Go to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Transfers
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
  • Physician-Scientist Development
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • All ...
  • Videos
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Resource and Technical Advances
    • Clinical Research and Public Health
    • Research Letters
    • Editorials
    • Perspectives
    • Physician-Scientist Development
    • Reviews
    • Top read articles

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • In-Press Preview
  • Resource and Technical Advances
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Research Letters
  • Editorials
  • Perspectives
  • Physician-Scientist Development
  • Reviews
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Transfers
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
Quantitative hypermorphic FAM111A alleles cause autosomal recessive Kenny-Caffey syndrome type 2 and osteocraniostenosis
Dong Li, Niels Mailand, Emma Ewing, Saskia Hoffmann, Richard C. Caswell, Lewis Pang, Jacqueline Eason, Ying Dou, Kathleen E. Sullivan, Hakon Hakonarson, Michael A. Levine
Dong Li, Niels Mailand, Emma Ewing, Saskia Hoffmann, Richard C. Caswell, Lewis Pang, Jacqueline Eason, Ying Dou, Kathleen E. Sullivan, Hakon Hakonarson, Michael A. Levine
View: Text | PDF
Research Article Endocrinology Genetics

Quantitative hypermorphic FAM111A alleles cause autosomal recessive Kenny-Caffey syndrome type 2 and osteocraniostenosis

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Kenny-Caffey syndrome (KCS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by extreme short stature, cortical thickening and medullary stenosis of tubular bones, facial dysmorphism, abnormal T cell function, and hypoparathyroidism. Biallelic loss-of-function variants in TBCE cause autosomal recessive type 1 KCS (KCS1). By contrast, heterozygous missense variants in a restricted region of the FAM111A gene have been identified in autosomal dominant type 2 KCS (KCS2) and a more severe lethal phenotype, osteocraniostenosis (OCS); these variants have recently been shown to confer a gain of function. In this study, we describe 2 unrelated children with KCS and OCS who were homozygous for different FAM111A variant alleles that result in replacement of the same residue, Tyr414 (c.1241A>G, p.Y414C and c.1240T>A, p.Y414N), in the mature FAM111A protein. Their heterozygous relatives are asymptomatic. Functional studies of recombinant FAM111AY414C demonstrated normal dimerization and a mild gain-of-function effect. This study provides evidence that both biallelic and monoallelic variants of FAM111A with varying degrees of activation can lead to dominant or recessive KCS2 and OCS.

Authors

Dong Li, Niels Mailand, Emma Ewing, Saskia Hoffmann, Richard C. Caswell, Lewis Pang, Jacqueline Eason, Ying Dou, Kathleen E. Sullivan, Hakon Hakonarson, Michael A. Levine

×

Figure 2

Functional analyses of FAM111A proteins.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
Functional analyses of FAM111A proteins.
Data shown are representative o...
Data shown are representative of at least 3 independent experiments with similar outcome unless otherwise indicated. (A) Immunoblot analysis of U2OS/GFP-FAM111A cell lines left untreated or incubated with doxycycline (DOX) to induce expression of the indicated GFP-FAM111A alleles for 8 or 16 hours. (B) U2OS/GFP-FAM111A cell lines treated or not with DOX were fixed, immunostained with γ-H2AX antibody, and subjected to quantitative image-based cytometry (QIBC) analysis of γ-H2AX signal intensity (red bars, mean [AU]; n > 10,000 cells per condition). (C) U2OS/GFP-FAM111A cell lines treated or not with DOX were pulse-labeled with EdU, stained with DAPI and analyzed for DAPI and EdU signal intensity using QIBC. (D) Quantification of data in C (red bars, mean; n > 2,000 cells per condition). Cells in S phase were identified based on EdU positivity. (E) U2OS/GFP-FAM111A cell lines treated or not with DOX were preextracted, fixed, and immunostained with PCNA antibody and were subsequently analyzed by QIBC (n > 1,000 cells per condition). (F) Quantification of data in E (red bars, mean; n > 1,000 S phase cells per condition). (G) U2OS/GFP-FAM111A cell lines treated or not with DOX were pulse labeled with EU, stained with DAPI, and analyzed by QIBC (red bars, mean; n > 9,000 cells per condition). (H) Quantification of data in G (red bars, mean; n > 9,000 cells per condition). (I) Immunoblot analysis of U2OS/GFP-FAM111A cell lines treated or not with DOX and the pan-Caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK as indicated. (J) Purified recombinant FLAG-FAM111A proteins were incubated at the indicated temperatures for 24 hours, and FLAG-FAM111A autoproteolytic activity was analyzed by immunoblotting with FLAG antibody. n = 2 independent experiments. Data indicate the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05 by 1-tailed t test.

Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN 2379-3708

Sign up for email alerts