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DUX4 double whammy: The transcription factor that causes a rare muscular dystrophy also kills the precursors of the human nose
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

DUX4 double whammy: The transcription factor that causes a rare muscular dystrophy also kills the precursors of the human nose

Kaoru Inoue, Hamed Bostan, MaKenna R Browne, Owen F Bevis, Carl D Bortner, Steven A Moore, Aaron A Stence, Negin P Martin, Shih-Heng Chen, Adam B Burkholder, …
Science advances, Vol.9(7), eabq7744
02/17/2023
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq7744
PMCID: PMC9937577
PMID: 36800423
url
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq7744View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

mutations cause congenital arhinia (absent nose) and a muscular dystrophy called FSHD2. In FSHD2, loss of SMCHD1 repressive activity causes expression of double homeobox 4 (DUX4) in muscle tissue, where it is toxic. Studies of arhinia patients suggest a primary defect in nasal placode cells (human nose progenitors). Here, we show that upon SMCHD1 ablation, DUX4 becomes derepressed in H9 human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as they differentiate toward a placode cell fate, triggering cell death. Arhinia and FSHD2 patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) express DUX4 when converted to placode cells and demonstrate variable degrees of cell death, suggesting an environmental disease modifier. HSV-1 may be one such modifier as herpesvirus infection amplifies DUX4 expression in SMCHD1 KO hESC and patient iPSC. These studies suggest that arhinia, like FSHD2, is due to compromised SMCHD1 repressive activity in a cell-specific context and provide evidence for an environmental modifier.

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