Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40880485›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Pathogenic variants in MAEA disrupt DNA replication fork stability and are associated with developmental abnormalities in humans.

Elham Zeinali, Fatemeh Mashayekhi, Rabih Abou Farraj, Talah Hasanni, Marie-Christine Caron, Yan Coulombe, Amira Fitieh, J N Mark Glover, Jean-Yves Masson, Ismail Hassan Ismail

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

10 authors.

Elham ZeinaliDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton T6G 1Z2, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0009-0008-2255-5951
Fatemeh MashayekhiDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton T6G 1Z2, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-3009-9403
Rabih Abou FarrajDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-1627-8467
Talah HasanniDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton T6G 1Z2, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0009-0008-9726-0787
Marie-Christine CaronDepartment of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, CHU de Québec Research Centre (Oncology Division, Hôpital Enfant-Jesus) and Laval University Cancer Research Center, Québec City, Quebec, Canada.
Yan CoulombeDepartment of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, CHU de Québec Research Centre (Oncology Division, Hôpital Enfant-Jesus) and Laval University Cancer Research Center, Québec City, Quebec, Canada.
Amira FitiehDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton T6G 1Z2, Alberta, Canada.
J N Mark GloverDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2733-7052
Jean-Yves MassonDepartment of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, CHU de Québec Research Centre (Oncology Division, Hôpital Enfant-Jesus) and Laval University Cancer Research Center, Québec City, Quebec, Canada.
Ismail Hassan IsmailDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton T6G 1Z2, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5526-6063

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Replication stress (RS) poses a threat to genome stability and drives genomic rearrangements. The homologous recombination (HR) pathway repairs stalled replication forks (RFs) and prevents such instability. Through an E3 ubiquitin ligase screen aimed at identifying regulators of RAD51, we identified macrophage erythroblast attacher (MAEA), a core component of C-terminal to Lish (CTLH) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, as a regulator of the HR pathway. Loss of MAEA impairs RAD51 recruitment at stalled RFs, leading to increased sensitivity to RS-inducing agents and excessive degradation of nascent DNA strands. Mechanistically, MAEA associates with and mediates the ubiquitylation of Ku80, enabling its removal from RF ends and facilitating the loading of RAD51. Notably, MAEA deficiency is associated with a developmental disorder involving microcephaly, craniofacial abnormalities, ocular defects, and heart malformations. Functional assays show that disease-linked MAEA variants (R34C, E349G, Y394D, and M396R) are defective in RS response. These findings establish MAEA as an essential factor in RF protection and genome integrity.

Indexed as

DNA ReplicationAnimalsGenomic InstabilityHomologous RecombinationHumansKu AutoantigenMiceMutationRad51 RecombinaseUbiquitinationUbiquitin-Protein LigasesKu AutoantigenRAD51 protein, humanRad51 RecombinaseUbiquitin-Protein Ligases

Identifiers

PMID40880485
PMCPMC12396331

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.