Functional Consequences of Pathogenic Variants of the <i>GJB2</i> Gene (Cx26) Localized in Different Cx26 Domains

oleh: Olga L. Posukh, Ekaterina A. Maslova, Valeriia Yu. Danilchenko, Marina V. Zytsar, Konstantin E. Orishchenko

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-10-01

Deskripsi

One of the most common forms of genetic deafness has been predominantly associated with pathogenic variants in the <i>GJB2</i> gene, encoding transmembrane protein connexin 26 (Cx26). The Cx26 molecule consists of an N-terminal domain (NT), four transmembrane domains (TM1–TM4), two extracellular loops (EL1 and EL2), a cytoplasmic loop, and a C-terminus (CT). Pathogenic variants in the <i>GJB2</i> gene, resulting in amino acid substitutions scattered across the Cx26 domains, lead to a variety of clinical outcomes, including the most common non-syndromic autosomal recessive deafness (DFNB1A), autosomal dominant deafness (DFNA3A), as well as syndromic forms combining hearing loss and skin disorders. However, for rare and poorly documented variants, information on the mode of inheritance is often lacking. Numerous in vitro studies have been conducted to elucidate the functional consequences of pathogenic <i>GJB2</i> variants leading to amino acid substitutions in different domains of Cx26 protein. In this work, we summarized all available data on a mode of inheritance of pathogenic <i>GJB2</i> variants leading to amino acid substitutions and reviewed published information on their functional effects, with an emphasis on their localization in certain Cx26 domains.