Reactivation of Human X-Linked Gene and Stable X-Chromosome Inactivation Observed in Generation and Differentiation of iPSCs from a Female Patient with HNRNPH2 Mutation
X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is a fundamental epigenetic process that balances X-linked gene expression between females and males by silencing one X chromosome in female cells. Variability or skewing of XCI can influence the clinical presentation of X-linked disorders. Bain type X-linked intellectual disability syndrome (MRXSB), caused by mutations in the X-linked <i>HNRNPH2</i> gene, is characterized by intellectual disability, developmental delay, and neurological abnormalities. In female patients, XCI heterogeneity complicates disease modeling and therapeutic development. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a unique platform to study patient-specific disease mechanisms, but the dynamics of XCI during iPSC reprogramming, maintenance, and differentiation are not fully understood. In this study, we generated 12 iPSC clones from fibroblasts of a female MRXSB patient heterozygous for the <i>HNRNPH2</i> c.340C > T mutation. Four clones expressed the mutant <i>HNRNPH2</i> allele and eight expressed the wild-type allele, indicating X chromosome reactivation (XCR) followed by random XCI during reprogramming. Importantly, these XCI patterns remained stable during long-term iPSC propagation and subsequent differentiation into the three germ layers and neural stem cells. Our findings provide new insights into XCI and XCR dynamics in the context of X-linked neurodevelopmental disorders and emphasize the importance of careful clone selection for accurate disease modeling using iPSC-based approaches.
Authors
- Jizhong Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1021-0549)
- Catherine Z. Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6900-6553)
- Wei Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1034-0757)
- Rodney A. Bowling
- Richa Madan Lomash (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9777-0906)
- Courtney J. Banks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7079-506X)
- Alexander Rodríguez‐López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5409-3466)
- Darawalee Wangsa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8585-3077)
- Guibin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5520-1780)
- Xiuli Huang
- Kerstin A. Hurd
- Neda Ghousifam
Institutions
- Dr Marnie Rose Foundation (US)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (US)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cells
- Published
- 2025-09-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14191486
- Primary Topic
- Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00