Cohesin and human disease

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a dominant multisystem disorder caused by a disruption of cohesin function. The cohesin ring complex is composed of four protein subunits and more than 25 additional proteins involved in its regulation. The discovery that this complex also has a fundamental role in long-range regulation of transcription in Drosophila has shed light on the mechanism likely responsible for its role in development. In addition to the three cohesin proteins involved in CdLS, a second multisystem, recessively inherited, developmental disorder, Roberts-SC phocomelia, is caused by mutations in another regulator of the cohesin complex, ESCO2. Here we review the phenotypes of these disorders, collectively termed cohesinopathies, as well as the mechanism by which cohesin disruption likely causes these diseases.