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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
Published on: August 20, 2019
Copy-number variant analysis of classic heterotaxy highlights the importance of body patterning pathways
Erin M Hagen1, Robert J Sicko2, Denise M Kay2
1Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Classic heterotaxy consists of congenital heart defects with abnormally positioned thoracic and abdominal organs. We aimed to uncover novel, genomic copy-number variants (CNVs) in classic heterotaxy cases. A microarray containing 2.5 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was used to genotype 69 infants (cases) with classic heterotaxy identified from California live births from 1998 to 2009. CNVs were identified using the PennCNV software. We identified 56 rare CNVs encompassing genes in the NODAL (NIPBL, TBX6), BMP (PPP4C), and WNT (FZD3) signaling pathways, not previously linked to classic heterotaxy. We also identified a CNV involving FGF12, a gene previously noted in a classic heterotaxy case. CNVs involving RBFOX1 and near MIR302F were detected in multiple cases. Our findings illustrate the importance of body patterning pathways for cardiac development and left/right axes determination. FGF12, RBFOX1, and MIR302F could be important in human heterotaxy, because they were noted in multiple cases. Further investigation into genes involved in the NODAL, BMP, and WNT body patterning pathways and into the dosage effects of FGF12, RBFOX1, and MIR302F is warranted.
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