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EXTL3 mutations cause skeletal dysplasia, immune deficiency, and developmental delay

  • Stefano Volpi
  • , Yasuhiro Yamazaki
  • , Patrick M. Brauer
  • , Ellen van Rooijen
  • , Atsuko Hayashida
  • , Anne Slavotinek
  • , Hye Sun Kuehn
  • , Maja Di Rocco
  • , Carlo Rivolta
  • , Ileana Bortolomai
  • , Likun Du
  • , Kerstin Felgentreff
  • , Lisa Ott de Bruin
  • , Kazutaka Hayashida
  • , George Freedman
  • , Genni Enza Marcovecchio
  • , Kelly Capuder
  • , Prisni Rath
  • , Nicole Luche
  • , Elliott J. Hagedorn
  • Antonella Buoncompagni, Beryl Royer-Bertrand, Silvia Clara Giliani, Pietro Luigi Poliani, Luisa Imberti, Kerry Dobbs, Fabienne E Poulain, Alberto Martini, John P Manis, Robert J Linhardt, Marita Bosticardo, Sergio Damian Rosenzweig, Hane Lee, Jennifer M Puck, Juan Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker, Leonard I. Zon, Pyong Woo Park, Andrea Superti-Furga, Luigi D Notarangelo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

We studied three patients with severe skeletal dysplasia, T cell immunodeficiency, and developmental delay. Whole-exome sequencing revealed homozygous missense mutations affecting exostosin-like 3 (EXTL3), a glycosyltransferase involved in heparan sulfate (HS) biosynthesis. Patient-derived fibroblasts showed abnormal HS composition and altered fibroblast growth factor 2 signaling, which was rescued by overexpression of wild-type EXTL3 cDNA. Interleukin-2-mediated STAT5 phosphorylation in patients' lymphocytes was markedly reduced. Interbreeding of the extl3-mutant zebrafish (box) with Tg(rag2:green fluorescent protein) transgenic zebrafish revealed defective thymopoiesis, which was rescued by injection of wild-type human EXTL3 RNA. Targeted differentiation of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells showed a reduced expansion of lymphohematopoietic progenitor cells and defects of thymic epithelial progenitor cell differentiation. These data identify EXTL3 mutations as a novel cause of severe immune deficiency with skeletal dysplasia and developmental delay and underline a crucial role of HS in thymopoiesis and skeletal and brain development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)623-637
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Experimental Medicine
Volume214
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Animals
  • Bone Diseases, Developmental
  • Child, Preschool
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Female
  • Heparitin Sulfate
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
  • Infant
  • Lymphocytes
  • Mutation
  • N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases
  • Zebrafish

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