Patent ductus arteriosus 3 (PDA3) is the isolated, nonsyndromic Mendelian form of patent ductus arteriosus caused by heterozygous variants in PRDM6, which encodes a vascular-smooth-muscle-restricted PR/SET-domain protein with histone methyltransferase activity that regulates the ductal smooth muscle gene program. Whether it represses or promotes the contractile arm of that program is disputed. Loss of PRDM6 function disturbs the program required for postnatal constriction and remodeling of the ductus arteriosus, so the duct fails to close in infants who are neither preterm nor syndromic. Affected individuals present with the hemodynamic consequences of a persistent left-to-right aortopulmonary shunt, and a subset also carry coarctation of the aorta.
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Conditions with similar clinical presentations that must be differentiated from Patent Ductus Arteriosus 3:
name: Patent Ductus Arteriosus 3
creation_date: "2026-09-03T09:20:00Z"
description: >-
Patent ductus arteriosus 3 (PDA3) is the isolated, nonsyndromic Mendelian form
of patent ductus arteriosus caused by heterozygous variants in PRDM6, which
encodes a vascular-smooth-muscle-restricted PR/SET-domain protein with histone
methyltransferase activity that regulates the ductal smooth muscle gene
program. Whether it represses or promotes the contractile arm of that program
is disputed. Loss of PRDM6 function disturbs the program required for postnatal
constriction and remodeling of the ductus arteriosus, so the duct fails to close
in infants who are neither preterm nor syndromic. Affected individuals present
with the hemodynamic consequences of a persistent left-to-right aortopulmonary
shunt, and a subset also carry coarctation of the aorta.
category: Mendelian
disease_term:
preferred_term: patent ductus arteriosus 3
term:
id: MONDO:0024266
label: patent ductus arteriosus 3
parents:
- Patent Ductus Arteriosus
- Congenital Heart Defect
synonyms:
- PDA3
- PRDM6 patent ductus arteriosus
- patent ductus arteriosus caused by mutation in PRDM6
- PRDM6-related nonsyndromic patent ductus arteriosus
notes: >-
The entry carries both readings of PRDM6's direction of effect rather than
choosing one; see the mechanistic_hypotheses groups and the
prdm6_direction_of_effect discussion.
No GeneReviews chapter exists for PDA3 or for PRDM6 (PubMed searches for
"PRDM6 GeneReviews" and "patent ductus arteriosus GeneReviews" return no
matching chapter), so no GeneReviews phenotype baseline was available. The
only GeneReviews chapter covering a Mendelian PDA is Char Syndrome, caused by
TFAP2B, which is the gene assigned to PDA2 (OMIM 617035); PDA1 (OMIM 607411) is
a separate locus. Char syndrome is a different, syndromic entity and is curated
here only as a differential diagnosis.
classifications:
harrisons_chapter:
- classification_value: CARDIOVASCULAR
- classification_value: GENETICS_ENVIRONMENT_DISEASE
inheritance:
- name: Autosomal dominant
penetrance: INCOMPLETE
expressivity: VARIABLE
description: >-
PDA3 segregates as an autosomal dominant trait: heterozygous PRDM6 variants
were identified by combined linkage analysis and whole-exome sequencing in
families with isolated nonsyndromic patent ductus arteriosus, and
heterozygous variants have since been reported in further probands with PDA
with or without coarctation of the aorta. Penetrance is incomplete: obligate
carriers in the index kindred are reported unaffected. Expressivity is variable,
ranging from isolated patent ductus arteriosus to patent ductus arteriosus with
coarctation of the aorta among carriers.
inheritance_term:
preferred_term: Autosomal dominant inheritance
term:
id: HP:0000006
label: Autosomal dominant inheritance
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Using combined genome-wide linkage analysis and whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified independent mutations in PRDM6
explanation: >-
Linkage plus exome sequencing in PDA families is the study design that
established the dominant, familial transmission of PRDM6 variants in
nonsyndromic PDA.
prevalence:
- population: Worldwide
measure_type: CASES_IN_LITERATURE
prevalence_class: ULTRA_RARE
notes: >-
PDA3 is known from a small number of families and probands rather than from
any population-based estimate. The original report described independent
mutations in families with nonsyndromic PDA; a later series added three
patients with PDA and coarctation of the aorta. No prevalence figure for the
PRDM6-related form has been published, so no rate is recorded here.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:38071433
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus and coarctation of the aorta in association with PRDM6 variants."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
We present three patients with PDA and CoA found to harbor PRDM6 variants, including a novel, likely-pathogenic variant.
explanation: >-
A three-patient series is the scale at which the PRDM6-related form is
reported, supporting a case-count rather than a population rate.
mechanistic_hypotheses:
- hypothesis_group_id: prdm6_premature_differentiation
hypothesis_label: PRDM6 loss releases ductal smooth muscle from a proliferative, undifferentiated state
status: ALTERNATIVE
description: >-
In the model proposed with the original human genetic finding, PRDM6 keeps
ductal vascular smooth muscle cells undifferentiated so that they proliferate
and populate the ductal media; PRDM6 falls postnatally as contraction-competent
cells accumulate. On this view loss of PRDM6 activity causes premature
differentiation and a shortage of the smooth muscle needed for the remodeling
that permanently occludes the duct.
notes: >-
The developmental expression time course underpinning this model is reported in
the paper's abstract without naming the species. It is graded MODEL_ORGANISM
because a time course sampling the ductus arteriosus before and after birth is
only practicable in an animal, and the deep-research report for this entry
records it as mouse immunofluorescence at E14.5, E17.5 and P0.5.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
This dynamic change suggests that PRDM6 plays a key role in maintaining VSMCs in an undifferentiated stage in order to promote their proliferation and that its loss of activity results in premature differentiation and impaired remodeling of the DA.
explanation: >-
This is the authors' explicit statement of the premature-differentiation
model that this hypothesis group records.
- hypothesis_group_id: prdm6_smc_identity
hypothesis_label: PRDM6 is required to build ductal smooth muscle contractile identity
status: ALTERNATIVE
description: >-
Conditional deletion of Prdm6 in the neural-crest lineage gives a fully
penetrant patent ductus arteriosus in which the duct is normally invested with
smooth muscle but is hypocontractile, and a ductus-enriched contractile gene
program is downregulated. On this view PRDM6 is needed to establish, rather
than to restrain, the contractile program, and PDA follows from failure of
active constriction.
notes: >-
This runs in the opposite direction to the premature-differentiation model
with respect to whether PRDM6 represses or promotes contractile gene
expression; the discrepancy is recorded as an open discussion in this entry.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
RNA-Seq analyses on DA and ascending aorta samples at E18.5 identified a DA-enriched gene program that included many SMC-selective contractile associated proteins that was downregulated by Prdm6 depletion.
explanation: >-
Downregulation of the ductal contractile program on Prdm6 loss is the
central observation behind this hypothesis.
- hypothesis_group_id: prdm6_cncc_specification
hypothesis_label: PRDM6 acts earlier, on cardiac neural crest specification and migration
status: EMERGING
description: >-
A separate mouse study places Prdm6 upstream of the smooth muscle program
altogether, as a regulator of cardiac neural crest cell specification,
delamination, and migration acting through Wnt1, Tfap2b, and Sox9 and through
H4K20 monomethylation. Patent ductus arteriosus in that model is one outcome of
a broader neural crest defect that also produces ventricular noncompaction.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
we showed that disruption of Prdm6 was associated with impaired CNCC differentiation, delamination, and migration and led to patent ductus arteriosus (DA) and ventricular noncompaction
explanation: >-
This states the neural-crest route from Prdm6 disruption to patent ductus
arteriosus that this hypothesis group records.
progression:
- phase: Neonatal presentation
notes: >-
The duct is patent at birth in a term infant. A continuous murmur, tachycardia,
or bounding pulses may be found on routine examination, but a small duct can be
clinically silent, so detection often depends on imaging rather than symptoms.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Symptoms are not always present; therefore, diagnostic imaging is critical if a PDA is suspected on clinical grounds.
explanation: >-
Supports the possibility of a clinically silent duct at this phase.
- phase: Hemodynamically significant shunt
notes: >-
With a large duct, left ventricular volume overload develops and drives the
decision to close. This is the phase at which intervention is indicated.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
PDA closure is indicated in any patient with signs of left ventricular volume overload due to a ductus
explanation: >-
Names left ventricular volume overload as the state that defines this phase
and triggers closure.
- phase: Pulmonary vascular disease
notes: >-
Sustained overcirculation in an unclosed duct raises pulmonary artery pressure.
Once severe pulmonary arterial hypertension is established, closure is no longer
straightforward and becomes conditional.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
In cases of left-to-right PDA with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, closure may be performed under specific conditions.
explanation: >-
That closure becomes conditional at this stage is what distinguishes this
phase from the preceding one.
pathophysiology:
- name: PRDM6 Loss-of-Function Variants
description: >-
Heterozygous germline PRDM6 variants are the initiating lesion in PDA3.
In vitro characterization of the variants found in PDA families showed loss of
function, either because the mutant protein is redistributed within the cell or
because its methyltransferase activity is altered.
biological_scale: MOLECULAR
mechanism_confidence: ESTABLISHED
genetic_context:
gene:
preferred_term: PRDM6
term:
id: hgnc:9350
label: PRDM6
variant_origin: GERMLINE
zygosity: HETEROZYGOUS
functional_impact_category: LOSS_OF_FUNCTION
molecular_functions:
- preferred_term: PRDM6 histone methyltransferase activity
modifier: ABNORMAL
term:
id: GO:0042054
label: histone methyltransferase activity
locations:
- preferred_term: ductus arteriosus
term:
id: UBERON:0005440
label: ductus arteriosus
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Our findings identify PRDM6 mutations as underlying genetic causes of nonsyndromic isolated PDA in humans and implicates the wild-type protein in epigenetic regulation of ductus remodeling.
explanation: >-
This states directly that PRDM6 mutations are a genetic cause of isolated
nonsyndromic PDA in humans, which is the lesion this node represents.
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: IN_VITRO
snippet: >-
In vitro assays showed that the mutations cause loss of function either by intracellular redistribution of the protein and/or by alteration of its methyltransferase activities.
explanation: >-
Cell-based assays establish the loss-of-function consequence recorded in
this node's genetic context.
downstream:
- target: Deregulated Ductal Smooth Muscle Transcriptional Program
causal_link_type: DIRECT
description: >-
Because PRDM6 acts on chromatin as a smooth-muscle-restricted transcriptional
repressor, loss of its activity is read out directly as a change in the ductal
transcriptional program.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
we identified independent mutations in PRDM6, which encodes a nuclear protein that is specific to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), has histone methyl transferase activities, and acts as a transcriptional suppressor of contractile proteins
explanation: >-
The gene product's identity as a VSMC-specific chromatin-modifying
transcriptional repressor is what makes the step from variant to altered
transcriptional program direct.
- name: Deregulated Ductal Smooth Muscle Transcriptional Program
description: >-
PRDM6 binds and regulates a large fraction of the genes whose expression it
controls in outflow tract smooth muscle, and its loss shifts the ductus-specific
gene program. This node is the shared molecular consequence from which the
competing cellular models of PDA3 diverge.
biological_scale: MOLECULAR
mechanism_confidence: ESTABLISHED
cell_types:
- preferred_term: ductal vascular smooth muscle cell
term:
id: CL:0000359
label: vascular associated smooth muscle cell
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: PRDM6-dependent transcriptional control of the ductal smooth muscle program
modifier: DYSREGULATED
term:
id: GO:0006357
label: regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II
locations:
- preferred_term: ductus arteriosus
term:
id: UBERON:0005440
label: ductus arteriosus
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing experiments in outflow tract SMCs demonstrated that 50% of the genes Prdm6 depletion altered contained Prdm6 binding sites.
explanation: >-
Occupancy at half the responsive genes puts a substantial part of the program
change under direct Prdm6 binding. The authors stop short of a wholly direct
mechanism: they report that with few exceptions Prdm6 was not bound at the
smooth-muscle-specific promoters themselves, and raise the possibility that
the identity effect is secondary to other transcriptional machinery.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Of the 519 genes that were more highly expressed in the DA by at least 1.5-fold, 319 of those were significantly (P < 0.01) downregulated by Prdm6 depletion.
explanation: >-
Quantifies how much of the ductus-versus-aorta expression signature depends on
Prdm6, which is the scale of the program change this node asserts.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Prdm6 depletion altered the expression level of many genes previously implicated in DA closure (see ref. 34 for a review), including the PGE2 receptor, EP4; the transcription factors Tfap2b, myocardin, Foxc1, and Hand2; the Notch signaling components, Jag1 and Notch3; SM MHC; integrin linked kinase; and fibulin1.
explanation: >-
Names the ductal-closure genes affected, including EP4 and Tfap2b, tying this
program to the closure machinery and to the other genetic forms of PDA.
downstream:
- target: Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_smc_identity
description: >-
On the smooth-muscle-identity model, the altered program is specifically a
loss of ductus-enriched contractile gene expression.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
RNA-Seq analyses on DA and ascending aorta samples at E18.5 identified a DA-enriched gene program that included many SMC-selective contractile associated proteins that was downregulated by Prdm6 depletion.
explanation: >-
This is the transcriptional measurement linking loss of Prdm6 to loss of
the ductal contractile identity program.
- target: Premature Ductal Smooth Muscle Differentiation
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_premature_differentiation
description: >-
On the premature-differentiation model, the same loss of repression instead
releases ductal smooth muscle cells from an undifferentiated proliferative
state too early.
- target: Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_cncc_specification
description: >-
In the neural crest model the affected program is a network of crest
specification genes rather than the mature smooth muscle contractile program.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Bulk and single-cell RNA-Seq analyses of the DA and CNCCs identified Prdm6 as a regulator of a network of CNCC specification genes, including Wnt1, Tfap2b, and Sox9.
explanation: >-
This identifies the crest specification network as the transcriptional
target set in this alternative route.
- name: Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
description: >-
Ductal smooth muscle cells lose the contraction-associated gene expression that
distinguishes the ductus arteriosus from the adjacent aorta, while still
populating the vessel wall normally.
biological_scale: CELLULAR
mechanism_confidence: PROVISIONAL
cell_types:
- preferred_term: ductal vascular smooth muscle cell
term:
id: CL:0000359
label: vascular associated smooth muscle cell
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: smooth muscle cell differentiation
modifier: ABNORMAL
term:
id: GO:0051145
label: smooth muscle cell differentiation
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Lineage tracing experiments in Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl ROSA26LacZ mice revealed normal neural crest-derived SMC investment of the outflow tract.
explanation: >-
Normal smooth muscle investment with a defective duct localizes the lesion to
cell identity and function rather than to cell number in this model. Note that
a second group reports the opposite in the same genotype; see the refuting item
below and the crest-versus-contractility discussion.
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: REFUTE
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
The examination of the DA of Prdm6fl/fl Wnt1-Cre2 ZsGreen1 mice at E17.5 showed dramatically reduced ZsGreen1-positive (NCC-derived) cells in the tunica media compared with those of the WT littermates
explanation: >-
A second lab, using the same Wnt1-Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl genotype with a different
reporter, finds the ductal media depleted of neural-crest-derived cells. That
contradicts the normal-investment premise this node rests on.
downstream:
- target: Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_smc_identity
description: >-
Loss of the contractile gene program is read out as loss of the tone that
program exists to generate.
- name: Premature Ductal Smooth Muscle Differentiation
description: >-
Ductal smooth muscle cells exit the proliferative, undifferentiated state too
early, so the ductal wall is differentiated on the wrong schedule when the
postnatal remodeling window opens. The originally proposed corollary, that the
medial cell population is thereby depleted, is refuted by the Ki67 evidence
recorded on this node.
biological_scale: CELLULAR
mechanism_confidence: HYPOTHETICAL
cell_types:
- preferred_term: ductal vascular smooth muscle cell
term:
id: CL:0000359
label: vascular associated smooth muscle cell
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: smooth muscle cell proliferation
modifier: ABNORMAL
term:
id: GO:0048659
label: smooth muscle cell proliferation
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: REFUTE
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Taken together, these findings indicated that the patency of the DA in Prdm6fl/fl Wnt1-Cre2 ZsGreen1 mice was not caused by impaired proliferation of NCC-derived SMCs.
explanation: >-
Ki67 staining found no proliferation deficit in the Prdm6-depleted duct, which
refutes the reduced-proliferation half of the premature-differentiation model.
The proliferation descriptor is therefore left as ABNORMAL rather than
DECREASED, and the node is retained only as the differentiation-timing claim.
notes: >-
The proliferation arm of this model is contradicted by direct measurement: the
original human paper inferred reduced proliferation from a developmental
expression time course, while the conditional knockout that tested it with Ki67
found none. What survives is the claim about differentiation timing, not about
medial cell number.
downstream:
- target: Impaired Ductal Wall Remodeling
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_premature_differentiation
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
its loss of activity results in premature differentiation and impaired remodeling of the DA
explanation: >-
This states the premature-differentiation step and the impaired remodeling
it is proposed to cause as one causal claim.
- name: Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
description: >-
In the neural crest model, cardiac neural crest cells fail to complete
epithelial-mesenchymal transition and migration, being retained in the dorsal
neural tube, with diminished H4K20 monomethylation and increased Wnt1
transcript levels driving the migration defect.
biological_scale: CELLULAR
mechanism_confidence: HYPOTHETICAL
cell_types:
- preferred_term: migratory cardiac neural crest cell
term:
id: CL:2000073
label: migratory cardiac neural crest cell
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: neural crest cell differentiation
modifier: ABNORMAL
term:
id: GO:0014033
label: neural crest cell differentiation
- preferred_term: neural crest cell migration
modifier: DECREASED
term:
id: GO:0001755
label: neural crest cell migration
- preferred_term: epithelial to mesenchymal transition
modifier: DECREASED
term:
id: GO:0001837
label: epithelial to mesenchymal transition
notes: >-
Contested. The group that proposed this route reports depleted neural-crest
investment of the ductal media; the group that curated the contractility route
reports normal investment in the same genotype, found no migration defect in
outflow-tract smooth muscle culture, and argues that a patent duct in an
SM22-Cre model, where deletion happens only after crest migration is complete,
makes a migration defect an unlikely primary cause. Both positions are cited
here and the disagreement is carried as an open discussion.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
This defect was associated with diminished H4K20 monomethylation and G1-S progression and augmented Wnt1 transcript levels in pre-EMT and neural tube clusters, which we showed was the major driver of the impaired CNCC migration.
explanation: >-
This gives the chromatin and Wnt1 mechanism behind the migration defect this
node represents.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: REFUTE
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
As shown in Figure 4, we did not detect differences in neural crest cell investment of the ductus or the morphology of the ductus medial SMC layer.
explanation: >-
A direct failure to replicate the investment defect on which this node's
mechanism depends.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: REFUTE
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Since Prdm6 depletion in this model occurs only after the migration and SMC differentiation of neural crest cells, it seems unlikely that the patent DA phenotype observed in Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl mice was due primarily to a failure of neural crest migration.
explanation: >-
The genetic timing argument: a patent duct in a model where Prdm6 is deleted
after crest migration has finished cannot be explained by failed migration.
downstream:
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
causal_link_type: INDIRECT_KNOWN_INTERMEDIATES
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_cncc_specification
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
we showed that disruption of Prdm6 was associated with impaired CNCC differentiation, delamination, and migration and led to patent ductus arteriosus (DA) and ventricular noncompaction
explanation: >-
This links the crest defect to patent ductus arteriosus as its outcome.
- name: Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
description: >-
The ductus arteriosus generates insufficient smooth muscle tone to constrict
after birth. Myography of ductal segments from Prdm6-depleted embryos shows
reduced tone and contractility despite normal smooth muscle investment.
biological_scale: TISSUE
mechanism_confidence: PROVISIONAL
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: vascular associated smooth muscle contraction
modifier: DECREASED
term:
id: GO:0014829
label: vascular associated smooth muscle contraction
locations:
- preferred_term: ductus arteriosus
term:
id: UBERON:0005440
label: ductus arteriosus
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
myography measurements on DA segments isolated from E18.5 embryos indicated that Prdm6 depletion significantly reduced DA tone and contractility
explanation: >-
Direct physiological measurement of reduced ductal tone is the observation
this node records.
downstream:
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_smc_identity
description: >-
Functional closure is achieved by constriction, so a duct that cannot generate
tone cannot take the first step of closing.
- name: Impaired Ductal Wall Remodeling
description: >-
The intimal thickening and medial reorganization that normally convert the
functionally constricted duct into a permanently occluded ligamentum arteriosum
do not proceed. Failure of this smooth-muscle-driven remodeling step is the
common endpoint shared by the syndromic and nonsyndromic genetic forms of PDA.
biological_scale: TISSUE
mechanism_confidence: PROVISIONAL
cell_types:
- preferred_term: ductal vascular smooth muscle cell
term:
id: CL:0000359
label: vascular associated smooth muscle cell
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: intimal thickening and fibrotic remodeling of the ductal wall
modifier: DECREASED
term:
id: GO:0048771
label: tissue remodeling
locations:
- preferred_term: ductus arteriosus
term:
id: UBERON:0005440
label: ductus arteriosus
evidence:
- reference: PMID:19955832
reference_title: "Insights into the pathogenesis and genetic background of patency of the ductus arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: OTHER
snippet: >-
Genes that interfere with the remodeling of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of the ductal media are affected in virtually all of these anomalies.
explanation: >-
This review of the genetic forms of PDA places failed smooth-muscle-driven
remodeling of the ductal media at the convergence point, which is what this
node represents.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: OTHER
snippet: >-
Full anatomic closure takes place over a longer period and involves intimal thickening and eventual fibrotic remodeling of the DA into a remnant structure known as the ligamentum arteriosum
explanation: >-
Defines the remodeling process, distinct from functional constriction, whose
failure this node records. Graded OTHER because the sentence is background
physiology the authors cite to a review, not a result of their experiments.
downstream:
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
causal_link_type: DIRECT
hypothesis_groups:
- prdm6_premature_differentiation
description: >-
Permanent closure requires the intimal and medial remodeling step, so a duct
that cannot remodel stays open even if it constricts.
- name: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
description: >-
The ductus arteriosus does not undergo the functional constriction and
subsequent anatomic obliteration that normally follow birth, and remains patent
in a term infant with no prematurity-related or syndromic explanation.
biological_scale: ORGANISM
mechanism_confidence: ESTABLISHED
biological_processes:
- preferred_term: ductus arteriosus closure
modifier: ABSENT
term:
id: GO:0097070
label: ductus arteriosus closure
locations:
- preferred_term: ductus arteriosus
term:
id: UBERON:0005440
label: ductus arteriosus
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
PDA in term infants is usually associated with a functional defect, whereas in preterm infants it is associated with immaturity.
explanation: >-
This distinguishes the intrinsic ductal defect operating in term infants,
which is the setting of PDA3, from prematurity-associated failure to close.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Prdm6 depletion in Wnt1-expressing cells during development resulted in perinatal lethality and a completely penetrant patent ductus arteriosus (DA) phenotype.
explanation: >-
Complete penetrance of patent ductus arteriosus on Prdm6 loss supports this
node as the consequence of the upstream ductal defect.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
While this procedure resulted in premature DA closure in all littermate controls, it had no effect on DA closure in Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl fetuses
explanation: >-
Prostaglandin inhibition closes the duct in controls but not in the mutant, so
the closure trigger is intact while the duct cannot execute it, which is the
distinction this node turns on.
downstream:
- target: Patent ductus arteriosus
causal_link_type: DIRECT
description: >-
The unclosed duct is the clinical lesion itself, so this edge is the
mechanism-to-phenotype step rather than a further consequence.
- target: Coarctation of aorta
causal_link_type: INDIRECT_UNKNOWN_INTERMEDIATES
description: >-
Drawn because the aortic isthmus carries ductal smooth muscle at its junction
with the duct, so the same smooth-muscle lesion is a plausible route to arch
narrowing. The intermediate steps are not established, and the co-occurrence
rests on a three-patient series.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:38071433
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus and coarctation of the aorta in association with PRDM6 variants."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
We present three patients with PDA and CoA found to harbor PRDM6 variants, including a novel, likely-pathogenic variant.
explanation: >-
The co-occurrence this edge records, at the strength the series supports.
- target: Persistent Left-to-Right Aortopulmonary Shunt
causal_link_type: DIRECT
description: >-
An open duct shunts once pulmonary vascular resistance falls after birth.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
In the neonate, however, persistent patency of the ductus arteriosus (DA) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
explanation: >-
Establishes that persistent patency, not merely a structural finding, carries
hemodynamic consequence.
- name: Persistent Left-to-Right Aortopulmonary Shunt
description: >-
With the duct open and pulmonary vascular resistance falling after birth, blood
shunts from the aorta into the pulmonary artery. The resulting pulmonary
overcirculation and left heart volume load produce the clinical findings of the
lesion.
biological_scale: ORGANISM
mechanism_confidence: ESTABLISHED
locations:
- preferred_term: pulmonary artery
term:
id: UBERON:0002012
label: pulmonary artery
evidence:
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
PDA closure is indicated in any patient with signs of left ventricular volume overload due to a ductus
explanation: >-
Left ventricular volume overload is the recognized hemodynamic consequence of
the persistent shunt that this node represents.
downstream:
- target: Heart murmur
causal_link_type: DIRECT
description: >-
Continuous flow across the duct is audible.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Clinical signs of ductal patency include murmur, tachycardia, bounding peripheral pulses, and congestive heart failure and associated symptoms.
explanation: >-
Names murmur as a sign produced by ductal patency, which is this edge.
- target: Congestive heart failure
causal_link_type: DIRECT
description: >-
Left heart volume loading from a large shunt produces heart failure.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Clinical signs of ductal patency include murmur, tachycardia, bounding peripheral pulses, and congestive heart failure and associated symptoms.
explanation: >-
The same list names congestive heart failure as a consequence of ductal
patency.
- target: Pulmonary arterial hypertension
causal_link_type: INDIRECT_KNOWN_INTERMEDIATES
description: >-
Sustained overcirculation remodels the pulmonary vasculature over years, so
the step runs through pulmonary vascular disease rather than directly.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
In cases of left-to-right PDA with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, closure may be performed under specific conditions.
explanation: >-
A left-to-right duct reaching severe pulmonary arterial hypertension is the
end state this edge records.
phenotypes:
- category: Cardiovascular
name: Patent ductus arteriosus
description: >-
Persistent postnatal patency of the ductus arteriosus in the absence of a
syndromic diagnosis or prematurity. This is the defining lesion of PDA3.
frequency: OBLIGATE
phenotype_term:
preferred_term: Patent ductus arteriosus
term:
id: HP:0001643
label: Patent ductus arteriosus
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Our findings identify PRDM6 mutations as underlying genetic causes of nonsyndromic isolated PDA in humans and implicates the wild-type protein in epigenetic regulation of ductus remodeling.
explanation: >-
This establishes isolated nonsyndromic patent ductus arteriosus as the
phenotype caused by PRDM6 mutations.
- reference: PMID:38071433
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus and coarctation of the aorta in association with PRDM6 variants."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Pathogenic variants in PRDM6, which encodes a smooth-muscle-cell-specific transcription factor, have now been etiologically associated with non-syndromic PDA.
explanation: >-
An independent group confirms the PRDM6-PDA association in their patients.
- category: Cardiovascular
name: Coarctation of aorta
description: >-
Narrowing of the thoracic aorta at the isthmus, reported alongside patent
ductus arteriosus in PRDM6 variant carriers. Because the aortic isthmus and the
ductus share ductal smooth muscle at their junction, a smooth-muscle-identity
lesion is a plausible route to both, but the reported series is three patients
and does not by itself establish coarctation as a component of PDA3. No
frequency band is assigned: the only series was ascertained for the
PDA-plus-coarctation combination, so it cannot estimate how often carriers have
it.
phenotype_term:
preferred_term: Coarctation of aorta
term:
id: HP:0001680
label: Coarctation of aorta
evidence:
- reference: PMID:38071433
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus and coarctation of the aorta in association with PRDM6 variants."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
We present three patients with PDA and CoA found to harbor PRDM6 variants, including a novel, likely-pathogenic variant.
explanation: >-
This is the direct report of coarctation of the aorta co-occurring with PDA
in PRDM6 variant carriers.
- category: Cardiovascular
name: Heart murmur
description: >-
A murmur is the usual presenting sign of an unrepaired duct. The classic
finding is the continuous machinery murmur of flow across the duct through both
systole and diastole.
phenotype_term:
preferred_term: Heart murmur
term:
id: HP:0030148
label: Heart murmur
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Clinical signs of ductal patency include murmur, tachycardia, bounding peripheral pulses, and congestive heart failure and associated symptoms.
explanation: >-
Murmur is listed first among the clinical signs of ductal patency, the lesion
PDA3 causes.
notes: >-
Cited from the general patent ductus arteriosus literature rather than from a
PRDM6 cohort: this is a consequence of the shunt lesion, not a
PDA3-specific finding. Bound to the general HP:0030148 rather than to
HP:0031670 Continuous heart murmur: no reference cached for this entry uses the
word continuous, so the narrower term would outrun its evidence.
- category: Cardiovascular
name: Congestive heart failure
description: >-
Volume loading of the left heart from a large shunt produces heart failure
with the associated feeding difficulty and failure to thrive of infancy.
phenotype_term:
preferred_term: Congestive heart failure
term:
id: HP:0001635
label: Congestive heart failure
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Clinical signs of ductal patency include murmur, tachycardia, bounding peripheral pulses, and congestive heart failure and associated symptoms.
explanation: >-
Names congestive heart failure outright as a clinical sign of ductal patency.
notes: >-
Cited from the general patent ductus arteriosus literature rather than from a
PRDM6 cohort: this is a consequence of the shunt lesion, not a
PDA3-specific finding.
- category: Cardiovascular
name: Pulmonary arterial hypertension
description: >-
Sustained pulmonary overcirculation from an unrepaired duct can raise pulmonary
artery pressure and, if untreated, progress to irreversible pulmonary vascular
disease with shunt reversal.
phenotype_term:
preferred_term: Pulmonary arterial hypertension
term:
id: HP:0002092
label: Pulmonary arterial hypertension
evidence:
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
In cases of left-to-right PDA with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, closure may be performed under specific conditions.
explanation: >-
Severe pulmonary arterial hypertension is recognized as a state a
left-to-right duct can reach, and it changes closure decisions.
notes: >-
Cited from the general patent ductus arteriosus literature rather than from a
PRDM6 cohort: this is a consequence of the shunt lesion, not a
PDA3-specific finding.
genetic:
- name: PRDM6
association: Causal
presence: Positive
relationship_type: CAUSATIVE
variant_origin: GERMLINE
gene_term:
preferred_term: PRDM6
term:
id: hgnc:9350
label: PRDM6
notes: >-
PRDM6 encodes a nuclear PR/SET-domain protein restricted to vascular smooth
muscle cells, with histone methyltransferase activity. The discovery paper
describes it as a transcriptional suppressor of contractile proteins; the
conditional knockout work reads the same gene as required to build that
contractile program, and the entry carries the disagreement rather than
settling it. Heterozygous variants cause
isolated nonsyndromic patent ductus arteriosus.
The parent entry Patent_Ductus_Arteriosus curates PRDM6 as a developmental
susceptibility locus for PDA generally and explicitly does not curate it there
as a deterministic Mendelian cause; this entry is where the Mendelian
PRDM6-caused form is curated. The three variants listed carry ClinVar accessions,
each classified Pathogenic for patent ductus arteriosus 3; their domain
assignments come from the primary article's body, which is not in the reference
cache, so they are described rather than cited to a snippet.
variants:
- name: c.1646G>A (p.Arg549Gln)
description: >-
Missense variant in the fourth zinc-finger region. Reported in the index
kindred and characterized in vitro as loss of function through cytoplasmic
mislocalization of the protein.
clinical_significance: PATHOGENIC
regulatory_category: LOF
type: missense_variant
identifiers:
- ClinVar:VCV000243049
- name: c.788G>C (p.Cys263Ser)
description: >-
Missense variant in the SET (PR) domain, the catalytic region, reported in a
proband with affected mother and maternal grandfather.
clinical_significance: PATHOGENIC
regulatory_category: LOF
type: missense_variant
identifiers:
- ClinVar:VCV000243050
- name: c.1385A>G (p.Gln462Arg)
description: >-
Missense variant reported in an affected mother and daughter.
clinical_significance: PATHOGENIC
regulatory_category: LOF
type: missense_variant
identifiers:
- ClinVar:VCV000243051
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Our findings identify PRDM6 mutations as underlying genetic causes of nonsyndromic isolated PDA in humans and implicates the wild-type protein in epigenetic regulation of ductus remodeling.
explanation: >-
Direct statement of PRDM6 as the causal gene for this entity.
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: IN_VITRO
snippet: >-
In vitro assays showed that the mutations cause loss of function either by intracellular redistribution of the protein and/or by alteration of its methyltransferase activities.
explanation: >-
Establishes loss of function as the mechanism of the disease-associated
variants.
animal_models:
- name: Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl mouse
species: Mouse
genotype: Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl (neural-crest-lineage conditional Prdm6 deletion)
publication: PMID:36749647
description: >-
Conditional deletion of Prdm6 in Wnt1-expressing cells gives perinatal
lethality with a fully penetrant patent ductus arteriosus, normal
neural-crest-derived smooth muscle investment of the outflow tract, and reduced
ductal tone on myography.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility.
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
we examined Prdm6's role in SMCs in vivo using cell type-specific knockout mouse models
explanation: >-
States the model system, a cell-type-specific conditional knockout, that this
animal model record describes.
modeled_mechanisms:
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
relationship: RECAPITULATES
fidelity: MODERATE
description: >-
The model reproduces the defining lesion of PDA3 with complete penetrance.
limitations: >-
Human PDA3 arises from heterozygous variants with partial loss of function,
whereas this model is a homozygous conditional null restricted to the
neural-crest lineage, and it is perinatally lethal in a way human PDA3 is not.
readouts:
- name: Patent ductus arteriosus at birth
target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
direction: ABOLISHED
interpretation: >-
Ductal closure is abolished in every mutant, the structural correlate of
this node.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Prdm6 depletion in Wnt1-expressing cells during development resulted in perinatal lethality and a completely penetrant patent ductus arteriosus (DA) phenotype.
explanation: >-
Reports the ductal patency measurement behind this readout.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
As depicted in Figure 3, we observed a patent DA in all Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl mice, but not in littermate control animals
explanation: >-
The patency finding in this exact genotype against littermate controls is
what makes the model informative for the ductal closure node.
- target: Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
relationship: RECAPITULATES
fidelity: MODERATE
description: >-
Myography on ductal segments provides the physiological measurement of reduced
contractility that the tone node asserts.
limitations: >-
Tone was measured in embryonic (E18.5) ductal segments ex vivo, so it does not
capture the postnatal oxygen- and prostaglandin-dependent constriction that
fails in the human disease.
readouts:
- name: Ductal tone and contractility by myography
target: Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
direction: DECREASED
interpretation: >-
Reduced tone is the direct functional correlate of the contractility node.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
myography measurements on DA segments isolated from E18.5 embryos indicated that Prdm6 depletion significantly reduced DA tone and contractility
explanation: >-
Reports the myography measurement behind this readout.
- name: Depolarization-induced ductal constriction
target: Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
direction: ABOLISHED
interpretation: >-
The duct cannot contract even to a depolarizing stimulus that bypasses
receptor signaling, placing the defect in the contractile apparatus itself.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
While 50 mM KCl resulted in an 80% decrease in the diameter of DA segments isolated from littermate controls, it had virtually no effect on DA segments isolated from Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl mouse embryos
explanation: >-
Reports the KCl challenge behind this readout.
- name: Oxygen-induced ductal constriction
target: Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
direction: ABOLISHED
interpretation: >-
The rise in oxygen tension that normally constricts the duct after birth
produces no response, which is the physiological form of the closure
failure.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Time-limited exposures to increasing oxygen concentrations in the circulating buffer resulted in significant constriction of control DA segments as expected (Figure 5C), but this response was completely absent in Prdm6-depleted DA segments.
explanation: >-
Reports the oxygen challenge behind this readout.
- name: Prdm6fl/fl Wnt1-Cre2 ZsGreen1 mouse
species: Mouse
genotype: Prdm6fl/fl Wnt1-Cre2 ZsGreen1 (neural-crest-lineage conditional Prdm6 deletion with a ZsGreen1 lineage reporter)
publication: PMID:35108221
description: >-
Disruption of Prdm6 in cardiac neural crest cells impairs their differentiation,
delamination, and migration and produces patent ductus arteriosus together with
ventricular noncompaction.
notes: >-
This is the same conditional cross as the Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl record above,
differing in the lineage reporter (ZsGreen1 here, ROSA26LacZ there). It is kept
as a separate record because the two labs report opposite results for ductal
neural-crest investment in that shared genotype, which is the substance of the
crest-versus-contractility discussion. The same study also reports a patent duct
in a Prdm6fl/fl SM22-Cre smooth-muscle-restricted cross, which is not curated as
its own record here.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration.
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Here, we identified Prdm6 as an epigenetic modifier that temporally and spatially regulates the expression of NCC specifiers and determines the fate of a subset of migrating cardiac NCCs (CNCCs).
explanation: >-
Establishes the neural-crest role of Prdm6 that makes this model informative
for the crest mechanism curated here.
modeled_mechanisms:
- target: Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
relationship: RECAPITULATES
fidelity: MODERATE
description: >-
The model is the sole source of the neural-crest route in this entry, with
lineage tracing and single-cell transcriptomics supporting the migration
defect.
limitations: >-
The crest defect has not been demonstrated in human PDA3 tissue, and this
model also produces ventricular noncompaction, which is not a reported feature
of the human PRDM6-related phenotype.
readouts:
- name: Retention of neural crest cells in the dorsal neural tube
target: Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
direction: INCREASED
interpretation: >-
Failure to leave the neural tube is the cellular correlate of the migration
defect this node asserts.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Loss of Prdm6 in CNCCs diminished its expression in the pre-epithelial-mesenchymal transition (pre-EMT) cluster, resulting in the retention of NCCs in the dorsal neural tube.
explanation: >-
Reports the retention measurement behind this readout.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
we showed that disruption of Prdm6 was associated with impaired CNCC differentiation, delamination, and migration and led to patent ductus arteriosus (DA) and ventricular noncompaction
explanation: >-
Establishes that this model is informative for a crest mechanism that ends
in patent ductus arteriosus.
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
relationship: PARTIALLY_RECAPITULATES
fidelity: LOW
description: >-
The model produces patent ductus arteriosus, but as one element of a broader
neural crest phenotype that includes ventricular noncompaction.
limitations: >-
Human PDA3 is by definition isolated and nonsyndromic, so a model whose ductal
lesion comes packaged with ventricular noncompaction departs from the human
entity in exactly the feature that defines it.
- name: Prdm6fl/fl SM22-Cre mouse
species: Mouse
genotype: Prdm6fl/fl SM22-Cre (smooth-muscle-restricted conditional Prdm6 deletion)
publication: PMID:35108221
description: >-
Deleting Prdm6 in smooth muscle rather than in the neural crest lineage still
gives a completely penetrant patent duct, with contractile genes as the most
downregulated transcripts and proliferation unchanged. This is the model that
carries the most weight in the crest-versus-contractility disagreement: Prdm6 is
lost here only after crest migration and differentiation are complete, so a
patent duct in this cross cannot be explained by failed crest migration.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Gross anatomical examination of the cardiovascular system showed a PDA, albeit with a smaller diameter compared with Prdm6fl/fl Wnt1-Cre2 ZsGreen1 mice
explanation: >-
Establishes the ductal phenotype in the smooth-muscle-restricted cross.
modeled_mechanisms:
- target: Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
relationship: RECAPITULATES
fidelity: MODERATE
description: >-
Contractile transcripts are the genes most reduced in this duct, which is the
claim the identity node makes, obtained without touching the crest lineage.
limitations: >-
A homozygous conditional null, whereas human PDA3 is heterozygous; and the
duct is smaller than in the crest-restricted cross, so the two lineages are
not fully interchangeable.
readouts:
- name: Ductal contractile gene expression
target: Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
direction: DECREASED
interpretation: >-
Tagln and Myh11 as the top downregulated genes is the transcriptional
signature of lost contractile identity.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
bulk RNA-Seq analysis of E17.5 DA from Prdm6fl/fl SM22-Cre mice and WT littermates identified contractile proteins, such as Tagln and Myh11, as the most downregulated genes in the DA of Prdm6fl/fl SM22-Cre mice versus WT littermates
explanation: >-
Reports the RNA-seq measurement behind this readout.
- name: Ductal smooth muscle proliferation by Ki67
target: Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
direction: UNCHANGED
interpretation: >-
A negative result that matters: the duct fails with a normal proliferative
index, so the lesion is differentiation, not cell supply.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Once again, we detected no significant difference in Ki67 staining between Prdm6fl/fl SM22-Cre and WT littermates
explanation: >-
Reports the Ki67 measurement behind this readout.
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
relationship: RECAPITULATES
fidelity: MODERATE
description: >-
Completely penetrant ductal patency in both sexes.
limitations: >-
Homozygous conditional null and perinatally lethal, unlike the human
heterozygous condition.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
The cross-section examination of the DA showed complete patency of DA (Figure 5B), a completely penetrant trait in both male and female mice
explanation: >-
Establishes complete penetrance of the closure failure in this model.
diagnosis:
- name: Echocardiographic identification of ductal patency
description: >-
Transthoracic echocardiography establishes the presence of the duct and the
magnitude of the shunt, including the left heart volume loading that drives the
decision to close.
diagnosis_term:
preferred_term: echocardiography
term:
id: NCIT:C16525
label: Echocardiography Test
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Symptoms are not always present; therefore, diagnostic imaging is critical if a PDA is suspected on clinical grounds.
explanation: >-
States the necessity of imaging for diagnosis, which echocardiography provides
for this lesion.
- name: PRDM6 sequencing
description: >-
Molecular confirmation of PDA3 requires demonstrating a heterozygous PRDM6
variant. The causal gene was found by exome sequencing, and sequencing remains
the route to the diagnosis in a term infant with isolated PDA and a suggestive
family history.
diagnosis_term:
preferred_term: genetic testing
term:
id: NCIT:C15709
label: Genetic Testing
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Using combined genome-wide linkage analysis and whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified independent mutations in PRDM6
explanation: >-
Sequencing is the method by which PRDM6 variants are identified in affected
individuals.
treatments:
- name: Transcatheter device closure
description: >-
Catheter-delivered coils or duct occluders close the duct and are the standard
of care for most patients. Because PDA3 is a structural failure of ductal
smooth muscle rather than a prostaglandin-mediated failure to constrict,
mechanical closure, not pharmacological closure, is the definitive treatment.
therapeutic_modality: DEVICE
treatment_term:
preferred_term: transcatheter ductal occlusion
term:
id: NCIT:C168283
label: Interventional Cardiac Catheterization
target_mechanisms:
- target: Persistent Left-to-Right Aortopulmonary Shunt
description: >-
Occluding the duct abolishes the shunt; it does not correct the underlying
smooth muscle defect.
notes: >-
The device itself is not bound as a qualifier: NCIT has no occluder or duct
occluder term (searches for occluder, septal occluder device and vascular
occlusion device return nothing usable), so the device convention in CLAUDE.md
has nothing to attach. The devices are named in the evidence snippet instead.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Transcatheter PDA closure is the standard of care in most cases and PDA closure is indicated in any patient with signs of left ventricular volume overload due to a ductus.
explanation: >-
Establishes transcatheter closure as standard of care and states the
indication.
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Coils and the Amplatzer Duct Occluder are used most frequently for PDA closure worldwide, with a high occlusion rate and few complications.
explanation: >-
Names the devices used and supports the efficacy and safety of the approach.
- name: Surgical ductal ligation
description: >-
Surgical ligation or division of the duct remains an option where transcatheter
closure is not feasible, notably in very small infants in whom device delivery
is technically difficult.
therapeutic_modality: SURGERY
treatment_term:
preferred_term: surgical ductal ligation
term:
id: NCIT:C15270
label: Ligation
target_mechanisms:
- target: Persistent Left-to-Right Aortopulmonary Shunt
description: >-
Ligation interrupts the shunt at the duct.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Three management strategies are currently available for PDA: fluid restriction and diuretics (as clinically appropriate), medical intervention, and surgical ligation.
explanation: >-
Lists surgical ligation among the established management strategies for a
persistent duct.
- reference: PMID:24560920
reference_title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Transcatheter PDA closure in preterm or low-bodyweight infants remains a highly challenging procedure and further device and catheter design development is indicated before transcatheter closure is the treatment of choice in this delicate patient population.
explanation: >-
Supports retaining a surgical option where the transcatheter route is
technically challenging.
- name: Cyclooxygenase-inhibitor pharmacologic closure
description: >-
Indomethacin and ibuprofen close the duct in preterm infants by suppressing the
prostaglandin E2 tone that maintains patency. They are recorded here for
contrast rather than as a treatment for this disease: PDA3 is a defect of the
ductal smooth muscle program rather than of the prostaglandin signal, and in the
Prdm6-deficient mouse duct the same prostaglandin-inhibition manoeuvre that
closes control ducts does nothing. No trial of pharmacologic closure in a PRDM6
variant carrier has been reported.
therapeutic_modality: SMALL_MOLECULE
treatment_term:
preferred_term: Pharmacotherapy
term:
id: NCIT:C15986
label: Pharmacotherapy
therapeutic_agent:
- preferred_term: indomethacin
term:
id: CHEBI:49662
label: indometacin
- preferred_term: ibuprofen
term:
id: CHEBI:5855
label: ibuprofen
target_mechanisms:
- target: Failure of Postnatal Ductal Closure
description: >-
The intended target is the prostaglandin tone holding the duct open. In PDA3
the block sits downstream of that signal, which is why this link is recorded
with refuting evidence rather than as a working treatment.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Pharmacologic closure can be achieved via administration of intravenous indomethacin or ibuprofen lysine.
explanation: >-
Establishes the pharmacologic closure option that exists for a persistent
duct, the paradigm this entry is contrasting against.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: REFUTE
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
While this procedure resulted in premature DA closure in all littermate controls, it had no effect on DA closure in Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl fetuses
explanation: >-
Refutes pharmacologic closure as a treatment route when the PRDM6-dependent
ductal program is lost: prostaglandin inhibition closed control ducts and not
Prdm6-deficient ones.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: REFUTE
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
As with indomethacin treatment, oxygen exposure for 1 hour did not stimulate DA closure in Wnt1Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl animals (data not shown).
explanation: >-
The second physiological closure trigger also fails, reinforcing that the
block is downstream of the closure signals rather than in them.
notes: >-
The refuting evidence is from a homozygous conditional mouse null, not from
human PRDM6 variant carriers, so it constrains the expected mechanism rather
than reporting a failed human treatment.
- name: Supportive care for a symptomatic shunt
description: >-
Fluid restriction and diuretics manage the volume-loaded circulation of a large
shunt while closure is arranged. This treats the hemodynamic consequence, not
the duct.
notes: >-
No therapeutic_modality is tagged: this entry bundles a fluid-management measure
with a drug class, and neither SMALL_MOLECULE nor BEHAVIORAL is true of both.
treatment_term:
preferred_term: Supportive Care
term:
id: NCIT:C15747
label: Supportive Care
target_mechanisms:
- target: Persistent Left-to-Right Aortopulmonary Shunt
description: >-
Reducing circulating volume lessens the load the shunt imposes without
altering the shunt itself.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Three management strategies are currently available for PDA: fluid restriction and diuretics (as clinically appropriate), medical intervention, and surgical ligation.
explanation: >-
Lists fluid restriction and diuretics as one of the established management
strategies for a persistent duct.
- name: Genetic counseling and cascade family evaluation
description: >-
Autosomal dominant transmission puts a 50 percent chance of inheriting the
variant on each pregnancy of a carrier parent. That is the transmission risk and
not the risk of disease: penetrance is incomplete, so a carrier child may never
develop a patent duct, and counseling has to separate the two numbers. Expressivity
among carriers ranges from isolated patent ductus arteriosus to patent ductus
arteriosus with coarctation of the aorta. First-degree relatives of an affected
individual warrant evaluation.
therapeutic_modality: BEHAVIORAL
treatment_term:
preferred_term: Genetic Counseling
term:
id: NCIT:C15240
label: Genetic Counseling
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
directness: INDIRECT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
Using combined genome-wide linkage analysis and whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified independent mutations in PRDM6
explanation: >-
Familial linkage transmission is what makes recurrence-risk counseling and
relative evaluation applicable; the counseling recommendation follows from the
inheritance pattern rather than being stated in the paper.
differential_diagnoses:
- name: Char syndrome
description: >-
The syndromic Mendelian form of PDA, caused by TFAP2B variants, in which ductal
patency comes with facial dysmorphism and hand anomalies. PDA3 is by definition
isolated and nonsyndromic, so the extracardiac features separate them.
distinguishing_features:
- Facial dysmorphism and fifth-finger anomalies absent in PDA3
- TFAP2B rather than PRDM6 as the causal gene
evidence:
- reference: PMID:19955832
reference_title: "Insights into the pathogenesis and genetic background of patency of the ductus arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: OTHER
snippet: >-
Genetic research has identified the cause of syndromic forms of PDA, such as the TFAP2B mutations in Char syndrome.
explanation: >-
Identifies Char syndrome and its causal gene as the syndromic genetic
alternative to a nonsyndromic PRDM6-related duct.
- name: MYH11-related thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection with patent ductus arteriosus
description: >-
A separate dominant smooth-muscle disorder in which patent ductus arteriosus
comes with thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissection and marked aortic stiffness
even in asymptomatic carriers. It shares the theme of a smooth-muscle
contractile-protein lesion with PDA3 but is not confined to the duct, so an
aortic assessment separates the two.
distinguishing_features:
- Thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissection, absent in PDA3
- Aortic stiffness in asymptomatic carriers
- MYH11 rather than PRDM6 as the causal gene
evidence:
- reference: PMID:16444274
reference_title: "Mutations in myosin heavy chain 11 cause a syndrome associating thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection and patent ductus arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
We have recently described two kindreds presenting thoracic aortic aneurysm and/or aortic dissection (TAAD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and mapped the disease locus to 16p12.2-p13.13
explanation: >-
Establishes the combined TAAD-plus-PDA entity that has to be told apart from
an isolated genetic duct.
- reference: PMID:16444274
reference_title: "Mutations in myosin heavy chain 11 cause a syndrome associating thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection and patent ductus arteriosus."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
All individuals bearing the heterozygous mutations, even if asymptomatic, showed marked aortic stiffness.
explanation: >-
Aortic stiffness in asymptomatic carriers is the finding that makes aortic
assessment discriminating here.
- name: Prematurity-associated patent ductus arteriosus
description: >-
Far the commonest cause of a persistent duct, in which failure to close follows
immaturity of the oxygen- and prostaglandin-dependent closure mechanisms rather
than an intrinsic genetic defect of the ductal wall. This form is often
responsive to cyclooxygenase inhibition, which is not the treatment paradigm for
PDA3.
distinguishing_features:
- Preterm gestation
- Failure of the prostaglandin-dependent closure mechanism rather than a ductal smooth muscle gene defect
evidence:
- reference: PMID:23055849
reference_title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: >-
PDA in term infants is usually associated with a functional defect, whereas in preterm infants it is associated with immaturity.
explanation: >-
Draws exactly the distinction that separates a genetic term-infant duct from
the prematurity-associated form.
discussions:
- discussion_id: prdm6_direction_of_effect
kind: CONTROVERSY
status: OPEN
prompt: >-
Does PRDM6 loss cause patent ductus arteriosus by releasing ductal smooth
muscle cells into premature differentiation, or by failing to build their
contractile identity in the first place?
attaches_to:
- pathophysiology#Deregulated Ductal Smooth Muscle Transcriptional Program
- pathophysiology#Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
- pathophysiology#Premature Ductal Smooth Muscle Differentiation
- mechanistic_hypotheses#prdm6_premature_differentiation
- mechanistic_hypotheses#prdm6_smc_identity
rationale: >-
The two published models assign opposite signs to the same molecule. The human
genetic study describes PRDM6 as a transcriptional suppressor of contractile
proteins that holds ductal smooth muscle cells undifferentiated, so that loss of
function produces premature differentiation. The conditional knockout study finds
that loss of Prdm6 downregulates a ductus-enriched contractile gene program and
reduces ductal tone, which is what a positive, identity-building role predicts.
Both are supported by direct data, though not symmetrically: two independent
conditional-knockout datasets report reduced contractile gene expression on
Prdm6 loss, while the premature-differentiation model rests on an expression
time course plus in vitro assays, and its reduced-proliferation corollary was
subsequently refuted by Ki67 measurement. The entry carries both rather than
silently retiring one. Resolving the direction of effect matters because it
determines whether a therapeutic aimed at the ductal smooth muscle program would
need to promote or restrain contractile differentiation.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27181681
reference_title: Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus.
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
This dynamic change suggests that PRDM6 plays a key role in maintaining VSMCs in an undifferentiated stage in order to promote their proliferation and that its loss of activity results in premature differentiation and impaired remodeling of the DA.
explanation: >-
One side of the disagreement: PRDM6 restrains differentiation, so its loss
causes premature differentiation.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility.
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
RNA-Seq analyses on DA and ascending aorta samples at E18.5 identified a DA-enriched gene program that included many SMC-selective contractile associated proteins that was downregulated by Prdm6 depletion.
explanation: >-
The other side: Prdm6 loss reduces rather than releases contractile gene
expression in the ductus.
proposed_experiments:
- experiment_id: prdm6_dose_matched_contractile_program
name: Contractile gene program in dose-matched PRDM6 loss
description: >-
Profile the contractile gene program and the proliferative index of ductal
smooth muscle across a PRDM6 dosage series (heterozygous patient-variant
knock-in, heterozygous null, homozygous null) in the same ductal tissue and at
matched developmental stages, so that the direction of effect is read from one
comparable experiment rather than across two study designs.
readouts:
- name: Ductal contractile gene expression
target: pathophysiology#Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
interpretation: >-
Downregulation across the dosage series favors the identity-building model.
- name: Ductal smooth muscle proliferative index
target: pathophysiology#Premature Ductal Smooth Muscle Differentiation
interpretation: >-
An early fall in proliferation with early contractile marker gain favors the
premature-differentiation model.
would_support:
- pathophysiology#Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
would_refute:
- pathophysiology#Premature Ductal Smooth Muscle Differentiation
supporting_outcome:
- >-
Ductal contractile gene expression falls with reducing PRDM6 dose while the
proliferative index is unchanged or increased.
refuting_outcome:
- >-
Contractile markers appear earlier than in wild-type ducts and the
proliferative index falls, with medial cellularity reduced at term.
- discussion_id: prdm6_crest_versus_contractility
kind: CONTROVERSY
status: OPEN
prompt: >-
Does the Prdm6-null duct stay open because neural crest cells never populate its
media, or because the smooth muscle that does populate it cannot contract?
attaches_to:
- pathophysiology#Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
- pathophysiology#Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
- mechanistic_hypotheses#prdm6_cncc_specification
- mechanistic_hypotheses#prdm6_smc_identity
rationale: >-
Two labs ran the same Wnt1-Cre2 Prdm6fl/fl cross and disagree on the finding the
crest model rests on. One reports the ductal media dramatically depleted of
neural-crest-derived cells by E17.5; the other reports investment and medial
morphology indistinguishable from controls, finds no migration defect in
outflow-tract smooth muscle culture, and points out that the same study's
SM22-Cre model, in which Prdm6 goes only after crest migration is complete, also
gives a patent duct. The two groups used different reporters and detection
methods, which is the explanation offered for the discrepancy but has not been
tested. This is a sharper disagreement than the direction-of-effect one, because
the two positions predict different treatable steps: a cell-supply failure fixed
before birth, or a contractile failure present in a normally built wall.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:35108221
reference_title: "Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
The examination of the DA of Prdm6fl/fl Wnt1-Cre2 ZsGreen1 mice at E17.5 showed dramatically reduced ZsGreen1-positive (NCC-derived) cells in the tunica media compared with those of the WT littermates
explanation: >-
The crest-depletion side of the disagreement.
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
As shown in Figure 4, we did not detect differences in neural crest cell investment of the ductus or the morphology of the ductus medial SMC layer.
explanation: >-
The normal-investment side, from the same genotype.
proposed_experiments:
- experiment_id: prdm6_crest_investment_replication
name: Reporter-matched replication of ductal neural crest investment
description: >-
Quantify neural-crest-derived cells in the ductal media of Wnt1-Cre2
Prdm6fl/fl embryos at a fixed stage, with both reporters and both detection
methods run side by side on the same litters, so the discrepancy is tested
rather than attributed to methodology.
readouts:
- name: Neural-crest-derived cell fraction in the ductal tunica media
target: pathophysiology#Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
interpretation: >-
A deficit reproduced under both detection methods would settle the question
for the crest model; a deficit visible under only one would locate the
disagreement in the assay.
would_support:
- pathophysiology#Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
would_refute:
- pathophysiology#Loss of Ductal Smooth Muscle Contractile Identity
supporting_outcome:
- >-
Neural-crest-derived cells are reduced in the mutant ductal media under both
reporters and both detection methods.
refuting_outcome:
- >-
Investment is normal under both methods, leaving the contractile defect as the
operative lesion.
- discussion_id: prdm6_human_tissue_gap
kind: HUMAN_MODEL_MISMATCH
status: OPEN
prompt: >-
Do the mouse ductal and neural crest phenotypes reflect what heterozygous PRDM6
variants do in the human ductus arteriosus?
attaches_to:
- pathophysiology#Impaired Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Specification and Migration
- pathophysiology#Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
rationale: >-
Every mechanistic step below the variant itself rests on mouse models that delete
Prdm6 homozygously in a lineage-restricted way and are perinatally lethal, while
human PDA3 is a viable heterozygous condition. One of those models also produces
ventricular noncompaction, which is not reported in PRDM6 variant carriers, so
the models are not simply milder or stronger versions of the human disease.
No human ductal tissue from a PRDM6 variant carrier has been profiled. The
dosage mismatch is not merely quantitative: in the mouse, losing one copy of
Prdm6 leaves ductal closure intact, whereas in humans a single altered copy is
sufficient to cause disease.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:36749647
reference_title: "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: MODEL_ORGANISM
snippet: >-
Taken together these data indicated that PRDM6 expression was absolutely required for DA closure, that Cre expression alone or deletion of 1 copy of PRDM6 had no effect on ductus closure, and that the floxed PRDM6 allele behaved in a manner similar to the WT allele.
explanation: >-
A heterozygous mouse deletion leaves ductal closure normal while human
heterozygous variants cause disease, which is the dosage mismatch this
discussion records.
proposed_experiments:
- experiment_id: prdm6_human_ductal_tissue
name: Molecular profiling of ductal tissue from PRDM6 variant carriers
description: >-
Collect ductal tissue at the time of surgical ligation from patients with a
confirmed heterozygous PRDM6 variant and profile smooth muscle contractile
gene expression, medial cellularity, and intimal cushion formation against
duct tissue from term infants closing without a PRDM6 variant.
readouts:
- name: Ductal medial smooth muscle contractile marker expression
target: pathophysiology#Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
interpretation: >-
Reduced contractile marker expression in human carrier tissue would carry the
mouse finding across to the human duct.
would_support:
- pathophysiology#Impaired Ductal Contractile Tone
supporting_outcome:
- >-
Carrier ductal tissue shows reduced contractile marker expression and absent
intimal cushion formation relative to non-carrier term ductal tissue.
refuting_outcome:
- >-
Carrier ductal tissue is indistinguishable from non-carrier term ductal tissue
in contractile marker expression and medial structure.
datasets:
- accession: geo:GSE221004
title: Effect of smooth muscle specific PRDM6 depletion on Aorta and Ductus Arterious (DA) development
data_type: BULK_RNA_SEQ
sample_count: 24
organism:
preferred_term: mouse
term:
id: NCBITaxon:10090
label: Mus musculus
genes:
- preferred_term: PRDM6
term:
id: hgnc:9350
label: PRDM6
publication: PMID:36749647
notes: >-
The RNA-seq comparison of ductus arteriosus against ascending aorta with and
without Prdm6 depletion that identifies the downregulated ductus-enriched
contractile gene program curated in this entry. Relevance triaged manually:
the series is about the ductus arteriosus and the causal gene of this entry,
not merely a PRDM6 gene-name match.
- accession: geo:GSE221094
title: Determining the PRDM6 genomic binding sites in primary outflow tract smooth muscle cells
data_type: CHIP_SEQ
sample_count: 4
organism:
preferred_term: mouse
term:
id: NCBITaxon:10090
label: Mus musculus
genes:
- preferred_term: PRDM6
term:
id: hgnc:9350
label: PRDM6
publication: PMID:36749647
notes: >-
The ChIP-seq series behind the finding that half the genes altered by Prdm6
depletion carry Prdm6 binding sites, which is what supports a primary
transcriptional mechanism in this entry rather than a secondary effect.
references:
- reference: PMID:27181681
title: Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus.
- reference: PMID:36749647
title: Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility.
- reference: PMID:35108221
title: Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration.
- reference: PMID:38071433
title: Patent ductus arteriosus and coarctation of the aorta in association with PRDM6 variants.
- reference: PMID:16444274
title: Mutations in myosin heavy chain 11 cause a syndrome associating thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection and patent ductus arteriosus.
- reference: PMID:23055849
title: "Patent ductus arteriosus: an overview."
- reference: PMID:24560920
title: "Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: past, present and future."
- reference: PMID:19955832
title: Insights into the pathogenesis and genetic background of patency of the ductus arteriosus.
mappings:
icd10cm_mappings:
- term:
id: ICD10CM:Q25.0
label: Patent ductus arteriosus
mapping_predicate: skos:broadMatch
mapping_justification: semapv:ManualMappingCuration
notes: >-
A broadMatch, not an exact one. ICD-10-CM codes the lesion and not its cause,
so Q25.0 covers prematurity-associated, syndromic, and PRDM6-related ducts
alike; there is no PDA3-specific code.
review_notes: >-
Three things in the primary report sit in the article body rather than in the
abstract that is cached here, so they are handled without a snippet. Incomplete
penetrance and variable expressivity are recorded as enum values on the
inheritance block, which take no evidence. The three missense variants are
recorded in `genetic[].variants` with their ClinVar accessions, each classified
Pathogenic for patent ductus arteriosus 3; their domain assignments are described
rather than cited. The in vitro histone-mark reversal and MYH11 suppression assays
are still uncurated: they are substantive claims that would need a quote, and a
curator with full-text access should add them. A second `just fetch-reference
PMID:27181681` run against the PMC4908195 record after review still returned
abstract_only, so the gap is in what the fetcher can reach, not an omission.
The entry deliberately carries two live disagreements rather than resolving
either. On direction of effect, the discovery paper and the conditional knockouts
read PRDM6's role oppositely. On lesion location, two labs ran the same Wnt1-Cre2
Prdm6fl/fl cross and disagree on whether the ductal media is populated normally.
Nodes on both sides therefore carry REFUTE evidence alongside their support, which
is intended, not an oversight.
Deep research results are used as seeds for research; they do not undergo the same validation as the main records and may contain errors. How we use deep research.
Review response: repair corrupted description, revert HP:0031670, move rationale to notes · 2026-09-03T15:44:16Z · View source
Response to the ai4c-reviewer CHANGES_REQUESTED review on PR 10701 and to its follow-up approval. Correction to the earlier record in this directory. The 2026-09-03T100712Z record states 'HP:0030148 replaced by HP:0031670 Continuous heart murmur'. That change was reversed here: the word continuous appears in no reference cached for this entry, so the narrower term outran its snippet and the binding is back to HP:0030148 Heart murmur, with the node name, preferred_term and term label now agreeing. History records are append-only, so the earlier line stands as an accurate account of what that session did; this record is the correction. Blocking defect fixed. The top-level description had been corrupted during the previous session's edits: a copy of a biological_processes block landed inside the folded scalar and the intended prose was fused onto the end of a label: line. Because a >- scalar makes that one valid string, schema validation, term validation, snippet verification and every content gate passed while the rendered disease page would have shown a YAML fragment as the description. Restored, then every string value in the file was parsed and scanned for embedded keys (984 scalars, zero suspect), and the page was rendered to confirm the description comes out as prose. The root cause was blind string replacement on prose that shared wording with the block being edited, with no re-read of the file head afterwards; rendering the page and scanning scalars are now part of the loop rather than an afterthought. Other review items: dropped therapeutic_modality SMALL_MOLECULE from the supportive-care treatment, which bundles fluid restriction with diuretics so neither SMALL_MOLECULE nor BEHAVIORAL fits; gave Impaired Ductal Wall Remodeling the cell type and process its siblings carry (CL:0000359, GO:0048771 tissue remodeling, modifier DECREASED); retried just fetch-reference PMID:27181681 against PMC4908195, which still returns abstract_only, so the in vitro histone-mark, MYH11 suppression and no-dominant-negative claims stay uncurated and review_notes records the retry. Then, on the approving re-review's first two suggestions: curation rationale that had been written into reader-facing description fields was moved into notes. Affected the Heart murmur phenotype (why the narrower HP term was not used), the supportive-care treatment (why no modality is tagged), the top-level description (that the entry carries both readings of PRDM6's direction of effect, now in the entry notes), and the inheritance description (that penetrance and expressivity are enum values rather than cited claims, already covered in review_notes). Description fields now carry clinical prose only. Not acted on: the reviewer also noted the PR body's validation section is stale, still reporting the deep-research report's term-validation numbers including an obsolete GO:0034770 that appears nowhere in the entry. That body was generated by the PR-creation UI rather than by this session; the discrepancy was corrected in a PR comment, and editing the body itself is left to the PR author. Validation: just validate and just validate-disorders pass, 77/77 snippets verified, all content gates clean, full-file scalar scan clean. Model id omitted from this record for the same reason as the two earlier ones.
Create: Patent Ductus Arteriosus 3 (PRDM6, MONDO:0024266) · 2026-09-03T09:42:03Z · View source
New Mendelian entry for the PRDM6-caused, isolated nonsyndromic form of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA3). Deleted the matching stub. Deep research: 'just research-disorder falcon Patent_Ductus_Arteriosus_3' failed because EDISON_API_KEY is present but empty (403 ProviderAuthError). Re-run with the fallback mechanism rather than hand-substituting a provider. A first '--fallback' run selected openscientist, which hung with no output for ~40 minutes (OPENSCIENTIST_API_KEY is also empty) and was killed; the run was then repeated as 'just dr_fallback=--fallback-provider claude_code research-disorder falcon Patent_Ductus_Arteriosus_3', which produced research/Patent_Ductus_Arteriosus_3-deep-research-claude_code.md with fell_back/requested_provider/provider_attempts recorded in its frontmatter. Report validation read before use: reference_validation needs_review true, 14/15 verified, one unresolved identifier (PMC:PMC38071433, a malformed PMC id built from PMID 38071433 digits) and one off-topic DOI. Neither was cited; the underlying paper is cited as PMID:38071433, which resolves and is cached. term_validation needs_review true with three mislabelled terms, all placeholder text the report itself wrote ('verify', 'verify via OAK', 'Ontology identifier for PDA3'), plus obsolete GO:0034770 (histone H4-K20 methylation) which was not bound. The report also suggested UBERON:0002106 for ductus arteriosus, which is spleen; the entry binds UBERON:0005440 instead. GeneReviews: PubMed searches for 'PRDM6 GeneReviews[All Fields]' and 'patent ductus arteriosus GeneReviews[All Fields]' return no chapter for PDA3 or PRDM6. The only Mendelian-PDA chapter is Char Syndrome (TFAP2B, PDA1/PDA2), a different syndromic entity, curated here only as a differential diagnosis. Recorded in the entry notes. Lump/split: curated as a separate DISEASE rather than a subtype of Patent_Ductus_Arteriosus. That entry curates PRDM6 as a developmental susceptibility locus and states explicitly that it is not curated there as a deterministic Mendelian cause, so the Mendelian form had no home. Content: a nine-node causal chain from heterozygous PRDM6 loss of function to the left-to-right shunt, deliberately branching at the transcriptional-program node into three hypothesis groups because the literature disagrees about the direction of PRDM6's effect. Li 2016 (human genetics plus in vitro) has PRDM6 restraining differentiation, so loss causes premature differentiation; Zou 2023 (conditional knockout) has Prdm6 building contractile identity, so loss reduces contractile gene expression and ductal tone. Both are curated as ALTERNATIVE hypotheses with a CONTROVERSY discussion and a dose-matched experiment proposal rather than silently preferring one. A third EMERGING group carries the cardiac-neural-crest route from Hong 2022. A HUMAN_MODEL_MISMATCH discussion records that mouse heterozygous Prdm6 deletion leaves ductal closure intact while human heterozygous variants cause disease. Two animal models with modeled_mechanisms and five readouts, including ABOLISHED depolarization- and oxygen-induced ductal constriction. A pharmacotherapy entry carries two REFUTE evidence items: indomethacin and 100 percent oxygen both close control ducts and fail in the Prdm6-deficient duct, which is why mechanical closure and not COX inhibition is the treatment paradigm here. Datasets: geo:GSE221004 and geo:GSE221094 added after manual relevance triage (both are PRDM6 ductus arteriosus series from PMID:36749647). The PRDM6 medulloblastoma and generic zinc-finger series that discover-datasets surfaced were GENE_ONLY name matches and were excluded. Deliberately not curated, recorded in review_notes: incomplete penetrance, the three specific missense variants, and the in vitro histone-mark and MYH11 assays. All are in the Li 2016 article body, and only its abstract is in the reference cache, so citing them would mean a snippet that cannot be verified. Validation: just validate passes (schema, terms, 59/59 snippets verified); just validate-disorders passes; check-entity-refs, check-causal-targets, check-duplicate-keys, check-enum-values, check-qualifier-terms, check-folded-hyphens, check-snippet-length, check-title-snippets, check-snippet-grading and check-environmental-evidence all clean; just verify-datasets resolves both accessions; compliance 86.0 percent. No DOI-keyed evidence items, so the snippet audit needed no --unskip-prefix run. The model id field is omitted from this record because this session's configuration forbids writing a model identifier into repository artifacts; the session URL in links carries the provenance.
Overview. Patent ductus arteriosus 3 (PDA3) is an autosomal-dominant, non-syndromic (isolated) form of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) caused by heterozygous loss-of-function mutation in PRDM6 (PR/SET domain 6; chromosome 5q23.2). The ductus arteriosus is the fetal vessel connecting the main pulmonary artery to the descending aorta that normally closes within hours to weeks of birth; in PDA3 the vessel remains patent because the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of the ductus fail to differentiate and remodel normally, independent of prematurity or other congenital heart disease. PDA3 was defined by Li et al. (2016) after linkage mapping in a large African-American kindred (PDA-101) segregating autosomal-dominant PDA with incomplete penetrance, followed by whole-exome sequencing that identified PRDM6 mutations (Li et al. 2016, AJHG, PMID:27181681).
Key identifiers: - OMIM phenotype: #617039 – PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS 3; PDA3 (omim.org/entry/617039) - OMIM gene: 616982 – PR DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 6; PRDM6 (omim.org/entry/616982) - MONDO: MONDO:0024266 – "patent ductus arteriosus 3," defined as "Any patent ductus arteriosus in which the cause of the disease is a mutation in the PRDM6 gene" - Orphanet (parent nosologic entity): ORPHA:466729 – Familial patent arterial duct (rare, non-syndromic, autosomal-dominant congenital anomaly of the great arteries) — note that PDA in general is not itself in the Orphanet rare-disease nomenclature (ORPHA:706, "non-rare in Europe"); it is the familial/genetic form that is classified as rare (Orphanet) - ICD-10-CM: Q25.0 – Patent ductus arteriosus (the general code; no PDA3-specific code exists) - Gene (HGNC): PRDM6, HGNC:9350, 5q23.2 (GeneCards) - Related loci for genetic heterogeneity of isolated PDA: PDA1 (OMIM 607411, reference/heterogeneity locus symbol), PDA2 (OMIM 617035, caused by TFAP2B, 6p12), PDA3 (OMIM 617039, PRDM6). TFAP2B is also the gene mutated in Char syndrome (syndromic PDA with facial dysmorphism and fifth-finger clinodactyly), and MYH11 mutations cause a distinct syndrome combining thoracic aortic aneurysm/dissection with PDA (not itself numbered "PDA3"). - Synonyms:* PRDM6-related patent ductus arteriosus; familial nonsyndromic patent ductus arteriosus (PRDM6 form)
Evidence basis. All data on PDA3 specifically derive from aggregated, family-based genetic studies (linkage + exome sequencing across pedigrees and unrelated probands) plus a small number of subsequent case reports, not large-scale EHR/individual-patient registries — reflecting its rarity (three known causal variants reported to date, expanded to a handful of additional cases in follow-up reports).
Disease causal factor: Heterozygous, non-conservative missense mutation in PRDM6, acting via loss of function (impaired nuclear localization and/or altered histone methyltransferase activity), inherited in an autosomal-dominant pattern with incomplete penetrance.
Three independent PRDM6 mutations have been reported, all in individuals/families with isolated (nonsyndromic) PDA and normal-term birth (i.e., not a prematurity-related PDA):
| Variant (cDNA) | Protein change | Domain | Family context |
|---|---|---|---|
| c.1646G>A | p.Arg549Gln (R549Q) | Fourth zinc-finger domain (nuclear localization) | Large African-American kindred PDA-101 (9 affected across generations); segregated with disease, absent in unaffected relatives and all exome databases |
| c.788G>C | p.Cys263Ser (C263S) | SET domain (chromatin regulation) | Proband whose deceased mother and maternal grandfather were also affected |
| c.1385A>G | p.Gln462Arg (Q462R) | — | Affected mother and daughter; predicted deleterious by PolyPhen and SIFT |
Statistical enrichment: recurrent independent PRDM6 mutations in this small sample were judged unlikely by chance (p < 4.74 × 10⁻⁶); no nonsynonymous PRDM6 variant was found among 2,000 healthy white control exomes (Li et al. 2016, PMID:27181681).
A subsequent case series identified additional/novel PRDM6 variants (including a previously unreported likely-pathogenic variant) in three patients presenting with both PDA and coarctation of the aorta, extending the phenotypic spectrum beyond isolated PDA (Stanley et al. 2024, Am J Med Genet A, PMID:38071433, PMC summary).
Gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) in the same cohort found that rare deleterious variants in broader histone-modification pathway genes were significantly associated with PDA in 15 of 32 affected individuals (estimated OR = 14.95), suggesting epigenetic dysregulation is a recurring theme in nonsyndromic PDA beyond PRDM6 alone.
No specific genetic or environmental protective factors have been reported for PDA3. For prematurity-associated PDA generally, antenatal corticosteroids reduce PDA incidence indirectly by reducing prematurity-related morbidity; this is not disease-specific to PDA3.
Not established for PDA3; the mechanism is described as a cell-autonomous VSMC differentiation/epigenetic defect rather than gene-environment interaction.
PDA3 presents as an essentially isolated cardiovascular malformation — the reported kindreds and cases are notable for the absence of syndromic features (no consistent facial dysmorphism, limb anomaly, or other organ-system involvement), distinguishing it from Char syndrome (TFAP2B/PDA2).
| Phenotype | Type | HPO suggestion | Onset | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patent ductus arteriosus | Congenital structural cardiac anomaly | HP:0001643 (Patent ductus arteriosus) | Congenital (present at birth in term infants) | Core/defining feature; failure of ductal closure |
| Continuous ("machinery") heart murmur | Clinical sign | HP:0030148 (Heart murmur) — general term; a specific "continuous murmur" HPO term should be confirmed via OAK/HPO browser before use | Infancy | Classic auscultatory finding of a large PDA |
| Congestive heart failure (if large shunt) | Clinical sign/complication | HP:0001635 (Congestive heart failure) | Infancy–childhood, dependent on shunt size | Secondary to left-to-right shunt volume overload |
| Pulmonary arterial hypertension (if large, uncorrected shunt) | Clinical sign/complication | HP:0002092 (Pulmonary hypertension) | Progresses over years if untreated | ~50% of infants with large nonrestrictive PDA develop pulmonary hypertension by early childhood |
| Coarctation of the aorta (in some PRDM6-variant carriers) | Congenital structural cardiac anomaly | HP:0001680 (Coarctation of aorta) | Congenital | Reported co-occurring with PDA in 3 patients with PRDM6 variants (Stanley et al. 2024) — extends phenotype beyond "isolated PDA" |
| Reduced penetrance / asymptomatic carriers | — | — | — | Some obligate carriers in reported pedigrees do not manifest PDA, consistent with incomplete, age-independent penetrance |
Severity/progression: Severity is determined by shunt size (small/moderate/large), not by genotype specifically; no PDA3-specific genotype-phenotype severity correlation has been established given the small number of reported families. Course is not episodic — an uncorrected large PDA follows a progressive trajectory toward pulmonary vascular disease if untreated, while a small PDA may remain stable or even undergo spontaneous late closure in rare cases (uncommon after infancy in term-born PDA).
Quality of life impact: Direct QOL data for PDA3 specifically are not available. For symptomatic PDA generally, unrepaired large shunts are associated with exercise intolerance, failure to thrive in infancy, and, if progressing to Eisenmenger physiology, cyanosis and severe functional limitation.
Causal gene: PRDM6 (PR domain-containing protein 6), HGNC:9350, chromosome 5q23.2. OMIM gene entry *616982.
Gene product/function: PRDM6 is a nuclear protein expressed selectively in vascular smooth muscle cells. It contains a SET (PR) domain with histone methyltransferase activity and zinc-finger DNA/protein-interaction domains. It acts as a transcriptional repressor of VSMC contractile genes (e.g., MYH11, α-smooth muscle actin) and cooperates with myocardin-related transcription factor-A (MRTF-A) and other SMC transcriptional regulators; it also epigenetically regulates neural-crest-cell specification genes (Wnt1, Tfap2b, Sox9) via H4K20 monomethylation, controlling G1–S progression needed for neural crest delamination/migration into the ductal wall (Zou et al. 2023, JCI Insight, PMID:36749647; additional neural-crest mechanistic paper, PMC8876496).
Variant classification (ACMG/AMP framework, as reported by original authors, not formally re-classified in ClinVar at time of writing):
| Variant | Type | Predicted effect | Population frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| p.Arg549Gln | Missense | Loss of function — cytoplasmic mislocalization, altered methyltransferase output | Absent from >2,000 control exomes and population databases (gnomAD not specifically reported in source, but described as absent from exome variant databases at publication) |
| p.Cys263Ser | Missense (SET domain) | Loss of function — retained nuclear localization but altered histone methylation activity | Absent from controls |
| p.Gln462Arg | Missense | Predicted deleterious (PolyPhen, SIFT) | Absent from controls |
Zygosity/origin: All reported variants are heterozygous, germline, consistent with autosomal-dominant transmission (no somatic PDA3 cases reported; PDA is not a neoplastic condition).
Functional consequences (mechanistically loss-of-function, established in vitro): - Subcellular mislocalization: Wild-type PRDM6 and p.Cys263Ser localize normally to the nucleus in HEK293 cells and human aortic VSMCs; p.Arg549Gln is predominantly mislocalized to the cytoplasm, with co-staining excluding ER/Golgi/mitochondrial retention — consistent with impaired nuclear import via the disrupted zinc-finger domain. - Histone methyltransferase activity reversed: Wild-type PRDM6 reduces H3K9 dimethylation and increases H4K20 dimethylation; both p.Arg549Gln and p.Cys263Ser show completely opposite effects on these histone marks. - Failure to suppress contractile proteins: Wild-type PRDM6 overexpression suppresses MYH11 in human aortic VSMCs; both mutant proteins largely fail to reduce MYH11, and variant-expressing cells show higher steady-state MYH11 and α-SMA than wild-type. - No dominant-negative dimerization effect: Native PAGE excluded altered wild-type/variant heterodimerization as the mechanism — supporting simple haploinsufficiency-type loss of function rather than dominant-negative protein poisoning.
Modifier genes: None specifically established for PDA3; broader GSEA-level enrichment of histone-modification-pathway variants in the same cohort suggests a possible oligogenic/epigenetic modifier landscape, but no individual modifier gene has been validated.
Epigenetic information: PDA3 is fundamentally a disorder of epigenetic dysregulation — PRDM6 is itself a chromatin-modifying enzyme, and its variants alter H3K9me2/H4K20me2 marks at target loci controlling VSMC differentiation genes. This is the central molecular lesion, not a downstream epiphenomenon.
Chromosomal abnormalities: None reported for PDA3 specifically (contrast with PDA broadly, where trisomy 21/18/13 are well-known non-Mendelian causes).
Suggested ontology terms:
- Gene: HGNC:9350 (PRDM6); note dismech convention uses lowercase hgnc:9350
- GO Molecular Function candidates (verify via OAK before binding): histone methyltransferase activity (GO:0042054/more specific child terms), histone H4-K20 methyltransferase activity (GO:0140945 or similar — verify), DNA-binding transcription repressor activity
- GO Biological Process candidates: negative regulation of transcription (GO:0045892), histone H4-K20 methylation (GO:0034770), regulation of smooth muscle cell differentiation, neural crest cell migration (GO:0001755)
PDA3 itself is a monogenic condition with no reported environmental modifiers of penetrance or expressivity in the literature. Environmental factors relevant to PDA as a broader clinical entity (but not specifically implicated in the PRDM6-driven form): - Congenital rubella syndrome (infectious/teratogenic) — classic non-genetic cause of PDA, histologically distinct (elastic tissue fragmentation in the ductal wall) from the genetic forms. - Prematurity/hypoxia/high altitude — drive the far more common, non-genetic "premature PDA," mechanistically related to immature oxygen-sensing and prostaglandin-clearance pathways rather than a structural/differentiation gene defect. - No infectious agent, toxin, or lifestyle factor has been linked causally to PDA3.
Loss-of-function via (a) impaired nuclear localization (p.Arg549Gln) and (b) altered catalytic/chromatin-binding output of the SET domain (p.Cys263Ser and, inferentially, p.Gln462Arg) — not dominant-negative dimerization.
Not applicable in the classic sense (no cell death/fibrosis/oxidative injury described); the "tissue damage" analog is a developmental patterning failure — the ductal wall never acquires the mature, contractile, remodeling-competent VSMC phenotype needed for closure.
None reported.
Organ level: - Primary: Ductus arteriosus (fetal/perinatal vascular structure connecting main pulmonary artery to descending aorta, just distal to the left subclavian artery origin). - Secondary (downstream, shunt-dependent): Left atrium and left ventricle (volume overload/dilation), pulmonary arteries (pressure/flow overload → pulmonary vascular remodeling), and — in the co-occurring phenotype reported by Stanley et al. — the aortic arch (coarctation). - Body systems: Cardiovascular system primarily; pulmonary vascular bed secondarily if the shunt is large and uncorrected.
Tissue/cell level: - Ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cells (specifically — not aortic SMCs, which do not show the same PRDM6 developmental expression decline) are the principal cell population implicated. - Endothelial cells of the ductal intima participate in the normal anatomic remodeling process (subendothelial migration, cushion formation) that fails in PDA3. - Cardiac/vascular neural crest cells contribute to the ductal SMC layer during development; their delamination/migration is impaired in Prdm6-deficient mouse models.
Subcellular level: - Nucleus (site of normal PRDM6 chromatin-modifying activity; site of pathology when nuclear import is disrupted by p.Arg549Gln). - Chromatin/histones (H3K9, H4K20 methylation marks directly altered).
Localization: The ductus arteriosus is a midline, typically solitary structure — laterality is not applicable in the way it is for paired organs; it lies at the aortic isthmus, adjacent to the site where coarctation (also reported in some PRDM6-variant carriers) occurs.
Suggested UBERON term: ductus arteriosus (UBERON:0002106 — verify via OAK).
Onset: Congenital — present from birth in structurally term-appropriate infants (as opposed to prematurity-related PDA, which is a consequence of gestational immaturity rather than a fixed structural anomaly). PDA3 pedigrees are explicitly described as comprising term-born affected individuals.
Onset pattern: The structural lesion is congenital, but clinical detection may occur at any point from the newborn period (murmur on routine exam) through adulthood (incidental finding, or presentation with heart failure/pulmonary hypertension symptoms in a previously undiagnosed adult).
Progression: - Untreated small PDA: often clinically silent and hemodynamically insignificant; may remain stable indefinitely. - Untreated large/moderate PDA: progressive — left heart volume overload → pulmonary overcirculation → progressive pulmonary vascular remodeling → pulmonary arterial hypertension (in ~50% of infants with large nonrestrictive PDA by early childhood) → potential Eisenmenger physiology (shunt reversal, cyanosis, arrhythmia, sudden death) if never closed. - Once anatomically closed (surgically or via catheter device), the ductal lesion itself is cured; any established pulmonary vascular disease may or may not regress depending on how long it was present before closure.
Critical period: The perinatal window (first hours to ~3 weeks after birth) is the critical period for normal anatomic closure (functional closure within hours; anatomic remodeling to a permanent fibrous seal over 2–3 weeks). This is precisely the window in which the PRDM6-dependent transcriptional/epigenetic program is disrupted in PDA3.
Remission: Spontaneous late closure of an isolated PDA in an otherwise term, structurally normal infant beyond early infancy is uncommon; treatment-induced closure (catheter device or surgical ligation) is the standard "remission" pathway.
Epidemiology of PDA (general, not PDA3-specific): PDA occurs in 1 in 2,000–5,000 term/live births and accounts for 5–7% of all congenital heart defects; incidence is far higher in preterm infants (up to 70–80% in extremely low-birth-weight infants), but this preterm form is developmentally/mechanistically distinct from PDA3.
PDA3 specifically: Exceedingly rare — the literature to date comprises one large index kindred (PDA-101, 9 affected individuals) plus a small number of additional unrelated probands/families (2 further mutation-positive cases in the original report, plus 3 more recently reported patients with PDA/coarctation and PRDM6 variants). No formal population prevalence estimate exists; it should be considered an "ultra-rare"/"cases in literature" tier of the PrevalenceClassEnum sense.
Inheritance pattern: Autosomal dominant, with incomplete penetrance — explicitly demonstrated in the PDA-101 kindred, where some obligate mutation carriers did not manifest PDA, and further supported by the general finding that PDA has "great phenotypic variability" across TFAP2B/PRDM6 families.
Penetrance: Incomplete; not formally quantified numerically in the literature (unlike some Mendelian conditions with published penetrance percentages).
Expressivity: Variable — ranging from isolated PDA to PDA with coarctation of the aorta in different PRDM6-variant carriers (Stanley et al. 2024).
Genetic anticipation: Not reported/applicable (not a repeat-expansion disorder).
Germline mosaicism: Not specifically reported for PDA3.
Founder effects: Not established; the index kindred is African-American, and additional families are of Iranian and North American/white ancestry in the discovery cohort — suggesting independent mutational events rather than a single founder haplotype.
Consanguinity: Not reported as a feature (autosomal dominant, not recessive).
Carrier frequency: Not applicable in the traditional AR sense; population allele frequency of the specific PRDM6 missense variants is essentially zero in reference databases (absent from >2,000 control exomes at publication).
Population demographics: No specific ethnic/geographic enrichment beyond the ancestry of the reported families (African-American, Iranian, white/North American); sex ratio and detailed age-distribution data specific to PDA3 have not been published (too few cases). For PDA broadly, a female predominance (roughly 2:1 to 3:1) is well documented, but this figure should not be assumed to hold for the genetic PDA3 subtype without dedicated data.
Clinical tests: - Auscultation: classic continuous ("machinery") murmur, best heard at the left infraclavicular/upper sternal border, in a hemodynamically significant PDA. - Echocardiography (2D with color-flow and spectral Doppler) is the primary diagnostic and confirmatory test, establishing ductal patency, direction/velocity of shunt flow, and chamber size/loading conditions. It is standard for both symptomatic detection and "clinically silent" PDA found incidentally on color-flow imaging. - Chest radiography: may show cardiomegaly and increased pulmonary vascular markings in a large shunt (nonspecific). - Cardiac catheterization: used both diagnostically (hemodynamic assessment, pulmonary vascular resistance calculation before intervention in older patients/pulmonary hypertension) and therapeutically (device closure).
Genetic testing: - No PDA3-specific clinical panel is described in the literature reviewed; given the described disease model, genetic evaluation of isolated/familial (rather than prematurity-associated) PDA would reasonably include a congenital heart disease gene panel (covering TFAP2B, PRDM6, NOTCH1, MYH11, FOXC2, etc.) or whole-exome sequencing, particularly when PDA occurs in a term infant with a family history of PDA/other CHD and no syndromic features. - Chromosomal microarray is indicated to exclude aneuploidy/CNV causes of PDA in the differential (trisomy 21/18/13, other CNVs) before attributing an isolated PDA to a monogenic cause like PRDM6. - Sanger confirmation of a candidate PRDM6 variant, with segregation analysis in the family, was the approach used in the discovery studies.
Clinical criteria / differential diagnosis: Differentiate PDA3 from: - Prematurity-associated PDA (gestational-age history is key). - Char syndrome (TFAP2B) — look for facial dysmorphism and 5th-finger clinodactyly/middle-phalanx hypoplasia. - Chromosomal syndromes (trisomy 21/18/13) via karyotype/microarray. - Congenital rubella syndrome — maternal infection history, additional classic triad features (cataracts, sensorineural hearing loss). - Other genetic CHD-PDA associations (e.g., MYH11-associated TAAD/PDA syndrome — screen for aortic aneurysm).
Screening: No population or targeted genetic screening program exists for PDA3 specifically; pulse oximetry newborn screening detects critical CHD generally but is not ductus-specific, and an isolated PDA (without other critical CHD) may not be reliably flagged by oximetry screening alone.
Survival/mortality: With modern transcatheter or surgical closure, prognosis for isolated PDA (including the PDA3 genetic form) is excellent, with normalization of cardiac loading and low procedural mortality. Untreated large PDA carries substantial long-term morbidity/mortality risk via progression to pulmonary arterial hypertension and Eisenmenger syndrome, which is associated with arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death as late complications.
Morbidity: - Congestive heart failure and failure to thrive in infancy with a large untreated shunt. - Progressive pulmonary vascular disease (~50% of infants with large nonrestrictive PDA develop pulmonary hypertension by early childhood if uncorrected). - Increased risk of infective endarteritis of the ductal lesion (a recognized general PDA complication, though specific incidence data for PDA3 are not available). - In the subset of PRDM6-variant carriers with co-occurring coarctation of the aorta, additional morbidity from arch obstruction (hypertension, arch re-intervention risk) applies.
Recovery potential: Full anatomic and hemodynamic correction is achieved with device or surgical closure in the great majority of cases; pulmonary vascular changes that have already become fixed (established Eisenmenger physiology) may not fully reverse even after closure, and closure can be contraindicated in advanced Eisenmenger physiology (shunt reversal used for right-ventricular decompression).
Prognostic factors: Shunt size/hemodynamic significance, age/timing of diagnosis and closure, and presence of associated lesions (e.g., coarctation) are the operative prognostic variables; no PRDM6-genotype-specific prognostic marker has been established given the small case numbers.
Pharmacotherapy: Pharmacologic ductal closure agents (indomethacin, ibuprofen, and increasingly paracetamol/acetaminophen — all COX inhibitors reducing PGE2 synthesis) are the mainstay for prematurity-associated PDA in neonates, effective in roughly 70–80% of extremely-low-birth-weight infants. This pharmacologic approach is not the relevant treatment paradigm for PDA3, since the lesion occurs in structurally mature, term infants with a fixed anatomic/developmental ductal-wall defect rather than a reversible prostaglandin-mediated patency — mechanical/procedural closure is expected to be the definitive treatment.
- NCIT suggestion: NCIT:C15986 (Pharmacotherapy) as the generic action term, if pharmacologic closure is ever attempted; therapeutic agents indomethacin (CHEBI) or ibuprofen (CHEBI) as therapeutic_agent.
Surgical/interventional (primary treatment modality for PDA3):
- Transcatheter device closure is now the treatment of choice for most children >1 year and many infants with favorable ductal anatomy — devices include the Amplatzer Duct Occluder and Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder (implant success ~95.5%, major complication rate ~2.1%, effective closure in ~99.4% at 6 months in one large series).
- Surgical ligation/division remains preferred for infants <1 year with anatomy unfavorable for catheter closure.
- NCIT suggestions: NCIT:C15329 (Surgical Procedure) for ligation; a device-specific qualifier pattern (per dismech convention) would bind the clinical action (e.g., NCIT:C15329) with a qualifiers predicate-value pair naming the occluder device, since NCIT device terms are not valid treatment_term bindings on their own.
Supportive care: Management of heart failure symptoms (diuretics, fluid management) in infants awaiting closure, or in those with a large symptomatic shunt.
Experimental/advanced therapeutics: No gene therapy, RNA-based therapy, or other advanced modality has been developed or trialed for PDA3; given the structural/anatomic nature of the lesion, mechanical closure rather than molecular correction is the applicable treatment paradigm.
Treatment outcomes: High closure success rates and low complication rates with modern transcatheter devices, as above; surgical ligation carries a low but real risk profile (recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, residual shunt, bleeding) typical of thoracic surgical procedures.
Genetic counseling: Because PDA3 is autosomal dominant with incomplete penetrance, genetic counseling for affected families should address a 50% transmission risk per pregnancy for a carrier parent, with the caveat that not all mutation carriers will manifest PDA (or may show variable expressivity, e.g., isolated PDA vs. PDA with coarctation).
Primary prevention: No primary prevention exists for the underlying PRDM6 mutation (a de novo or inherited germline variant); genetic counseling and prenatal/preimplantation genetic testing could theoretically be offered in a family with a known pathogenic variant, though this has not been reported as clinical practice for PDA3 specifically given its rarity and generally favorable treatability.
Secondary prevention: Early echocardiographic detection (e.g., prompted by a family history of PDA, or postnatal murmur screening) allows early closure before pulmonary vascular disease develops — this is the principal "prevention" lever for PDA3's main morbidity (Eisenmenger progression).
Tertiary prevention: Timely device/surgical closure once diagnosed prevents progression to pulmonary arterial hypertension and Eisenmenger syndrome.
Screening/genetic counseling: Cascade screening (echocardiography ± targeted genetic testing) of first-degree relatives in a family with a confirmed PRDM6 variant would be a reasonable clinical approach given the autosomal-dominant inheritance, though no formal screening program is published.
Public health: Congenital rubella vaccination programs remain the relevant public-health primary-prevention measure for the infectious form of PDA (not PDA3).
Naturally occurring PDA in other species: PDA is a well-recognized, common congenital cardiac defect in dogs (e.g., over-represented in Poodles, Pomeranians, Maltese, and notably studied in the Dutch Stabyhoun breed, where epidemiology and population genetics have been characterized — PMC4906750) and other companion animals; it is generally regarded as heritable/polygenic in most affected dog breeds rather than tied to a PRDM6 ortholog specifically. No PRDM6-specific naturally-occurring veterinary PDA has been reported in the literature surveyed.
Orthologous gene: Prdm6 is conserved from mammals to lower vertebrates; the Li et al. 2016 study explicitly notes that Arg549 is "highly conserved in orthologs from humans to sea anemones," indicating deep evolutionary conservation of this residue/domain.
Comparative pathology: Mouse Prdm6 conditional-knockout studies (below) recapitulate complete-penetrance PDA, supporting cross-species conservation of the PRDM6-dependent ductal-closure mechanism; this is the primary comparative-biology evidence base for PDA3, rather than natural disease in other species.
Zoonotic potential: Not applicable (non-infectious, monogenic developmental disorder).
Mouse models (the dominant model system for PDA3 mechanism):
Model characteristics: These conditional-knockout mouse models recapitulate the core human phenotype (PDA) with high fidelity and complete penetrance, and additionally reveal a functional-contractility deficit and a neural-crest-migration mechanism not yet directly demonstrated in human PDA3 carriers — representing a model-to-human translational gap: it remains unconfirmed whether the specific human missense variants (haploinsufficient/hypomorphic) produce the same degree of pathway disruption as the mouse complete conditional knockouts (a full biallelic tissue-specific null), which is a candidate HUMAN_MODEL_MISMATCH consideration for KB curation.
In vitro models: HEK293 cells and primary/immortalized human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) transfected with wild-type or mutant PRDM6 constructs — used for subcellular localization, histone methylation (H3K9me2/H4K20me2), and MYH11/α-SMA suppression assays (Li et al. 2016).
Resources: No dedicated PDA3/PRDM6 mouse strain repository entry (e.g., MGI/IMSR ID) was identified in this search; strains described are custom conditional-knockout lines (Prdm6^fl/fl^ crossed to Wnt1-Cre2 or SM22-Cre) generated by the cited research groups rather than centrally banked at time of publication.
| Citation | Focus |
|---|---|
| Li N et al., Am J Hum Genet 2016, PMID:27181681 (PMC4908195) | Discovery of PRDM6 as PDA3 gene; 3 mutations; functional assays; mouse expression mapping |
| Stanley HM et al., Am J Med Genet A 2024, PMID:38071433 | PRDM6 variants with PDA + coarctation of the aorta; novel variant |
| Zou M et al., JCI Insight 2023, PMID:36749647 | Prdm6 mechanism — MRTF-A interaction, SMC contractility, GWAS SNP rs17149944 |
| Prdm6/neural crest paper, PMC8876496 | Prdm6 controls cardiac neural crest differentiation/migration via Wnt1/H4K20me1 |
| Guo DC / Pannu H et al. (MYH11-TAAD-PDA), PMID:16444274 | Related but distinct MYH11-associated TAAD+PDA syndrome |
| Char syndrome (TFAP2B) GeneReviews, NCBI Bookshelf NBK1106; StatPearls NBK604201 | PDA2/Char syndrome comparator |
| OMIM #617039 (PDA3), *616982 (PRDM6), #617035 (PDA2), #607411 (PDA1) | Canonical disease/gene numbering |
| MONDO:0024266 | Ontology identifier for PDA3 |
| Orphanet ORPHA:466729 | Familial patent arterial duct (parent nosologic entity) |
Sources: - OMIM #617039 – PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS 3; PDA3 - OMIM *616982 – PRDM6 - OMIM #617035 – PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS 2; PDA2 - OMIM `607411 – PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS 1; PDA1 - Li N et al. 2016, "Mutations in the Histone Modifier PRDM6 Are Associated with Isolated Nonsyndromic Patent Ductus Arteriosus" — PMC4908195 - Stanley HM et al. 2024, "Patent ductus arteriosus and coarctation of the aorta in association with PRDM6 variants" — PubMed 38071433 - Zou M et al. 2023, "Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility" — JCI Insight - Prdm6 controls heart development by regulating neural crest cell differentiation and migration — PMC8876496 - Char Syndrome – GeneReviews, NCBI Bookshelf NBK1106 - Char Syndrome – StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf NBK604201 - PRDM6 gene – GeneCards - Orphanet: Familial patent arterial duct (ORPHA:466729) - Orphanet: Patent arterial duct (ORPHA:706, non-rare in Europe) - Molecular and Mechanical Mechanisms Regulating Ductus Arteriosus Closure in Preterm Infants – PMC7477801 - Prostaglandin E2–Mediated Relaxation of the Ductus Arteriosus – Circulation - Patent Ductus Arteriosus – Merck Manual Professional Edition - Patent Ductus Arteriosus: A Contemporary Perspective – Journal of the American Heart Association - Catheter Closure of Clinically Silent PDA Using Amplatzer Duct Occluder II – PMC8465329 - Characteristics of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Congenital Rubella Syndrome – PMC6863812 - Epidemiology, presentation and population genetics of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in the Dutch Stabyhoun dog – PMC4906750 - Zhu L et al. 2006, "Mutations in myosin heavy chain 11 cause a syndrome associating thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection and patent ductus arteriosus" – PubMed 16444274
Checked with linkml-reference-validator 0.2.1.
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| References checked | 15 |
| Resolved | 14 |
| Unresolved (possible confabulation) | 1 |
| Unverifiable | 0 |
| References weighed for topical relevance | 14 |
| On topic | 10 |
| Off topic | 1 |
These identifiers did not resolve to a record and may be fabricated. A lookup that failed for transport reasons is indistinguishable from one that failed because the record does not exist, so spot-check before acting on them:
PMC:PMC38071433 (2 mentions) - NCBI reports no such accession in PMCThese identifiers resolve, so they are not fabrications, but the records they resolve to share almost none of this report's vocabulary. That is a clue and not a verdict - a paper can be relevant in ways its title and abstract do not spell out - so read them before deciding:
DOI:10.1161/01.cir.0000145159.16637.5d (2 mentions) - Prostaglandin E
2
—Mediated Relaxation of the Ductus ArteriosusWeighed against this report's own most characteristic terms: pda3, pda, prdm6, genetic, via, ductal, vascular, gene, variant, disease, closure, ductus, arteriosus, congenital, isolated, cell, specifically, syndrome, muscle, mutation.
Checked with linkml-term-validator 0.4.5, through the ols: adapter.
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| Terms checked | 20 |
| Resolved | 16 |
| Unresolved (possible confabulation) | 0 |
| Obsolete | 1 |
| Unverifiable | 3 |
| Terms whose name was checked | 12 |
| Terms named correctly | 6 |
| Terms named as a different term | 3 |
| Terms whose name is worth a second look | 3 |
These identifiers resolve, so nothing about them looks wrong, and the ontology calls them something unrelated to what the report calls them. That usually means the identifier is not the one the sentence needs:
MONDO:0024266 (2 mentions) - the report calls it "Ontology identifier for PDA3"; MONDO calls it patent ductus arteriosus 3CL:0000359 (1 mention) - the report calls it "verify"; CL calls it vascular associated smooth muscle cellUBERON:0002106 (1 mention) - the report calls it "verify via OAK"; UBERON calls it spleenThese terms are real but deprecated. Citing one is not a fabrication; it does mean the report is naming something the ontology has retired:
GO:0034770 (obsolete histone H4-K20 methylation) (1 mention)The report's name for these is recognisably related to the term's own name without being one of them. A loose paraphrase reads the same way as a citation of the wrong sibling term - and so does a related synonym, which the ontology records precisely because it names something adjacent rather than the same thing - so these are listed rather than judged:
HP:0002092 (1 mention) - the report calls it "Pulmonary hypertension"; HP calls it Pulmonary arterial hypertension, and lists "Pulmonary artery hypertension" among its other namesGO:0045892 (1 mention) - the report calls it "GO Biological Process candidates: negative regulation of transcription"; GO calls it negative regulation of DNA-templated transcriptionGO:0005634 (1 mention) - the report calls it "GO Cellular Component: nucleus"; GO calls it nucleus, and lists "cell nucleus" among its other namesTerms carrying these prefixes were not checked either way, because no configured ontology covers them. An unrecognised prefix may name an ontology this run could not reach as easily as one that does not exist, so nothing here is evidence of fabrication: ORPHA.