Percorrer por autor "Mateus, Francisca Cazaux"
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- Generation of two pairs of induced pluripotent stem cells from Angelman syndrome patients with class I 15q11.2-q13.1 deletions and their unaffected familial controlsPublication . Santos, João Camões dos; Mateus, Francisca Cazaux; Arez, Maria; Bekman, Evguenia P.; Rocha, Simão T. daAngelman syndrome (AS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe developmental delay, speech impairment, ataxia and happy demeanor. AS is caused by loss-of-function of maternal UBE3A in neurons due to (epi)genetic abnormalities. Here, we report two new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from male and female patients carrying ∼ 6 Mb deletions in chr15q11.2-q13.1, together with familial control iPSC lines. All lines express pluripotent stem cell markers, demonstrate trilineage differentiation, and maintain genetic and epigenetic integrity at the locus of interest. These iPSCs provide a platform to model class I deletions, the most severe AS cause, and accelerate therapy development.
- Stem cell models of Angelman syndromePublication . Santos, João Camões dos; Appleton, Carolina; Mateus, Francisca Cazaux; Covas, Rita; Bekman, Evguenia Pavlovna; Rocha, Simão Teixeira daAngelman syndrome (AS) is an imprinted neurodevelopmental disorder that lacks a cure, characterized by developmental delay, intellectual impairment, seizures, ataxia, and paroxysmal laughter. The condition arises due to the loss of the maternally inherited copy of the UBE3A gene in neurons. The paternally inherited UBE3A allele is unable to compensate because it is silenced by the expression of an antisense transcript (UBE3A-ATS) on the paternal chromosome. UBE3A, encoding enigmatic E3 ubiquitin ligase variants, regulates target proteins by either modifying their properties/functions or leading them to degradation through the proteasome. Over time, animal models, particularly the Ube3amat−/pat+ Knock-Out (KO) mice, have significantly contributed to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying AS. However, a shift toward human pluripotent stem cell models (PSCs), such as human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), has gained momentum. These stem cell models accurately capture human genetic and cellular characteristics, offering an alternative or a complement to animal experimentation. Human stem cells possess the remarkable ability to recapitulate neurogenesis and generate “brain-in-a-dish” models, making them valuable tools for studying neurodevelopmental disorders like AS. In this review, we provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art human stem cell models of AS and explore their potential to become the preclinical models of choice for drug screening and development, thus propelling AS therapeutic advancements and improving the lives of affected individuals.
- A stem cell-based toolkit to model Angelman syndrome caused by paternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 15Publication . Mateus, Francisca Cazaux; Santos, João Camões dos; Arez, Maria; Bekman, Evguenia P.; Rocha, Simão T. daAngelman syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the loss of function of the maternally inherited UBE3A gene within the chr15q11-q13 region. This gene is subjected to a tissue-specific form of genomic imprinting leading to the silencing of the paternal allele in neurons. Angelman syndrome can result from various (epi)genetic mechanisms, with paternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 15 (patUPD15) being one of the rarest and least studied due to the absence of suitable models. To address this gap, we generated three independent induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from individuals with Angelman syndrome caused by patUPD15, alongside genetically matched unaffected familial controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were reprogrammed into iPSCs using a non-integrative Sendai virus-based approach expressing the Yamanaka factors. All iPSC lines underwent rigorous quality control, confirming stem cell identity, trilineage differentiation potential, and genetic and epigenetic integrity. This newly established iPSC toolkit provides a powerful platform to investigate the molecular underpinnings of Angelman syndrome caused by patUPD15, paving the way for future translational research and therapeutic development tailored for this understudied form of the disorder.