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A Non-random Mouse Model for Pharmacological Reactivation of Mecp2 on the Inactive X Chromosome
Published on: May 22, 2019
X-inactivation and human disease: X-linked dominant male-lethal disorders
Brunella Franco1, Andrea Ballabio
1Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131, Naples, Italy.
Abstract:
X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is the process by which the dosage imbalance of X-linked genes between XX females and XY males is functionally equalized. XCI modulates the phenotype of females carrying mutations in X-linked genes, as observed in X-linked dominant male-lethal disorders such as oral-facial-digital type I (OFDI) and microphthalmia with linear skin-defects syndromes. The remarkable degree of heterogeneity in the XCI pattern among female individuals, as revealed by the recently reported XCI profile of the human X chromosome, could account for the phenotypic variability observed in these diseases. Furthermore, the recent characterization of a murine model for OFDI shows how interspecies differences in the XCI pattern between Homo sapiens and Mus musculus result in discrepancies between the phenotypes observed in patients and mice.
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