Acrocallosal syndrome (ACLS) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder caused by KIF7 defects and belongs to the heterogeneous group of ciliopathies related to Joubert syndrome (JBTS).
Remarkably, zebrafish lacking all Kif7 function are viable, in contrast to the peri-natal lethality of mouse kif7 mutants but similar to some Acrocallosal or Joubert syndrome patients who are homozygous for loss of function KIF7 alleles.
Our analysis resulted in the identification of a homozygous p.N1060S missense mutation in a highly conserved residue in KIF7, a regulator of Hedgehog signaling that has been recently found to be causing Joubert syndrome, fetal hydrolethalus and acrocallosal syndromes.
Thus, we suggest that modified microtubule stability and growth direction caused by loss of KIF7 function may be an underlying disease mechanism contributing to JBTS.
Thus, we suggest that modified microtubule stability and growth direction caused by loss of KIF7 function may be an underlying disease mechanism contributing to JBTS.