On the Hunt for Modifiers

Variations in our genome are what make us unique. It’s also what predisposes or protects us from disease. For example, you may know people who eat high fat diets and yet have low cholesterol or people who, although they have never smoked, succumb to lung cancer, like Christopher Reeve’s wife, Dana.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet girls with MECP2 mutations and normal X chromosome inactivation that are too high functioning to be diagnosed clinically with Rett Syndrome. These are girls who may walk, run, speak, write, draw, and in some rare instances even speak multiple languages and play an instrument. So what is protecting these individuals from having full-blown Rett? You guessed it: modifier genes.

Those of you familiar with RSRT’s efforts know that we have been funding a project in the lab of Monica Justice aimed at identifying protective modifiers in mice. This past summer the Justice lab published the first modifier that suggests that statins (drugs that lower cholesterol) may be treatment options for Rett. More modifiers are likely to follow.

In the last few years a number of factors have coalesced to make the hunt for modifiers possible in people: 1) the identification of a growing number of individuals with MECP2 mutations who are too high functioning to fit the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of Rett 2) dropping costs for exome sequencing 3) improved bioinformatics which allow for better analysis and interpretation of the vast quantify of data generated from sequencing.

In light of these developments RSRT has awarded $314,000 to Jeffrey Neul at Baylor College of Medicine to sequence the exomes (the protein-producing portion of the genome) of high-functioning kids/adults in the hopes that some common variables may point to modifiers which can then become drug targets.

Importantly, the sequencing and phenotypic data will be a valuable resource as it will be deposited into the National Database for Autism Research and available to the scientific community.

We need the Rett community’s help to identify high-functioning individuals who Dr. Neul may not be aware of. If you think your child may qualify please contact me at monica@rsrt.org

Watch the interview below with Dr. Neul to learn more about this project.