Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Variants in CFTR untranslated regions are associated with congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens
  1. Estelle Lopez1,2,
  2. Victoria Viart1,2,
  3. Caroline Guittard2,3,
  4. Carine Templin2,3,
  5. Céline René1,2,3,
  6. Déborah Méchin2,
  7. Marie Des Georges2,3,
  8. Mireille Claustres1,2,3,
  9. Marie-Catherine Romey-Chatelain1,2,
  10. Magali Taulan1,2,3
  1. 1Université Montpellier1, UFR de Médecine, Montpellier, France
  2. 2INSERM U827, Laboratoire de Génétique de Maladies Rares, Montpellier, France
  3. 3CHU Montpellier, Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve, Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire, Montpellier, France
  1. Correspondence to Magali Taulan INSERM U827, Laboratoire de Génétique de Maladies Rares, 641 avenue du doyen Gaston Giraud, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France; magali.taulan{at}inserm.fr

Abstract

Background Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD), a frequent cause of obstructive azoospermia, is generated by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Despite extensive testing for point mutations and large rearrangements, a small proportion of alleles still remains unidentified in CBAVD patients.

Methods and results Mutation scanning analysis of microsatellite variability in the CFTR gene identified two undescribed 4 bp sequence repeats (TAAA)6 and (TAAA)8 in intron 9 in two CBAVD patients heterozygote for either the −33G→A promoter transition or the classical [TG12T5] CBAVD mutation. This study explores the putative impact of this promoter variant by using a combination of web based prediction tools, reporter gene assays, and DNA/proteins interaction analyses. Results of transiently transfected vas deferens cells with either the −33G wild-type or the −33A variant CFTR directed luciferase reporter gene confirmed that the −33A variant, which alters the FOXI1 (Forkhead box I1) binding, significantly decreases the CFTR promoter activity. It was also investigated whether regulatory elements located within the intronic tetrarepeat might influence the CFTR expression. There was evidence that both the (TAAA)6 and the (TAAA)8 alleles modulate the CFTR transcription and the binding affinity for FOX transcription factors, involved in the chromatin architecture.

Conclusions As the vas deferens seems to be one of the tissues most susceptible to a reduction in the normal CFTR transcripts levels, and as two mild mutations are sufficient to induce CBAVD phenotype, these findings raise the possibility that these uncommon variants may be a novel cause of CBAVD.

  • CBAVD
  • CFTR transcriptional regulation
  • microsatellite
  • unknown variant
  • molecular genetics
  • cystic fibrosis

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Footnotes

  • Funding This work was supported in part by the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire of Montpellier, Vaincre La Mucoviscidose (grants TG0707 to EL and G0804 to VV), INSERM.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.