Cited by 103MicroRNA in disease regulationConnective tissue disorders researchGenomics and Rare Diseases

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 61 of the 65 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 38 of the 54 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Gain-of-function mutation of microRNA-140 in human skeletal dysplasia

Open access

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Heterozygous loss-of-function point mutations of miRNA genes are associated with several human congenital disorders1–5, but neomorphic (gain-of-new-function) mutations in miRNAs due to nucleotide substitutions have not been reported. Here we describe a neomorphic seed region mutation in the chondrocyte-specific, super-enhancer-associated MIR140 gene encoding microRNA-140 (miR-140) in a novel autosomal dominant human skeletal dysplasia. Mice with the corresponding single nucleotide substitution show skeletal abnormalities similar to those of the patients but distinct from those of miR-140-null mice6. This mutant miRNA gene yields abundant mutant miR-140-5p expression without miRNA-processing defects. In chondrocytes, the mutation causes widespread derepression of wild-type miR-140-5p targets and repression of mutant miR-140-5p targets, indicating that the mutation produces both loss-of-function and gain-of-function effects. Furthermore, the mutant miR-140-5p seed competes with the conserved RNA-binding protein Ybx1 for overlapping binding sites. This finding may explain the potent target repression and robust in vivo effect by this mutant miRNA even in the absence of evolutionary selection of miRNA–target RNA interactions, which contributes to the strong regulatory effects of conserved miRNAs7,8. Our study presents the first case of a pathogenic gain-of-function miRNA mutation and provides molecular insight into neomorphic actions of emerging and/or mutant miRNAs. Clinical insights from patients with a rare genetic skeletal disorder led to the discovery of the first case of a pathogenic gain-of-function miRNA mutation.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The paper reports a heterozygous neomorphic seed-region mutation in MIR140 (miR-140-5p) causing a novel autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia, with mutant miRNA producing both loss- and gain-of-function effects. Mouse knock-in models recapitulate key skeletal abnormalities distinct from miR-140-null mice, and mutant miR-140-5p competes with Ybx1 at overlapping RNA binding sites.

Key findings

  • The same heterozygous substitution, chr16:g.69967007A>G (MIR140:NR_029681.1:n.24A>G), was found in three affected individuals from two unrelated families; it occurred de novo in P1 and P3, co-segregated in Family 1, and was absent from gnomAD. Clinical features included disproportionate short stature, short limbs, small hands and feet, midface hypoplasia, mild spondylar dysplasia, delayed epiphyseal ossification, and severe brachydactyly with cone-shaped phalangeal epiphyses.
  • CRISPR-Cas9 knock-in mice with the corresponding Mir140 A>G substitution showed delayed secondary ossification, decreased Col10a1 expression, delayed cartilage maturation of larynx/trachea/anterior ribs, severely decreased epiphyseal mineralization, mildly flat vertebral bodies, and a wider basal skull growth plate; these features were distinct from miR-140−/− mice.
  • Small RNA sequencing showed the mutation yielded slightly greater mutant miR-140-5p than wild-type miR-140-5p and decreased two miR-140-3p species, without miRNA-processing defects. RNA-seq showed widespread derepression of wild-type miR-140-5p targets and repression of mutant miR-140-5p targets, including Loxl3, Btg1, and Trps1; the hypoxia pathway was impaired in miR-140G/G but not miR-140−/− chondrocytes, with reduced Hif1a and collagen crosslinking.
  • Ago2 and Ybx1 seCLIP analyses indicated that the mutant miR-140-5p seed competes with Ybx1 for overlapping binding sites, especially in 3′ UTRs; Ybx1 inhibition dampened mutant miRNA-mediated repression. The authors describe this as the first case of a pathogenic gain-of-function miRNA mutation.

Methods

  • Clinical and genetic study of two unrelated families: exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing, Sanger sequencing, and comparative genomic hybridization; the MIR140 variant was identified and confirmed in affected individuals.
  • Mouse model: CRISPR-Cas9 knock-in of the Mir140 A>G substitution; heterozygous (miR-140G/+), homozygous (miR-140G/G), wild-type (miR-140+/+), and miR-140−/− mice were compared using skeletal preparations, histology, micro-CT, BrdU labeling, TUNEL staining, and collagen crosslink analysis.
  • Molecular analyses in primary rib chondrocytes and cell lines: small RNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, Western blot, luciferase reporter assays, single-cell dual fluorescence reporter assays, Ago2 and Ybx1 seCLIP, TargetScan prediction, GSEA, and RBP motif analysis.

Limitations

  • Stated: seCLIP had low sensitivity for small starting materials such as primary chondrocytes, and intronic seCLIP clusters were considered non-specific; sample sizes were estimated based on prior experience, with examined mouse numbers in Supplementary Table 2; human genome data are protected by Swedish law, with raw Sanger sequencing data available upon request.
  • Evident: the human genetic evidence comes from only three affected individuals in two families, limiting broader genotype–phenotype generalization.
  • Evident: much of the mechanistic evidence relies on mouse chondrocytes and heterologous cell assays, and the paper does not report an independent human cohort validating the proposed Ybx1 competition mechanism.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/s41591-019-0353-2

Cites

61 of 61 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

84 Own result · 28 Own interpretation · 10 Partly supported · 8 Supported · 8 Own method · 7 No basis given · 6 No full text of the sources · 3 Sources not found · 2 Couldn’t confirm · 1 Not checked yet · accuracy not yet measured

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 36
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 32
61 of 61
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Neomorphic (gain-of-new-function) mutations in miRNAs due to nucleotide substitutions have not been reported.

    “but neomorphic (gain-of-new-function) mutations in miRNAs due to nucleotide substitutions have not been reported.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Underlying molecular mechanisms are not elucidated for many congenital skeletal diseases.

    “but underlying molecular mechanisms are not elucidated for many of them.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A mutation in the miRNA seed region creates a new repertoire of target genes and the magnitude of such target suppression is typically small.

    “Since a mutation in the miRNA seed region creates a new repertoire of target genes and the magnitude of such target suppression is typically small”
3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Show all 65 references

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 103

Metadata

Authors
Grigelioniene, G., Suzuki, H. I., Taylan, F., Mirzamohammadi, F., Borochowitz, Z. U., Ayturk, U. M., Tzur, S., Horemuzova, E., Lindstrand, A., Weis, M. A., Grigelionis, G., Hammarsjö, A., Marsk, E., Nordgren, A., Nordenskjöld, M., Eyre, D. R., Warman, M. L., Nishimura, G., Sharp, P. A., & Kobayashi, T.
Affiliations
  • Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research At MIT (US)
  • Karolinska Institutet (SE)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • Rambam Health Care Campus (IL)
  • Karolinska University Hospital (SE)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • Saitama Medical University Hospital (JP)
Corresponding author
Kobayashi, Tatsuya
Venue
Nature Medicine
Published
2019-02-25
Volume
25
Issue
4
Pages
583-590
ISSN
  • 1078-8956 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-170X
OpenAlex
W2917129046
Cited by
103
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 8
FWCI
4.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (submittedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Eli Lilly and Company
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P30-CA14051)
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Uehara Memorial Foundation (NIH P30)
  • European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology
  • Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P30-CA14051)
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • Stockholms Läns Landsting (20150143)
  • Vetenskapsrådet (2018-03046, 2018-)
  • Svenska Läkaresällskapet
  • Stiftelsen Samariten
  • Science for Life Laboratory
  • National Institutes of Health (P30-AR066261, GM034277, AR066261, R01-GM034277)
  • Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science
  • National Cancer Institute (P01 CA 042063, R01CA133404, CA14051, P30CA014051, P30-CA-14051)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01 GM034277)
  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (P30 AR066261, R01AR056645)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Connective tissue disorders research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genomics and Rare Diseases
Keywords
microRNA-140, gain-of-function mutations, neomorphic mutations, skeletal dysplasia, chondrocytes, YB-1, post-transcriptional regulation, super-enhancers, mouse model
MeSH terms
Gain of Function Mutation, Animals, Base Sequence, Bone Diseases, Developmental, Female, Homozygote, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Mutant Strains, Pedigree, Phenotype, Chondrocytes, MicroRNAs, Transcriptome

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-20, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-20 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review