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Genetics Medicine

The Genetics Medicine group of the VHIR belongs to the Clinical and Molecular Genetic Area of the Hospital Vall d’Hebron and combines genetic diagnosis and translational research in hereditary diseases and the study of pathologies and malformations during human development.

The group actively works in different consortiums and networks for rare disorders including ERN Ithaca, Cranio, Bond and NMD.

Specific research lines and teams include:

  • Neuromuscular development, genetics and molecular therapy for spinal muscular atrophy.
  • Genetic and functional evaluation of CFTR pathogenic variants in cystic fibrosis patients treated with modulators. 
  • Genetic bases of mental retardation, CNS malformations and autism spectrum disorders.
  • Epigenetic disorders secondary to alterations in the methylation of chromosomal regions subjected to imprinting.
  • Genetic bases of aortic pathology, RASopathies, 22q11.2 deletions and duplications,  tuberous sclerosis, disorders of sexual differentiation, hypothyroidism, growth disorders, skeletal dysplasias, cleft lip and palate.
  • Better phenotype delineations and genomic approach of rare and ultra-rare genetic syndromes including fetal pathology and malformations.
  • Development and validation of new tools and strategies for genetic diagnosis.

Publications

A systematic study and literature review of parental somatic mosaicism of FBN1 pathogenic variants in Marfan syndrome.

PMID: 33910934
Journal: JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS
Year: 2022
Reference: J Med Genet. 2022 Jun;59(6):605-612. doi: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2020-107604. Epub 2021 Apr 28.
Impact factor: 6.318
Publication type: Paper in international publication
Authors: Fernandez-Alvarez, Paula, Codina-Sola, Marta, Valenzuela, Irene, Teixido-Tura, Gisela, Cueto-Gonzalez, Anna, Paramonov, Ida, Antolin, Maria, Lopez-Grondona, Fermina, Vendrell, Teresa, Evangelista, Artur et al.
DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2020-107604

Discovering a new part of the phenotypic spectrum of Coffin-Siris syndrome in a fetal cohort.

PMID: 35579625
Journal: GENETICS IN MEDICINE
Year: 2022
Reference: Genet Med. 2022 May 17. pii: S1098-3600(22)00727-4. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.04.010.
Impact factor: 8.822
Publication type: Paper in international publication
Authors: Dempsey, Jennifer C, Joosten, Marieke, Alby, Caroline, Attie-Bitach, Tania, Gilmore, Kelly, Dubourg, Christele, Fradin, Melanie, Wang, Tianyun, Kurtz-Nelson, Evangeline C, Ahlers, Kaitlyn P et al.
DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.04.010

Loss-of-function variants in SRRM2 cause a neurodevelopmental disorder.

PMID: 35567594
Journal: GENETICS IN MEDICINE
Year: 2022
Reference: Genet Med. 2022 May 13. pii: S1098-3600(22)00740-7. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.04.011.
Impact factor: 8.822
Publication type: Paper in international publication
Authors: Cuinat, Silvestre, Nizon, Mathilde, Isidor, Bertrand, Stegmann, Alexander, van Jaarsveld, Richard H, van Gassen, Koen L, van der Smagt, Jasper J, Volker-Touw, Catharina M L, Holwerda, Sjoerd J B, Terhal, Paulien A et al.
DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.04.011

Variability in Phelan-McDermid Syndrome in a Cohort of 210 Individuals.

PMID: 35495150
Journal: Frontiers in Genetics
Year: 2022
Reference: Front Genet. 2022 Apr 12;13:652454. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.652454. eCollection 2022.
Impact factor: 4.599
Publication type: Paper in international publication
Authors: Carlos, Garcia, Mansilla, Elena, Vallcorba, Isabel, Garcia-Murillo, Pedro, Cammarata-Scalisi, Franco, Goncalves Pereira, Natalya, Blanco-Lago, Raquel, Serrano, Mercedes, Ortigoza-Escobar, Juan Dario, Gener, Blanca et al.
DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.652454

Blog

News

The results show that, in some patients with mutations in the X chromosome, the healthy gene is inactivated and the mutated gene manifests itself, which favors the onset of the disease.

On January 24, a session was held to explain what these three-dimensional models are and what advantages they have, as well as to review some of their applications in research.

The research has studied the structure and function of proteins related to this degenerative disease and their interaction with SMN2 messenger RNA (mRNA), which is key to the evolution of patients.