Browsing by Author "Al-Abdulwahed, Hind Y."

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    Biallelic loss of human CTNNA2, encoding alpha N-catenin, leads to ARP2/3 complex overactivity and disordered cortical neuronal migration
    (NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2018-01-01) Schaffer, Ashleigh E.; Breuss, Martin W.; Caglayan, Ahmet Okay; Al-Sanaa, Nouriya; Al-Abdulwahed, Hind Y.; Kaymakcalan, Hande; Yilmaz, Cahide; Zaki, Maha S.; Rosti, Rasim O.; Copeland, Brett; Baek, Seung Tae; Musaev, Damir; Scott, Eric C.; Ben-Omran, Tawfeg; Kariminejad, Ariana; Kayserili, Hulya; Mojahedi, Faezeh; Kara, Majdi; Cai, Na; Silhavy, Jennifer L.; Elsharif, Seham; Fenercioglu, Elif; Barshop, Bruce A.; Kara, Bulent; Wang, Rengang; Stanley, Valentina; James, Kiely N.; Nachnani, Rahul; Kalur, Aneesha; Megahed, Hisham; Incecik, Faruk; Danda, Sumita; Alanay, Yasemin; Faqeih, Eissa; Melikishvili, Gia; Mansour, Lobna; Miller, Ian; Sukhudyan, Biayna; Chelly, Jamel; Dobyns, William B.; Bilguvar, Kaya; Abou Jamra, Rami; Gunel, Murat; Gleeson, Joseph G.
    Neuronal migration defects, including pachygyria, are among the most severe developmental brain defects in humans. Here, we identify biallelic truncating mutations in CTNNA2, encoding alpha N-catenin, in patients with a distinct recessive form of pachygyria. CTNNA2 was expressed in human cerebral cortex, and its loss in neurons led to defects in neurite stability and migration. The alpha N-catenin paralog, alpha E-catenin, acts as a switch regulating the balance between beta-catenin and Arp2/3 actin filament activities(1). Loss of alpha N-catenin did not affect beta-catenin signaling, but recombinant alpha N-catenin interacted with purified actin and repressed ARP2/3 actin-branching activity. The actin-binding domain of alpha N-catenin or ARP2/3 inhibitors rescued the neuronal phenotype associated with CTNNA2 loss, suggesting ARP2/3 de-repression as a potential disease mechanism. Our findings identify CTNNA2 as the first catenin family member with biallelic mutations in humans, causing a new pachygyria syndrome linked to actin regulation, and uncover a key factor involved in ARP2/3 repression in neurons.