Cell proliferation, cell cycle analysis, γ‑H2A.X induction, and expression of DNA damage response proteins were investigated upon exposure to genotoxic treatments in WBS patient‑derived primary fibroblasts and in the 293T cell line treated with specific siRNAs targeting RFC2, GTF2I and BAZ1B.
Genes lying telomeric to RFC2, including CLIP2, GTF2I and GTF2IRD1, are currently thought to be the most likely major contributors to the typical Williams syndrome cognitive profile, characterized by a better-than-expected auditory rote-memory ability, a relative sparing of language capabilities, and a severe visual-spatial constructive impairment.
Here, we examined ATR-pathway function in cell lines from three haploinsufficient contiguous gene-deletion disorders--a subset of blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome, Miller-Dieker lissencephaly syndrome, and Williams-Beuren syndrome--in which the deleted region encompasses ATR, RPA1, and RFC2, respectively.