1. Academic Validation
  2. Mutations in TRAF3IP1/IFT54 reveal a new role for IFT proteins in microtubule stabilization

Mutations in TRAF3IP1/IFT54 reveal a new role for IFT proteins in microtubule stabilization

  • Nat Commun. 2015 Oct 21;6:8666. doi: 10.1038/ncomms9666.
Albane A Bizet 1 2 Anita Becker-Heck 3 Rebecca Ryan 1 2 Kristina Weber 4 Emilie Filhol 1 2 Pauline Krug 1 2 Jan Halbritter 5 6 Marion Delous 1 2 Marie-Christine Lasbennes 3 Bolan Linghu 7 Edward J Oakeley 3 Mohammed Zarhrate 2 8 Patrick Nitschké 2 9 Meriem Garfa-Traore 10 Fabrizio Serluca 7 Fan Yang 7 Tewis Bouwmeester 3 Lucile Pinson 11 Elisabeth Cassuto 12 Philippe Dubot 13 Neveen A Soliman Elshakhs 14 José A Sahel 15 16 Rémi Salomon 1 2 17 Iain A Drummond 18 19 Marie-Claire Gubler 1 2 Corinne Antignac 1 2 20 Salahdine Chibout 3 Joseph D Szustakowski 7 Friedhelm Hildebrandt 5 Esben Lorentzen 4 Andreas W Sailer 3 Alexandre Benmerah 1 2 Pierre Saint-Mezard 3 Sophie Saunier 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Inserm UMR-1163, Laboratory of Hereditary Kidney Diseases, 75015 Paris, France.
  • 2 Paris Descartes Sorbonne Paris Cité University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France.
  • 3 Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel CH-4002, Switzerland.
  • 4 Department of Structural Cell Biology, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
  • 5 Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
  • 6 Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Clinic Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
  • 7 Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
  • 8 Inserm UMR-1163, Genomic Core Facility, 75015 Paris, France.
  • 9 Paris Descartes Sorbonne Paris Cité University, Bioinformatics Core Facility, 75015 Paris, France.
  • 10 Cell Imaging Platform, INSERM US24 Structure Fédérative de recherche Necker, Paris Descartes Sorbonne Paris Cité University, 75015 Paris, France.
  • 11 Department of Medical Genetic, Arnaud de Villeneuve University Health Center, 34090 Montpellier, France.
  • 12 Nephrology department, L'Archet II Hospital, Nice University Health Center, 06202 Nice, France.
  • 13 Hemodialysis-Nephrology Department, William Morey Hospital, 71321 Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
  • 14 Department of Pediatrics, Center of Pediatric Nephrology and Transplantation, Cairo University, Egyptian Group for Orphan Renal Diseases, 11956 Cairo, Egypt.
  • 15 INSERM U968, CNRS UMR 7210; Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, UMR S968, Institut de la vision, 75012 Paris, France.
  • 16 Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM, Direction de l'Hospitalisation et de l'Organisation des Soins, Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1423, 75012 Paris, France.
  • 17 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Pediatric Nephrologic department, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, 75015 Paris, France.
  • 18 Nephrology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
  • 19 Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
  • 20 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of Genetics, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, 75015 Paris, France.
Abstract

Ciliopathies are a large group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders caused by defects in primary cilia. Here we identified mutations in TRAF3IP1 (TNF Receptor-Associated Factor Interacting Protein 1) in eight patients from five families with nephronophthisis (NPH) and retinal degeneration, two of the most common manifestations of ciliopathies. TRAF3IP1 encodes IFT54, a subunit of the IFT-B complex required for ciliogenesis. The identified mutations result in mild ciliary defects in patients but also reveal an unexpected role of IFT54 as a negative regulator of microtubule stability via MAP4 (microtubule-associated protein 4). Microtubule defects are associated with altered epithelialization/polarity in renal cells and with pronephric cysts and microphthalmia in zebrafish embryos. Our findings highlight the regulation of cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics as a role of the IFT54 protein beyond the cilium, contributing to the development of NPH-related ciliopathies.

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