<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Alkowari, Moza K</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vozzi, Diego</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Bhagat, Shruti</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Krishnamoorthy, Navaneethakrishnan</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Morgan, Anna</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hayder, Yousra</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Logendra, Barathy</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Najjar, Nehal</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gandin, Ilaria</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gasparini, Paolo</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Badii, Ramin</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Girotto, Giorgia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abdulhadi, Khalid</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Targeted sequencing identifies novel variants involved in autosomal recessive hereditary hearing loss in Qatari families.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mutat Res</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mutat. Res.</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adolescent</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Alleles</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Cadherins</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Child</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Child, Preschool</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Connexins</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Female</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">GPI-Linked Proteins</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hearing Loss, Sensorineural</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Infant</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Male</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Membrane Proteins</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Models, Molecular</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mutation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Myosin Heavy Chains</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pedigree</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Protein Conformation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Qatar</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sequence Analysis, DNA</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2017</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2017 08</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">800-802</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">29-36</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;Hereditary hearing loss is characterized by a very high genetic heterogeneity. In the Qatari population the role of GJB2, the worldwide HHL major player, seems to be quite limited compared to Caucasian populations. In this study we analysed 18 Qatari families affected by non-syndromic hearing loss using a targeted sequencing approach that allowed us to analyse 81 genes simultaneously. Thanks to this approach, 50% of these families (9 out of 18) resulted positive for the presence of likely causative alleles in 6 different genes: CDH23, MYO6, GJB6, OTOF, TMC1 and OTOA. In particular, 4 novel alleles were detected while the remaining ones were already described to be associated to HHL in other ethnic groups. Molecular modelling has been used to further investigate the role of novel alleles identified in CDH23 and TMC1 genes demonstrating their crucial role in Ca2+ binding and therefore possible functional role in proteins. Present study showed that an accurate molecular diagnosis based on next generation sequencing technologies might largely improve molecular diagnostics outcome leading to benefits for both genetic counseling and definition of recurrence risk.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract><custom1><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28501645?dopt=Abstract</style></custom1></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mezzavilla, Massimo</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vozzi, Diego</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Badii, Ramin</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Alkowari, Moza Khalifa</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abdulhadi, Khalid</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Girotto, Giorgia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gasparini, Paolo</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Increased rate of deleterious variants in long runs of homozygosity of an inbred population from Qatar.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hum Hered</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hum. Hered.</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Cohort Studies</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Consanguinity</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Homozygote</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mutation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Qatar</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2015</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2015</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">79</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">14-9</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;OBJECTIVE: &lt;/b&gt;The aim of this study is to evaluate the fraction of putatively deleterious variants within genomic runs of homozygosity (ROH) regions in an inbred and selected cohort of Qatari individuals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;METHODS: &lt;/b&gt;High-density SNP array analysis was performed in 36 individuals, and for 14 of them whole-exome sequencing (WES) was also carried out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;RESULTS: &lt;/b&gt;In all individuals, regions characterized by a high (hotspot) or low (coldspot) degree of homozygosity in all the analysed individuals were mapped, and the most frequent hotspot regions were selected. WES data were exploited to identify the single nucleotide variations (SNVs) harboured by genes located within both regions in each individual. Evolutionary conservation-based algorithms were employed to predict the potential deleteriousness of SNVs. The amount of in silico predicted deleterious SNVs was significantly different (p &lt; 0.05) between homozygosity hotspot and coldspot regions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONCLUSION: &lt;/b&gt;Genes located within ROH hotspot regions contain a significant burden of predicted putatively deleterious variants compared to genes located outside these regions, suggesting inbreeding as a possible mechanism allowing an enrichment of putatively deleterious variants at the homozygous state.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue><custom1><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25720536?dopt=Abstract</style></custom1></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Zonta, Francesco</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Girotto, Giorgia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Buratto, Damiano</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Crispino, Giulia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Morgan, Anna</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abdulhadi, Khalid</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Alkowari, Moza</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Badii, Ramin</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gasparini, Paolo</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mammano, Fabio</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The p.Cys169Tyr variant of connexin 26 is not a polymorphism.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hum Mol Genet</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hum. Mol. Genet.</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Alleles</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Amino Acid Substitution</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Cell Line</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Connexins</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Female</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gap Junctions</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gene Expression</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Genotype</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hearing Loss</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Immunohistochemistry</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Male</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Models, Molecular</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mutation, Missense</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pedigree</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Polymorphism, Genetic</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Protein Conformation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Transfection</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2015</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2015 May 1</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">24</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2641-8</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;Mutations in the GJB2 gene, which encodes the gap junction protein connexin 26 (Cx26), are the primary cause of hereditary prelingual hearing impairment. Here, the p.Cys169Tyr missense mutation of Cx26 (Cx26C169Y), previously classified as a polymorphism, has been identified as causative of severe hearing loss in two Qatari families. We have analyzed the effect of this mutation using a combination of confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. At the cellular level, our results show that the mutant protein fails to form junctional channels in HeLa transfectants despite being correctly targeted to the plasma membrane. At the molecular level, this effect can be accounted for by disruption of the disulfide bridge that Cys169 forms with Cys64 in the wild-type structure (Cx26WT). The lack of the disulfide bridge in the Cx26C169Y protein causes a spatial rearrangement of two important residues, Asn176 and Thr177. In the Cx26WT protein, these residues play a crucial role in the intra-molecular interactions that permit the formation of an intercellular channel by the head-to-head docking of two opposing hemichannels resident in the plasma membrane of adjacent cells. Our results elucidate the molecular pathogenesis of hereditary hearing loss due to the connexin mutation and facilitate the understanding of its role in both healthy and affected individuals.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">9</style></issue><custom1><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25628337?dopt=Abstract</style></custom1></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Girotto, Giorgia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mezzavilla, Massimo</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abdulhadi, Khalid</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vuckovic, Dragana</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vozzi, Diego</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Khalifa Alkowari, Moza</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gasparini, Paolo</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Badii, Ramin</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Consanguinity and hereditary hearing loss in Qatar.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hum Hered</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hum. Hered.</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Consanguinity</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hearing Loss</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Homozygote</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Inheritance Patterns</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pedigree</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Prevalence</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Principal Component Analysis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Qatar</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Transcription Factor TFIIIB</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">77</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">175-82</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;Qatar is a sovereign state located on the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf. Its native population consists of 3 major subgroups: people of Arabian origin or Bedouins, those from an Eastern or Persian ancestry and individuals with African admixture. Historically, all types of consanguineous marriages have been and still are common in the Qatari population, particularly among first and double-first cousins. Thus, there is a higher risk for most inherited diseases including hereditary hearing loss (HHL). In particular, a hearing loss prevalence of 5.2% has been reported in Qatar, with parental consanguinity being more common among affected individuals as compared with unaffected ones. Our recent molecular results confirm a high homogeneity and level of inbreeding in Qatari HHL patients. Among all HHL genes, GJB2, the major player worldwide, accounts for a minor proportion of cases and at least 3 additional genes have been found to be mutated in Qatari patients. Interestingly, one gene, BDP1, has been described to cause HHL only in this country. These results point towards an unexpected level of genetic heterogeneity despite the high level of inbreeding. This review provides an up-to-date picture of HHL in Qatar and of the impact of consanguinity on this disease.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1-4</style></issue><custom1><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25060281?dopt=Abstract</style></custom1></record></records></xml>