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Updated: Jul 2, 2025

Targeted Next-generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Pipeline to Evaluate Genetic Determinants of Constitutional Disease
Published on: April 4, 2018
Identifying functional dysregulation of NOD2 variant Q902K in patients with Yao syndrome
Jingyuan Zhang1, Yi Luo1, Bingxuan Wu1
1Department of Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College; State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, PUMCH; Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, PUMCH; National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID), Ministry of Science & Technology; Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100730, China.
Background And Objectives:
The study investigated the pathogenesis of Yao syndrome (YAOS), a rare systemic autoinflammatory disease associated with the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 2 (NOD2) gene variants.
Methods:
RNA sequencing analyses were used to detect transcriptomic profile changes. Immunoblot and immunohistochemistry were used to examine the NOD2-mediated inflammatory signaling pathways and ELISA was used to detect cytokines.
Results:
Transcriptome analysis of YAOS revealed NOD-like receptor signaling pathway enrichment. Compared with HCs, P-RIP2, p-p65, p-p38, p-ERK, and p-JNK notably increased in PBMCs of a patient with YAOS. P-RIP2, p-p65, and p-p38 elevated in small intestinal mucosa tissues. P-p65 and p-p38 in synovial tissues from YAOS were higher than those in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). Serum interleukin (IL)-6 level along with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-6 secreted from PBMCs were markedly higher in patients with YAOS in comparison to healthy controls (HCs). The supernatants of synovial cells from a patient with YAOS showed substantially higher IL-1β and IL-6 levels than those of RA and OA. Canakinumab therapy of a Q902K heterozygous patient with YAOS resulted in notable clinical improvement.
Conclusion:
Overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the hyperactivation of NOD2-mediated signaling pathways were found in the NOD2 variant Q902K patient with YAOS. NOD2-RIP2-MAPK pathway might play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of YAOS. These results provide new perspectives for targeted therapies in YAOS.
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