Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disease that has been linked to deletions within a tandem array of 3.2 kb repeats adjacent to the telomere of 4q. These repeats are also present in other locations in the human genome, including the short arms of all the acrocentric chromosomes. Here, we examine two models for the role of this repeat in FSHD. F...

BACKGROUND Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is linked to deletions in 4q35 within the D4Z4 repeat array in which we identified the double homeobox 4 (DUX4) gene. We found stable DUX4 mRNAs only derived from the most distal D4Z4 unit and unexpectedly extended to the flanking pLAM region that provided an intron and a polyadenylation signal. DUX4 encodes a transcription factor express...

Generation of skeletal muscles with forms adapted to their function is essential for normal movement. Muscle shape is patterned by the coordinated polarity of collectively migrating myoblasts. Constitutive inactivation of the protocadherin gene Fat1 uncoupled individual myoblast polarity within chains, altering the shape of selective groups of muscles in the shoulder and face. These shape abnor...

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a dominant disease linked to contractions of the D4Z4 repeat array in 4q35. We have previously identified a double homeobox gene (DUX4) within each D4Z4 unit that encodes a transcription factor expressed in FSHD but not control myoblasts. DUX4 and its target genes contribute to the global dysregulation of gene expression observed in FSHD. We have...

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is associated with aberrant epigenetic regulation of the chromosome 4q35 D4Z4 macrosatellite repeat. The resulting DNA hypomethylation and relaxation of epigenetic repression leads to increased expression of the deleterious DUX4-fl mRNA encoded within the distal D4Z4 repeat. With the typical late onset of muscle weakness, prevalence of asymptomatic ...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have proposed a unified genetic model for Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), identifying potential therapeutic targets for future clinical trials. Serum biomarkers related to disease activity will be important for proof of concept or early phase clinical studies. OBJECTIVE To identify potential serum biomarkers in FSHD for possible use in future clinical ...

BACKGROUND Posited pathological mechanisms in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) include activation in somatic tissue of normally silenced genes, increased susceptibility to oxidative stress, and induction of apoptosis. OBJECTIVE To determine the histopathological changes in FSHD muscle biopsies and compare to possible pathological mechanisms of disease. METHODS We performed a cr...

INTRODUCTION FacioScapuloHumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD), a disease linked to a heterozygous D4Z4 deletion on chromosome 4q35, typically starts with shoulder-girdle and facial muscle involvement. Atypical presentations have occasionally been reported, but their frequency has still not been defined. PATIENTS AND METHODS We studied the occurrence rate of FSHD with atypical onset in 122 sympto...

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most common neuromuscular disorders. The major form of the disease (FSHD1) is linked to decrease in copy number of a 3.3-kb tandem repeated macrosatellite (D4Z4), located on chromosome 4q35. D4Z4 deletion alters chromatin structure of the locus leading to aberrant expression of nearby 4q35 genes. Given the high variability in disease o...

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorder that is characterized by extreme variability in symptoms, with females being less severely affected than males and presenting a higher proportion of asymptomatic carriers. The sex-related factors involved in the disease are not known. Here, we have utilized myoblasts isolated from FSHD patients (FSHD m...