Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33116252›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2020

The Fuchs corneal dystrophy-associated CTG repeat expansion in the TCF4 gene affects transcription from its alternative promoters.

Alex Sirp, Kristian Leite, Jürgen Tuvikene, Kaja Nurm, Mari Sepp, Tõnis Timmusk

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. A genome-wide approach for the discovery of novel repeat expansion disorders in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network cohort.Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Lower Fractions ofGenes · 2021
    Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Alex SirpDepartment of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia.
Kristian LeiteDepartment of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia.
Jürgen TuvikeneDepartment of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia.
Kaja NurmDepartment of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia.
Mari SeppDepartment of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia.
Tõnis TimmuskDepartment of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia. tonis.timmusk@taltech.ee.
Tallinn University of Technology · EEProtobios (Estonia) · EE

Funding

Marie Curie EU734791
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The CTG trinucleotide repeat (TNR) expansion in Transcription factor 4 (TCF4) intron 3 is the main cause of Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) and may confer an increased risk of developing bipolar disorder (BD). Usage of alternative 5' exons for transcribing the human TCF4 gene results in numerous TCF4 transcripts which encode for at least 18 N-terminally different protein isoforms that vary in their function and transactivation capability. Here we studied the TCF4 region containing the CTG TNR and characterized the transcription initiation sites of the nearby downstream 5' exons 4a, 4b and 4c. We demonstrate that these exons are linked to alternative promoters and show that the CTG TNR expansion decreases the activity of the nearby downstream TCF4 promoters in primary cultured neurons. We confirm this finding using two RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) datasets of corneal endothelium from FECD patients with expanded CTG TNR in the TCF4 gene. Furthermore, we report an increase in the expression of various other TCF4 transcripts in FECD, possibly indicating a compensatory mechanism. We conclude that the CTG TNR affects TCF4 expression in a transcript-specific manner both in neurons and in the cornea.

Indexed as

Alternative SplicingFuchs' Endothelial DystrophyHumansPromoter Regions, GeneticTranscription Factor 4Trinucleotide Repeat ExpansionTCF4 protein, humanTranscription Factor 4

Identifiers

PMID33116252
PMCPMC7595208
OpenAlexW3094717795

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.