Elva María Novoa-del-Toro

Dr. Elva María Novoa-del-Toro


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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29 June 2021 in Biomedicines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
CLCamille Laberthonnière
Camille Laberthonnière
ENElva María Novoa-del-Toro
Elva María Novoa-del-Toro
RCRaphael Chevalier
Raphael Chevalier
NBNatacha Broucqsault
Natacha Broucqsault
VRVanitha Venkoba Rao
Vanitha Venkoba Rao
FMFrederique Magdinier
Frederique Magdinier
Over the recent years, the SMCHD1 (Structural Maintenance of Chromosome flexible Hinge Domain Containing 1) chromatin-associated factor has triggered increasing interest after the identification of variants in three rare and unrelated diseases, type 2 Facio Scapulo Humeral Dystrophy (FSHD2), Bosma Arhinia and Microphthalmia Syndrome (BAMS), and the more recently isolated hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (IHH) combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) and septo-optic dysplasia (SOD). However, it remains unclear why certain mutations lead to a specific muscle defect in FSHD while other are associated with severe congenital anomalies. To gain further insights into the specificity of SMCHD1 variants and identify pathways associated with the BAMS phenotype and related neural crest defects, we derived induced pluripotent stem cells from patients carrying a mutation in this gene. We differentiated these cells in neural crest stem cells and analyzed their transcriptome by RNA-Seq. Besides classical differential expression analyses, we analyzed our data using MOGAMUN, an algorithm allowing the extraction of active modules by integrating differential expression data with biological networks. We found that in BAMS neural crest cells, all subnetworks that are associated with differentially expressed genes converge toward a predominant role for AKT signaling in the control of the cell proliferation–migration balance. Our findings provide further insights into the distinct mechanism by which defects in neural crest migration might contribute to the craniofacial anomalies in BAMS.