MFAP5 Loss-of-Function Mutations Underscore the Involvement of Matrix Alteration in the Pathogenesis of Familial Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Dissections
Barbier M, Gross MS, Aubart M, Hanna N, Kessler K, Guo DC, Tosolini L, Ho-Tin-Noe B, Regalado E, Varret M, Abifadel M, Milleron O, Odent S, Dupuis-Girod S, Faivre L, Edouard T, Dulac Y, Busa T, Gouya L, Milewicz DM, Jondeau G, Boileau C
2014 • Am J Hum Genet • [pdf]
Thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) is an autosomal-dominant disorder with major life-threatening complications. The disease displays great genetic heterogeneity with some forms allelic to Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndrome, and an important number of cases still remain unexplained at the molecular level. Through whole-exome sequencing of affected members in a large TAAD-affected family, we identified the c.472C>T (p.Arg158( *)) nonsense mutation in MFAP5 encoding the extracellular matrix component MAGP-2. This protein interacts with elastin fibers and the microfibrillar network. Mutation screening of 403 additional probands identified an additional missense mutation of MFAP5 (c.62G>T [p.Trp21Leu]) segregating with the disease in a second family. Functional analyses performed on both affected individual’s cells and in vitro models showed that these two mutations caused pure or partial haploinsufficiency. Thus, alteration of MAGP-2, a component of microfibrils and elastic fibers, appears as an initiating mechanism of inherited TAAD.