syndrome of pituitary gigantism, caused by microduplications on chromosome Xq26.3, encompassing the gene GPR101, which is highly upregulated in pituitary tumors. We conducted this study to explore the clinical, radiological and hormonal phenotype and responses to therapy in patients with X-LAG syndrome. The study included 18 patients (13 sporadic) with X-LAG and a microduplication in chromosome Xq26.3. All sporadic cases had unique duplications and the inheritance pattern in 2 families was dominant with all Xq26.3 duplication carriers being affected. Patients began to grow rapidly as early as 2-3 months of age (median 12 months). At diagnosis (median delay 27 months), patients had a median height and weight SDS score of >+3.9 SDS. Apart from the increased overall body size, the children had acromegalic symptoms including acral enlargement and facial coarsening. More than a third of cases had increased appetite. Patients had marked hypersec...
Carney triad (CT) is a rare condition with synchronous or metachronous occurrence of gastrointest... more Carney triad (CT) is a rare condition with synchronous or metachronous occurrence of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), paragangliomas (PGLs), and pulmonary chondromas in a patient. In contrast to Carney-Stratakis syndrome (CSS) and familial PGL syndromes, no germline or somatic mutations in the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) complex subunits A, B, C, or D have been found in most tumors and/or patients with CT. Nonetheless, the tumors arising among patients with CT, CSS, or familial PGL share a similar morphology with loss of the SDHB subunit on the protein level. For the current study, we employed massive parallel bisulfite sequencing to evaluate DNA methylation patterns in CpG islands in proximity to the gene loci of all four SDH subunits. For the first time, we report on a recurrent aberrant dense DNA methylation at the gene locus of SDHC in tumors of patients with CT, which was not present in tumors of patients with CSS or PGL, or in sporadic GISTs with KIT mutations. This ...
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2014
Inactivating germline mutations of the probable tumor suppressor gene, armadillo repeat containin... more Inactivating germline mutations of the probable tumor suppressor gene, armadillo repeat containing 5 (ARMC5), have recently been identified as a genetic cause of macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (MAH). We searched for ARMC5 mutations in a large cohort of patients with MAH. The clinical phenotype of patients with and without ARMC5 mutations was compared. Blood DNA from 34 MAH patients was genotyped using Sanger sequencing. Diurnal serum cortisol measurements, plasma ACTH levels, urinary steroids, 6-day Liddle's test, adrenal computed tomography, and weight of adrenal glands at adrenalectomy were assessed. Germline ARMC5 mutations were found in 15 of 34 patients (44.1%). In silico analysis of the mutations indicated that seven (20.6%) predicted major implications for gene function. Late-night cortisol levels were higher in patients with ARMC5-damaging mutations compared with those without and/or with nonpathogenic mutations (14.5 ± 5.6 vs 6.7 ± 4.3, P < .001). All patients carrying a pathogenic ARMC5 mutation had clinical Cushing's syndrome (seven of seven, 100%) compared with 14 of 27 (52%) of those without or with mutations that were predicted to be benign (P = .029). Repeated-measures analysis showed overall higher urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroids and free cortisol values in the patients with ARMC5-damaging mutations during the 6-day Liddle's test (P = .0002). ARMC5 mutations are implicated in clinically severe Cushing's syndrome associated with MAH. Knowledge of a patient's ARMC5 status has important clinical implications for the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome and genetic counseling of patients and their families.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by at least 1,000 different mutatio... more Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by at least 1,000 different mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). To determine the frequency of 70 common worldwide CFTR mutations in 155 Euro-Brazilian CF patients and in 38 Afro-Brazilian CF patients, we used direct PCR amplification of DNA from a total of 386 chromosomes from CF patients born in three different states of Brazil. The results show that screening for seventy mutations accounts for 81% of the CF alleles in Euro-Brazilians, but only 21% in the Afro-Brazilian group. We found 21 different mutations in Euro-Brazilians and only 7 mutations in Afro-Brazilians. The frequency of mutations and the number of different mutations detected in Euro-Brazilians are different from Northern European and North American populations, but similar to Southern European populations; in Afro-Brazilians, the mix of CF-mutations is different from those reported in Afro-American CF patients. We also found significant differences in detection rates between Euro-Brazilian (75%) and Afro-Brazilian CF patients (21%) living in the same state, Minas Gerais. These results, therefore, have implications for the use of DNA-based tests for risk assessment in heterogeneous populations like the Brazilians. Further studies are needed to identify the remaining CF mutations in the different populations and regions of Brazil.
Human phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 8B (PDE8B) is located at 5q14.1 and is known as the PDE with t... more Human phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 8B (PDE8B) is located at 5q14.1 and is known as the PDE with the highest affinity to cAMP. We recently described a family with bilateral micronodular adrenocortical disease that was apparently caused by an inactivating PDE8B mutation (H305P). As a result of a genome-wide study, a strong association between six polymorphic variants in the PDE8B promoter and serum levels of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has been recently reported. Despite an extended analysis of the regions surrounding 5q14.1, no other potential genetic variants that could be responsible for the associated TSH levels were found. In this study, we genotyped by polymerase chain reaction the described six polymorphic variants in the PDE8B promoter in the family with micronodular adrenocortical disease and inactivating PDE8B mutation and analyzed their correlation with individual TSH values in the family members. We observed complete segregation between the reported association and individual TSH values in the family we studied. Haplotype analysis showed that the haplotype associated with the high TSH levels is different from the one that segregated with H305P, suggesting that the mutation most probably has arisen on an allele independent of the high TSH-associated allele. The proposed mechanism by which PDE8B may influence TSH levels is through control of cAMP signaling. Our analysis revealed separate segregation of an inactivating PDE8B allele from the high-TSH-allele and showed low TSH levels in persons who carry an inactivating PDE8B allele. These data suggest that, indeed, PDE8B may be involved in regulation of TSH levels.
IGSF1 is a membrane glycoprotein highly expressed in the anterior pituitary. Pathogenic mutations... more IGSF1 is a membrane glycoprotein highly expressed in the anterior pituitary. Pathogenic mutations in the IGSF1 gene (on Xq26.2) are associated with X-linked central hypothyroidism and testicular enlargement in males. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that IGSF1 is involved in the development of pituitary tumors, especially those that produce growth hormone (GH). IGSF1 was sequenced in 21 patients with gigantism or acromegaly and 92 healthy individuals. Expression studies with a candidate pathogenic IGSF1 variant were carried out in transfected cells and immunohistochemistry for IGSF1 was performed in the sections of GH-producing adenomas, familial somatomammotroph hyperplasia, and in normal pituitary. We identified the sequence variant p.N604T, which in silico analysis suggested could affect IGSF1 function, in two male patients and one female with somatomammotroph hyperplasia from the same family. Of 60 female controls, two carried the same variant and seven were heterozygous ...
Germline mutations of the TMEM127 gene, encoding an endosomal protein, occur in pheochromocytomas... more Germline mutations of the TMEM127 gene, encoding an endosomal protein, occur in pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas and renal cell carcinomas, tumors that can be associated with other malignancies. To determine whether TMEM127 mutations also predispose to cancers affecting the pediatric population herein we investigated the integrity of TMEM127 in a cohort of 155 pediatric patients harboring 31 different malignancies, including 16 samples from patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors, malignancies which have been previously associated with paragangliomas. Germline TMEM127 missense variants were detected in one patient with Ewing's sarcoma and one with craniopharyngioma, both of whom had no family history of cancers. Unlike some tumor-associated mutations that display diffuse subcellular distribution in vitro, these two variants did not differ from wild-type TMEM127, thus their pathogenic role is unclear. Assessment of TMEM127 mutation across multiple cancers from publicly avai...
We hypothesized that mutations that inactivate phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity and lead to incre... more We hypothesized that mutations that inactivate phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity and lead to increased cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cyclic GMP (cGMP) levels may be associated with prostate cancer (PCa). We sequenced the entire PDE coding sequences in the DNA of 16 biopsy samples from PCa patients. Novel mutations were confirmed in the somatic or germline state by Sanger sequencing. Data were then compared to the 1000 Genome Project. PDE, CREB and pCREB protein expression was also studied in all samples, in both normal and abnormal tissue, by immunofluorescence. We identified 3 previously described PDE sequence variants that were significantly higher in PCa. Four novel sequence variations, one each in the PDE4B, PDE6C, PDE7B and PDE10A genes, respectively, were also found in the PCa samples. Interestingly, PDE10A and PDE4B novel variants that were present in 19% and 6% of the patients, respectively, were found in the tumor tissue only. In patients carrying PDE defects, there was pCREB accumu...
Bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH) in humans and mice has been recently linked to phospho... more Bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH) in humans and mice has been recently linked to phosphodiesterase (PDE) 8B (PDE8B) and 11 (PDE11A) defects. These findings have followed the discovery that defects of primary genes of the cyclic monophosphatase (cAMP) signaling pathway, such as guanine nucleotide binding alpha subunit and PRKAR1A, are involved in the pathogenesis of BAH in humans; complete absence of Prkar1a in the adrenal cortex of mice also led to pathology that mimicked the human disease. Here, we review the most recent findings in human and mouse studies on PDE8B, a cAMP-specific PDE that appears to be highly expressed in the adrenal cortex and whose deficiency may underlie predisposition to BAH and possibly other human diseases.
Carney Triad(CTr) describes the association of paragangliomas(PGL), pulmonary chondromas, and gas... more Carney Triad(CTr) describes the association of paragangliomas(PGL), pulmonary chondromas, and gastrointestinal(GI) stromal tumors(GISTs) with a variety of other lesions including pheochromocytomas and adrenocortical tumors.The gene(s) causing CTr remain(s) unknown. PGL and GISTs may be caused by loss-of-function mutations in succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) (a condition known as Carney-Stratakis syndrome (CSS)). Mitochondrial structure and function are abnormal in tissues carrying SDH defects but they have not been studied in CTr. For this study, we examined mitochondrial structure in human tumors and GI tissue(GIT) of mice with SDH deficiency. Tissues from 16 CTr tumors (n=12), and those with isolated GIST(n=1), with CSS caused by SDHC(n=1), SDHD(n=2) mutations were studied by electron microscopy (EM).GIT from mice with a heterozygous deletion in Sdhb (Sdhb+/-,n=4) were also studied by EM.CTr patients presented with mostly epithelioid GISTs that were characterized by plump cells conta...
X-linked acro-gigantism (X-LAG) is a new syndrome of pituitary gigantism, caused by microduplicat... more X-linked acro-gigantism (X-LAG) is a new syndrome of pituitary gigantism, caused by microduplications on chromosome Xq26.3, encompassing the gene GPR101, which is highly upregulated in pituitary tumors. We conducted this study to explore the clinical, radiological and hormonal phenotype and responses to therapy in patients with X-LAG syndrome. The study included 18 patients (13 sporadic) with X-LAG and a microduplication in chromosome Xq26.3. All sporadic cases had unique duplications and the inheritance pattern in 2 families was dominant with all Xq26.3 duplication carriers being affected. Patients began to grow rapidly as early as 2-3 months of age (median 12 months). At diagnosis (median delay 27 months), patients had a median height and weight SDS score of >+3.9 SDS. Apart from the increased overall body size, the children had acromegalic symptoms including acral enlargement and facial coarsening. More than a third of cases had increased appetite. Patients had marked hypersec...
Carney triad (CT) is a rare condition with synchronous or metachronous occurrence of gastrointest... more Carney triad (CT) is a rare condition with synchronous or metachronous occurrence of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), paragangliomas (PGLs), and pulmonary chondromas in a patient. In contrast to Carney-Stratakis syndrome (CSS) and familial PGL syndromes, no germline or somatic mutations in the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) complex subunits A, B, C, or D have been found in most tumors and/or patients with CT. Nonetheless, the tumors arising among patients with CT, CSS, or familial PGL share a similar morphology with loss of the SDHB subunit on the protein level. For the current study, we employed massive parallel bisulfite sequencing to evaluate DNA methylation patterns in CpG islands in proximity to the gene loci of all four SDH subunits. For the first time, we report on a recurrent aberrant dense DNA methylation at the gene locus of SDHC in tumors of patients with CT, which was not present in tumors of patients with CSS or PGL, or in sporadic GISTs with KIT mutations. This ...
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2014
Inactivating germline mutations of the probable tumor suppressor gene, armadillo repeat containin... more Inactivating germline mutations of the probable tumor suppressor gene, armadillo repeat containing 5 (ARMC5), have recently been identified as a genetic cause of macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (MAH). We searched for ARMC5 mutations in a large cohort of patients with MAH. The clinical phenotype of patients with and without ARMC5 mutations was compared. Blood DNA from 34 MAH patients was genotyped using Sanger sequencing. Diurnal serum cortisol measurements, plasma ACTH levels, urinary steroids, 6-day Liddle's test, adrenal computed tomography, and weight of adrenal glands at adrenalectomy were assessed. Germline ARMC5 mutations were found in 15 of 34 patients (44.1%). In silico analysis of the mutations indicated that seven (20.6%) predicted major implications for gene function. Late-night cortisol levels were higher in patients with ARMC5-damaging mutations compared with those without and/or with nonpathogenic mutations (14.5 ± 5.6 vs 6.7 ± 4.3, P < .001). All patients carrying a pathogenic ARMC5 mutation had clinical Cushing's syndrome (seven of seven, 100%) compared with 14 of 27 (52%) of those without or with mutations that were predicted to be benign (P = .029). Repeated-measures analysis showed overall higher urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroids and free cortisol values in the patients with ARMC5-damaging mutations during the 6-day Liddle's test (P = .0002). ARMC5 mutations are implicated in clinically severe Cushing's syndrome associated with MAH. Knowledge of a patient's ARMC5 status has important clinical implications for the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome and genetic counseling of patients and their families.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by at least 1,000 different mutatio... more Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by at least 1,000 different mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). To determine the frequency of 70 common worldwide CFTR mutations in 155 Euro-Brazilian CF patients and in 38 Afro-Brazilian CF patients, we used direct PCR amplification of DNA from a total of 386 chromosomes from CF patients born in three different states of Brazil. The results show that screening for seventy mutations accounts for 81% of the CF alleles in Euro-Brazilians, but only 21% in the Afro-Brazilian group. We found 21 different mutations in Euro-Brazilians and only 7 mutations in Afro-Brazilians. The frequency of mutations and the number of different mutations detected in Euro-Brazilians are different from Northern European and North American populations, but similar to Southern European populations; in Afro-Brazilians, the mix of CF-mutations is different from those reported in Afro-American CF patients. We also found significant differences in detection rates between Euro-Brazilian (75%) and Afro-Brazilian CF patients (21%) living in the same state, Minas Gerais. These results, therefore, have implications for the use of DNA-based tests for risk assessment in heterogeneous populations like the Brazilians. Further studies are needed to identify the remaining CF mutations in the different populations and regions of Brazil.
Human phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 8B (PDE8B) is located at 5q14.1 and is known as the PDE with t... more Human phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 8B (PDE8B) is located at 5q14.1 and is known as the PDE with the highest affinity to cAMP. We recently described a family with bilateral micronodular adrenocortical disease that was apparently caused by an inactivating PDE8B mutation (H305P). As a result of a genome-wide study, a strong association between six polymorphic variants in the PDE8B promoter and serum levels of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has been recently reported. Despite an extended analysis of the regions surrounding 5q14.1, no other potential genetic variants that could be responsible for the associated TSH levels were found. In this study, we genotyped by polymerase chain reaction the described six polymorphic variants in the PDE8B promoter in the family with micronodular adrenocortical disease and inactivating PDE8B mutation and analyzed their correlation with individual TSH values in the family members. We observed complete segregation between the reported association and individual TSH values in the family we studied. Haplotype analysis showed that the haplotype associated with the high TSH levels is different from the one that segregated with H305P, suggesting that the mutation most probably has arisen on an allele independent of the high TSH-associated allele. The proposed mechanism by which PDE8B may influence TSH levels is through control of cAMP signaling. Our analysis revealed separate segregation of an inactivating PDE8B allele from the high-TSH-allele and showed low TSH levels in persons who carry an inactivating PDE8B allele. These data suggest that, indeed, PDE8B may be involved in regulation of TSH levels.
IGSF1 is a membrane glycoprotein highly expressed in the anterior pituitary. Pathogenic mutations... more IGSF1 is a membrane glycoprotein highly expressed in the anterior pituitary. Pathogenic mutations in the IGSF1 gene (on Xq26.2) are associated with X-linked central hypothyroidism and testicular enlargement in males. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that IGSF1 is involved in the development of pituitary tumors, especially those that produce growth hormone (GH). IGSF1 was sequenced in 21 patients with gigantism or acromegaly and 92 healthy individuals. Expression studies with a candidate pathogenic IGSF1 variant were carried out in transfected cells and immunohistochemistry for IGSF1 was performed in the sections of GH-producing adenomas, familial somatomammotroph hyperplasia, and in normal pituitary. We identified the sequence variant p.N604T, which in silico analysis suggested could affect IGSF1 function, in two male patients and one female with somatomammotroph hyperplasia from the same family. Of 60 female controls, two carried the same variant and seven were heterozygous ...
Germline mutations of the TMEM127 gene, encoding an endosomal protein, occur in pheochromocytomas... more Germline mutations of the TMEM127 gene, encoding an endosomal protein, occur in pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas and renal cell carcinomas, tumors that can be associated with other malignancies. To determine whether TMEM127 mutations also predispose to cancers affecting the pediatric population herein we investigated the integrity of TMEM127 in a cohort of 155 pediatric patients harboring 31 different malignancies, including 16 samples from patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors, malignancies which have been previously associated with paragangliomas. Germline TMEM127 missense variants were detected in one patient with Ewing's sarcoma and one with craniopharyngioma, both of whom had no family history of cancers. Unlike some tumor-associated mutations that display diffuse subcellular distribution in vitro, these two variants did not differ from wild-type TMEM127, thus their pathogenic role is unclear. Assessment of TMEM127 mutation across multiple cancers from publicly avai...
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