Original Article: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.10.001
- The proper development of neuronal circuits during neuromorphogenesis and neuronal-network formation is critically dependent on a coordinated and intricate series of molecular and cellular cues and responses.
- Although the cortical actin cytoskeleton is known to play a key role in neuromorphogenesis, relatively little is known about the specific molecules important for this process.
- Using linkage analysis and whole-exome sequencing on samples from families from the Amish community of Ohio, we have demonstrated that mutations in KPTN, encoding kaptin, cause a syndrome typified by macrocephaly, neurodevelopmental delay, and seizures.
- Our immunofluorescence analyses in primary neuronal cell cultures showed that endogenous and GFP-tagged kaptin associates with dynamic actin cytoskeletal structures and that this association is lost upon introduction of the identified mutations.
- Taken together, our studies have identified kaptin alterations responsible for macrocephaly and neurodevelopmental delay and define kaptin as a molecule crucial for normal human neuromorphogenesis.
Source:
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.10.001
Keywords: causes of macrocephaly, causes of neurodevelopmental delay, causes of seizures
