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Sperm motility is vital to human reproduction. Malformations of sperm flagella can cause male infertility. Men with multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella (MMAF) have abnormal spermatozoa with absent, short, coiled, bent, and/or irregular-caliber flagella, which impair sperm motility. The known human MMAF-associated genes, such as DNAH1, only account for fewer than 45% of affected individuals. Pathogenic mechanisms in the genetically unexplained MMAF remain to be elucidated. Here, we conducted genetic analyses by using whole-exome sequencing and genome-wide comparative genomic hybridization microarrays in a multi-center cohort of 30 Han Chinese men affected by MMAF. Among them, 12 subjects could not be genetically explained by any known MMAF-associated genes. Intriguingly, we identified compound-heterozygous mutations in CFAP43 in three subjects and a homozygous frameshift mutation in CFAP44 in one subject. All of these recessive mutations were parentally inherited from heterozygous carriers but were absent in 984 individuals from three Han Chinese control populations. CFAP43 and CFAP44, encoding two cilia- and flagella-associated proteins (CFAPs), are specifically or preferentially expressed in the testis. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we generated two knockout models each deficient in mouse ortholog Cfap43 or Cfap44. Notably, both Cfap43- and Cfap44-deficient male mice presented with MMAF phenotypes, whereas the corresponding female mice were fertile. Our experimental observations on human subjects and animal models strongly suggest that biallelic mutations in either CFAP43 or CFAP44 can cause sperm flagellar abnormalities and impair sperm motility. Further investigations on other CFAP-encoding genes in more genetically unexplained MMAF-affected individuals could uncover novel mechanisms underlying sperm flagellar formation.
Pubmed ID: 28552195
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International collaborative research project and database of annotated mammalian genome. Used to improve estimates of total number of genes and their alternative transcript isoforms in both human and mouse. Consortium to assign functional annotations to full length cDNAs that were collected during Mouse Encyclopedia Project at RIKEN.
View all literature mentionsTHIS RESOURCE IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE. Documented on January 9, 2023. An aggregated data platform for genome sequencing data created by a coalition of investigators seeking to aggregate and harmonize exome sequencing data from a variety of large-scale sequencing projects, and to make summary data available for the wider scientific community. The data set provided on this website spans 61,486 unrelated individuals sequenced as part of various disease-specific and population genetic studies. They have removed individuals affected by severe pediatric disease, so this data set should serve as a useful reference set of allele frequencies for severe disease studies. All of the raw data from these projects have been reprocessed through the same pipeline, and jointly variant-called to increase consistency across projects. They ask that you not publish global (genome-wide) analyses of these data until after the ExAC flagship paper has been published, estimated to be in early 2015. If you''re uncertain which category your analyses fall into, please email them. The aggregation and release of summary data from the exomes collected by the Exome Aggregation Consortium has been approved by the Partners IRB (protocol 2013P001477, Genomic approaches to gene discovery in rare neuromuscular diseases).
View all literature mentionsOnline catalog of human genes and genetic disorders, for clinical features, phenotypes and genes. Collection of human genes and genetic phenotypes, focusing on relationship between phenotype and genotype. Referenced overviews in OMIM contain information on all known mendelian disorders and variety of related genes. It is updated daily, and entries contain copious links to other genetics resources.
View all literature mentionsA comprehensive design and analysis tool for setting up and interpreting your microarray experiments.
View all literature mentionsSoftware tool which predicts possible impact of amino acid substitution on structure and function of human protein using straightforward physical and comparative considerations. PolyPhen-2 is new development of PolyPhen tool for annotating coding nonsynonymous SNPs.
View all literature mentionsDatabase that aggregates exome and genome sequencing data from large-scale sequencing projects. The gnomAD data set contains individuals sequenced using multiple exome capture methods and sequencing chemistries. Raw data from the projects have been reprocessed through the same pipeline, and jointly variant-called to increase consistency across projects.
View all literature mentionsConsortium to build comprehensive parts list of functional elements in human genome. This includes elements that act at protein and RNA levels, and regulatory elements that control cells and circumstances in which gene is active. Data from 2012-present.
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