Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurobehavioral-metabolic disease caused by the lack of paternally expressed genes in the chromosome 15q11-q13 region, characterized by hypotonia, neurocognitive problems, behavioral difficulties, endocrinopathies, and hyperphagia resulting in severe obesity if...
Caroline Vrana-Diaz
Recent Posts
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the prototypic genomic disorder resulting from deficiency of paternally expressed genes in the human chromosome 15q11-q13 region. The unique molecular mechanism involving epigenetic modifications renders PWS as the most attractive candidate to explore a...
Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) exhibit several metabolic and behavioral abnormalities associated with excessive food-seeking activity. PWS is thought to be driven in part by dysfunctional hypothalamic circuitry and blunted responses to peripheral signals of satiety. Previous work...
Background: Schaaf-Yang syndrome (SYS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by truncating variants in the paternally expressed MAGEL2 gene in the Prader-Willi syndrome-region on chromosome 15q. In addition to hypotonia and intellectual disability, individuals with SYS are frequently affected by...
The Small Nucleolar Host Gene 14 (SNHG14) is a host gene for small non-coding RNAs, including the SNORD116 small nucleolar C/D box RNA encoding locus. Large deletions of the SNHG14 locus, as well as microdeletions of the SNORD116 locus, lead to the neurodevelopmental genetic disorder Prader–Willi...
Background: Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) display impaired pretend play abilities, reflective of broader social-cognitive challenges. Pretend play interventions for children with PWS demonstrate preliminary efficacy for improving cognitive and affective processes in play. It is unknown...
Prader–Willi syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental genetic disorder characterized by various endocrine, cognitive and behavioural problems. The symptoms include an obsession for food and reduced satiety, which leads to hyperphagia and morbid obesity. Neuropsychological studies have reported that...
Objective: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multisystem genetic disorder. Unfortunately, none of several mouse models carrying PWS mutations emulates the entirety of the human PWS phenotype, including hyperphagia plus obesity. Methods: To determine whether housing at thermoneutrality (TN, 30 °C)...
Introduction People with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), are at heightened risk for the negative sequalae of loneliness, including depression and anxiety. While societal factors such as stigma or limited social opportunities contribute to loneliness, so too...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multisystem disorder with neurobehavioral, metabolic, and hormonal phenotypes, caused by loss of expression of a paternally-expressed imprinted gene cluster. Prior evidence from a PWS mouse model identified abnormal pancreatic islet development with retention of...
Previous studies in mice have utilized Magel2 gene deletion models to examine the consequences of its absence. We report the generation, molecular validation and phenotypic characterization of a novel rat model with a truncating Magel2 mutation modeling variants associated with Schaaf-Yang...
The ability to detect 2′-O-methylation sites (Nm) in high-throughput fashion is important, as increasing evidence points to a more diverse landscape for this RNA modification as well as the possibility of yet unidentified functions. Here we describe an optimized version of RibOxi-seq, which is...
Introduction: Prader–Willi syndrome is a complex neurodevelopmental genetic disorder due to lack of paternal expression of critical imprinted genes in the 15q11.2-q13.1 chromosomal region, generally from a paternal deletion. Predominant features include infantile hypotonia, a poor suck with failure...
Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperphagia, obesity, developmental delay and intellectual disability. Studies suggest dysfunctional signaling of the neuropeptide oxytocin as one of the key mechanisms in PWS, and administration of oxytocin via...
Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) display developmental delays, cognitive impairment, excessive hunger, obesity, and various behavioral abnormalities. Current PWS treatments are limited to strict supervision of food intake and growth hormone therapy, highlighting the need for new...
Objectives To facilitate the development of new therapies for Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), we sought to develop a reliable and valid assessment of anxiousness and distress, common characteristics that have a significant negative impact on individuals with PWS and their families. Methods The PWS...
Mutations and aberrant gene expression during cellular differentiation lead to neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) which results from the deletion of an imprinted locus on paternally inherited chromosome 15. We analysed chromatin-associated RNA in human induced...
Hyperphagia and obesity profoundly affect the health of children with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS). The Magel2 gene among the genes in the Prader–Willi syndrome deletion region is expressed in proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC). Knockout of the Magel2...
Background: Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of expression of the paternal copies of maternally imprinted gene(s) located at 15q11–q13. While the physical and medical characteristics of PWS, including short stature, hyperphagia and endocrine dysfunction are...
Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by hypotonia and poor feeding in infancy which progresses to hyperphagia in early-mid childhood, as well as developmental delays, a spectrum of behavioral and psychiatric concerns, endocrinopathies, orthopedic issues, and less...
Importance Newborn screening for Angelman syndrome (AS), Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), and chromosome 15 duplication syndrome (Dup15q) may lead to benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder characterized by multiple system involvement with hypotonia, poor suck with feeding difficulties, growth and other hormone deficiencies, intellectual disability, and behavioral problems with childhood onset of hyperphagia...
Importance Genomic newborn screening (gNBS) may optimize the health and well-being of children and families. Screening programs are required to be evidence based, acceptable, and beneficial.
Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare disease associated with cognitive impairment, hypotonia, hyperphagia (an insatiable hunger), and obesity. Therapies that target hyperphagia are in development, but understanding the value of these therapies to inform patient-focused drug development...
Background. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder causing quality of life impairments such as insatiable hunger (hyperphagia) and obesity. We explored caregivers’ willingness to assume treatment risk in exchange for reduced hyperphagia according to a PWS-validated...
The N-terminal domain of the Schaaf-Yang syndrome protein MAGEL2 likely has a role in RNA metabolism
MAGEL2 encodes the L2 member of the melanoma-associated antigen gene (MAGE) protein family, truncating mutations of which can cause Schaaf-Yang syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. MAGEL2 is also inactivated in Prader–Willi syndrome, which overlaps clinically and mechanistically with Schaaf–Yang...
The behavior of offspring results from the combined expression of maternal and paternal genes. Genomic imprinting silences some genes in a parent-of-origin specific manner, a process that, among all animals, occurs only in mammals. How genomic imprinting affects the behavior of mammalian offspring,...
Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hormonal dysregulation, obesity, intellectual disability, and behavioral problems. Most PWS cases are caused by paternal interstitial deletions of 15q11.2-q13.1, while a smaller number of cases are caused by...
Background There is a relative lack of information on the incidence and treatment of vision problems in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Using data from the Global PWS Registry, we performed a cross-sectional study of vision problems in PWS. Methods Data, reported by caregivers who completed the Vision...
Oxytocin is an important regulator of the social brain. In some animal models of autism, notably in Magel2tm1.1Mus-deficient mice, peripheral administration of oxytocin in infancy improves social behaviors until adulthood. However, neither the mechanisms responsible for social deficits nor the...
The study characterised differences in costs associated with raising a child between four rare disorders and examined the associations between these costs with clinical severity. Caregivers of 108 individuals with Prader-Willi, Angelman (AS), Chromosome 15q Duplication and fragile X (FXS) syndromes...
Hyperphagia and the associated interest in food is a characteristic feature of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) that emerges during childhood and remains a life-long concern. This study examined neural responses reflecting food cue salience in children with PWS and typical controls, age 3–12 years....
Human brain organoids represent remarkable platforms for recapitulating features of human brain development and diseases. Existing organoid models do not resolve fine brain subregions, such as different nuclei in the hypothalamus. We report the generation of arcuate organoids (ARCOs) from human...
The smallest genomic region causing Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) deletes the non-coding RNA SNORD116 cluster; however, the function of SNORD116 remains a mystery. Previous work in the field revealed the tantalizing possibility that expression of NHLH2, a gene previously implicated in both obesity...
Objectives: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by maladaptive behaviors, amongst which hyperphagia is a life-long concern for individuals with PWS and their caregivers. The current study examined the contribution of hyperphagia and other factors to caregiver burden...
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 1 in 20,000 individuals worldwide. Symptom progression in PWS is classically characterized by two nutritional stages. Stage 1 is hypotonia characterized by poor muscle tone that leads to poor feeding...
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is characterized by decreased social and emotional functioning. Due to the low base-rate of children with PWS, developing behavioral interventions for individuals with PWS is faced with the challenge of enrolling enough local participants for adequate study of behavioral...
Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are short non-protein-coding RNAs with a long-recognized role in tuning ribosomal and spliceosomal function by guiding ribose methylation and pseudouridylation at targeted nucleotide residues of ribosomal and small nuclear RNAs, respectively. SnoRNAs are increasingly...
Objective The effects of intranasal oxytocin and placebo on hyperphagia and repetitive behaviors were compared in children and adolescents with Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS). Methods
Chromosome 15 (C15) imprinting disorders including Prader–Willi (PWS), Angelman (AS) and chromosome 15 duplication (Dup15q) syndromes are severe neurodevelopmental disorders caused by abnormal expression of genes from the 15q11–q13 region, associated with abnormal DNA methylation and/or copy number...
The chromosome 15q11-q13 region of the human genome is regulated by genomic imprinting, an epigenetic phenomenon in which genes are expressed exclusively from one parental allele. Several genes within the 15q11-q13 region are expressed exclusively from the paternally inherited chromosome 15. At...
SNORD115 has been proposed to promote the activity of serotonin (HTR2C) receptor via its ability to base-pair with its pre-mRNA and regulate alternative RNA splicing and/or A-to-I RNA editing. Because SNORD115 genes are deleted in most patients with the Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), diminished HTR2C...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by neonatal hypotonia, developmental delay, and hyperphagia/obesity. This disorder is caused by the absence of paternally-expressed gene products from chromosome 15q11-q13. We previously demonstrated that knocking out ZNF274, a KRAB-domain zinc finger...
Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder in which hyperphagia (excessive appetite) is a hallmark feature. Understanding how weight changes over time in this population is important for capturing the contemporary natural history of the disorder as well as...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a developmental disorder caused by loss of maternally imprinted genes on 15q11-q13, including melanoma antigen gene family member L2 (MAGEL2). The clinical phenotypes of PWS suggest impaired hypothalamic neuroendocrine function; however, the exact cellular defects are...
Background The effects of dietary macronutrients on orexigenic and anorexigenic hormones in children are poorly understood. Objective To explore effects of varying dietary macronutrients on appetite‐regulating hormones [acyl ghrelin (AG) and desacyl ghrelin (DAG), glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1),...
Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is the most common genetic cause of obesity. Various dietary strategies have been used for weight management for people with PWS.
Imprinted genes are highly expressed in the hypothalamus; however, whether specific imprinted genes affect hypothalamic neuromodulators and their functions is unknown. It has been suggested that Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by lack of paternal expression at...
The Central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) contains distinct populations of neurons that play opposing roles in feeding. The circuit mechanism of how CeA neurons process information sent from their upstream inputs to regulate feeding is still unclear. Here we show that activation of the neural pathway...
This study examined sensitivity of eye tracking measures to hyperphagia severity in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Gaze data were collected in 57 children with PWS, age 3-11 years, and 47 typically developing peers at two study sites during free visual exploration of complex stimulus arrays that...
Early parent-child interactions (PCI) impact social cognitive development. Relatedly, children with various developmental disorders exhibit abnormal parental attachment relationships. Parental characteristics and behaviors can impact PCI and socioemotional development as well. No research has...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex genetic condition, affecting between 1:10,000 and 1:30,000. The prevalence of hip dysplasia in children with PWS is reportedly between 8% and 30%, but the long-term consequences of residual hip dysplasia remain largely unknown in this population. The purpose...
Background Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare and complex neurodevelopmental disorder of genetic origin. It manifests itself in endocrine and cognitive problems, including highly pronounced hyperphagia and severe obesity. In many cases, impaired acquisition of social and communication skills...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by neonatal hypotonia, developmental delay and hyperphagia/obesity and is caused by the absence of paternal contribution to chromosome 15q11-q13. Using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models of PWS, we previously discovered an epigenetic complex...
Temper outbursts are a severe problem for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Previous reports indicate that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may reduce maladaptive behaviour in neurodevelopmental disorders, including PWS. We systematically investigated the effectiveness of transcutaneous VNS...
Background Faces are critical social cues that must be perfectly processed in order to engage appropriately in everyday social interactions. In Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a rare genetic disorder characterized by cognitive and behavioural difficulties including autism spectrum disorder, the...
In the current study, we sought to determine the significance of the ghrelin system in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). PWS is characterized by hypotonia and difficulty feeding in neonates and hyperphagia and obesity beginning later in childhood. Other features include low GH, neonatal hypoglycemia,...
From birth, mammals have to find food and maximize caloric intake to ensure growth and survival. Suckling must be initiated quickly after birth and then maintained and controlled until weaning. It is a complex process involving interactions between sensory and motor neuronal pathways. Meanwhile,...
Among a multitude of hormonal and metabolic complications, individuals with Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS) exhibit significant bone abnormalities, including decreased BMD, osteoporosis, and subsequent increased fracture risk. Here we show in mice that loss of Magel2, a maternally imprinted gene in the...
Dietary management is important to prevent severe obesity in individuals with Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS); however, few studies have examined dietary intake and quality in youth with PWS. Our objective was to estimate intake of essential nutrients and diet quality in youth with PWS compared to...
Research has shown that children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) have social-cognitive challenges and decreased quality parent-child interactions. However, given the low prevalence rate, developing interventions for children with PWS is faced with the significant challenge of enrolling enough...
Schaaf‐Yang Syndrome (SYS) is a genetic disorder caused by truncating pathogenic variants in the paternal allele of the maternally imprinted, paternally expressed gene MAGEL2, located in the Prader‐Willi critical region 15q11‐15q13. SYS is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has clinical overlap...
Background: The early life environment experienced by an individual in utero and during the neonatal period is a major factor in shaping later life disease risk-including susceptibility to develop obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The incidence of metabolic disease is different between...
Ghrelin is a small peptide hormone that undergoes a unique posttranslational modification, serine octanoylation, to play its physiological roles in processes including hunger signaling and glucose metabolism. Ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) catalyzes this posttranslational modification, which is...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), an imprinted neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by metabolic, sleep and neuropsychiatric features, is caused by the loss of paternal SNORD116, containing only non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). The primary SNORD116 transcript is processed into small nucleolar RNAs...
Background Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and Angelman syndrome (AS) are neurodevelopmental disorders that are caused by abnormal expression of imprinted genes in the 15q11-13 region. Dysregulation of genes located in this region has been proposed as a susceptibility factor for autism spectrum...
The serotonin receptor 2C (5HT2C) is an important drug target to treat obesity and depression. Its pre-mRNA undergoes alternative splicing, encoding a short RNA1 isoform that is localized intracellularly and a full-length isoform (RNA2) that can reach the cell membrane. These splicing isoforms are...
Objective Macronutrient regulation of hyperphagia and adiposity in Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS) is poorly understood. We compared fasting and postprandial concentrations of hormones and metabolites in eight PWS children (age 9‐18 years) fed, in random order, low carbohydrate, high‐fat (LC, 15% carb;...
Recent epigenetic studies suggest that genomic imprinting is crucial in the biology of sleep. Sleep is a physiological process that is governed by homeostatic and circadian mechanisms, and here we review evidence that both mechanisms are influenced by imprinted regulatory processes. A growing...
The imprinted DLK1-DIO3 and SNURF-SNRPN (PWS) chromosomal domains are characterized by large arrays of box C/D small nucleolar RNA and microRNA genes that display preferential expression in the brain. Here, we provide an overview of their multifaceted roles in brain function and behaviour focusing...
Background. The ability to rapidly switch between tasks is important in a variety of contexts. Training in task switching may be particularly valuable for children with intellectual disability (ID), specifically ID linked to genetic syndromes such as Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). We have developed a...
Homeostatic control of core body temperature is essential for survival. Temperature is sensed by specific neurons, in turn eliciting both behavioral (i.e., locomotion) and physiologic (i.e., thermogenesis, vasodilatation) responses. Here, we report that a population of GABAergic (Vgat-expressing)...
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurobehavioral and epigenetic disorder caused by the deficiency of paternally expressed genes in the chromosome 15q11-q13. This unique molecular defect renders PWS an exciting opportunity to explore epigenetic therapy. Here, we briefly highlight recent findings...
